Is high fructose corn syrup safe during pregnancy?

What does the evidence say about high fructose corn syrup during pregnancy?

1. The two common forms, HFCS 42 and HFCS 55, contain 42 and 55 percent fructose with the rest glucose and water, and that fructose to glucose proportion is similar to sucrose, which is exactly one to one. 1
2. The FDA states it is not aware of any evidence of a safety difference between foods containing HFCS 42 or HFCS 55 and foods containing similar amounts of other caloric sweeteners such as sucrose or honey, while supporting the Dietary Guidelines recommendation that everyone limit all added sugars. 1
3. In mice, a maternal high-fructose diet produced smaller fetuses with larger, less efficient placentas and raised placental uric acid, while in 18 women delivering at term maternal serum fructose correlated with placental uric acid, a finding the authors said should be confirmed in a larger cohort. 2
4. Most of what is known about maternal fructose consumption comes from experimental animal models, and the impact of excessive fructose intake during pregnancy on human fetal and maternal health is largely unknown, with no long-term study yet evaluating offspring disease risk. 3
5. Gestational diabetes screening happens between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy using a glucose challenge test, and managing it starts with a healthy eating plan and physical activity before insulin is considered. 4

Is high fructose corn syrup safe in each trimester?

• First trimester. Early pregnancy is the wrong time for dietary perfectionism. If ginger ale, popsicles, or crackers are what stay down, the corn syrup in them is not the problem worth solving. Come back to added sugar once nausea eases and eating feels less like a negotiation.
• Second trimester. Glucose screening usually happens between 24 and 28 weeks, which makes the second trimester the natural point to look honestly at sweetened drinks. Sugar-sweetened beverages are the single largest source of added sugar for most people, and they are also the easiest to trim.
• Third trimester. The fructose research that gets quoted in headlines is almost entirely from animals. One small human study of 18 women found maternal blood fructose tracked with placental uric acid, and the authors said plainly it needs confirming in a bigger group. Read that as a reason for moderation, not alarm.