New Study Discovers: Drinking a soda a day can lower your fertility by 33%

The health warnings over the dangers of sugar is not new: it’s been linked to heart disease, diabetes, obesity, depression – the list goes on.

However, if you’re still not entirely persuaded to kick the sugar habit to the curb, here’s something that might make you reconsider, especially if you and your partner are trying to conceive.

According to new research from Boston University’s School of Medicine (published in the journal Epidemiology), drinking just one sugary drink a day can significantly decrease your fertility by as much 33%.

Now, this applies to both men and women: the study found that men and women who drank at least one sugary beverage daily experienced affected their changes of successfully conceiving by 33% and 25% respectively.

And this held true despite controlling other factors like obesity, caffeine intake, alcohol, smoking and overall diet in the study, which surveyed nearly 4000 women (aged between 21 and 45) and their partners about their daily dietary habits; specifically on their consumption of sugary drinks, which included sodas and sweetened energy drinks.

It’s no secret how ingrained sugary drinks have become in our everyday diet. As such, authors of the study recommend that couples planning to conceive limit drinking these sweetened drinks to avoid affecting their odds of successfully conceiving.

So if you’re trying to start a family, and find yourself reaching out for that can of Red Bull or ordering a soda along with your meal, think about how pervasive its health effects can be… And opt for that glass of water or a sugar-free juice instead.

Sarah Khan

Photo: Unsplash

Read More:

Hormone Disruptors: 10 Household products that could prevent you from conceiving

Guilty As Charged: 6 Ways to recover from an unhealthy sugar binge

Risk Factors: 7 Symptoms that could be a sign of infertility in women