When it comes to trying for a baby, we all know the drill: nix the coffee, forget the smokes and stay away from alcohol. But according to a new study, there’s another vice to steer clear of if you’re trying to conceive: sweetened drinks.
Researchers at Boston University analysed 3,828 women between the ages of 21 to 45 and 1,045 of their male partners. The participants were made to fill out an initial questionnaire on their medical history, diet, exercise habits and other health and lifestyle factors. The same questionnaire was repeated every two months for a year or until they fell pregnant.
Their findings? Drinking sugary beverages reduces fertility by up to 20 per cent.
But for daily soft drink consumers, the results were even more shocking.
Having just one soda per day cuts this down further to a whopping 25 percent in women and 33 per cent in men.
Energy drinks were also a cause for concern, however, it is important to note that results were based on a small sample of consumers.
“Couples planning a pregnancy might consider limiting their consumption of these beverages, especially because they are also related to other adverse health effects,” explained lead author Elizabeth Hatch.
“Given the high levels of sugar-sweetened beverages consumed by reproductive-aged couples in North America, these findings could have important public health implications.”
For all the juice-lovers amongst us though, no need to panic just yet: the researchers found little association between the intake of fruit juices or diet sodas and fertility.
This article originally appeared on Women’s Health.
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