(FOX NEWS) – Pregnant or breastfeeding women who consume diet soda or other foods and drinks containing aspartame could experience higher rates of autism diagnoses in their sons, a new study has revealed.
Researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) found that among boys who had been diagnosed with autism, their mothers were three times as likely to report drinking at least one diet soda — or consuming an equivalent amount of five tabletop packets of aspartame — per day.
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"Our study does not prove causality — it does not prove that maternal intake of diet sodas, and aspartame specifically, during pregnancy or nursing increases a child’s risk of autism — but it does raise a major warning flag," said lead author Sharon Parten Fowler, PhD, adjunct assistant professor of medicine at UT Health San Antonio, in an interview with Fox News Digital.
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