I have been receiving emails from the #FoodBabeArmy about an alarming practice that happens at doctor’s offices around the country that needs to stop today.
First, however, I was thrilled by the news last week that Coke and Pepsi both announced that they’re (finally) removing Brominated Vegetable Oil (BVO) from their products – which includes Mountain Dew and Powerade. Of course these products are still no good for your body, as they are loaded with sugar or artificial sweeteners, preservatives, phosphates, and artificial colors. Once consumers find out about these questionable ingredients, food companies have nowhere left to hide, but some remain in denial, I’ll get to that in a minute.
This is a great win for my friend Sarah Kavanagh, an amazing teen food activist (seen below) who started the initial Change.org petition, and also for the #FoodBabeArmy because BVO is one of the most harmful ingredients that is still being used in the U.S., even though it’s banned in Europe and Japan. It’s patented for use as a flame retardant!
It’s banned for good reason.
According to food chemist, Walter Vetter, PhD, “BVO can build up in the body and cause toxic effects”. Most shockingly, there is a published report of a man who had to undergo dialysis after regularly consuming large amounts of Ruby Red Squirt containing BVO. There is another report here indicating that soda with BVO caused the same condition, deteriorating a man to the point that he couldn’t even walk. Of course, these people were drinking an insane amount of soda (up to 8 liters a day), and the cumulative effects on your body when you consume fewer BVO-containing drinks is largely unknown because the research is scarce. Charles Vorhees, a toxicologist at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center agrees by saying, “Compounds like these that are in widespread use probably should be reexamined periodically with newer technologies to ensure that there aren’t effects that would have been missed by prior methods…I think BVO is the kind of compound that probably warrants some reexamination.” Out of the research that has been done, it has been shown that BVO accumulates in your body and is linked to heart lesions. As reported in Scientific American, “After a few extreme soda binges—not too far from what many gamers regularly consume—a few patients have needed medical attention for skin lesions, memory loss and nerve disorders, all symptoms of overexposure to bromine”.
Given this evidence pointing to the dangers of BVO consumption, can you believe that it has taken SO LONG for Coke and Pepsi to finally remove it from their products?
There really is no excuse. Way back in the 1970s, the FDA began to question the safety of BVO and put the ingredient on “interim status”, which meant that food companies could use it in products until toxicology research was done. Well – guess what? Those studies have not been done in the last 40 years, so it has remained in our food – and the FDA has done nothing about it.
With the FDA asleep at the wheel, you will still find BVO legally in these drinks by the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group:
- Squirt
- Diet Squirt
- Ruby Red Squirt
- Diet Ruby Red Squirt
- Sunkist Fruit Punch Soda
- Sunkist Peach Soda
- Crush Orange Soda
- Crush Peach Soda
- Crush Pineapple Soda
- Peñafiel Grapefruit Soda
- Peñafiel Mandarin Soda
- Sun Drop Citrus Soda
- Diet Sun Drop Citrus Soda
- Sun Drop Cherry Lemon Soda
- Stewarts Orange ‘n Cream Soda
- Diet Stewarts Orange ‘n Cream Soda
- Stewarts Key Lime Soda
I found it incredibly disturbing that some of these sodas “comply with school beverage guidelines” and are being served nationwide in our schools. A member of my team contacted Dr. Pepper Snapple Group and was told they have no plans to remove BVO from any of these drinks because it’s “FDA approved” and has been diligently researched. At least we know the truth and will avoid these drinks at all costs.
Also, many store brand citrus sodas still contain brominated oil, so watch out for those too.
And we aren’t done yet.
There is one place where BVO is lurking that is reprehensible – and I knew that I needed to bring light to it. A drink containing BVO is being prescribed by doctors to pregnant women everywhere when they get tested for gestational diabetes – a routine test given to nearly all pregnant women in the U.S.
Check out the ingredients for the “Oral Glucose Tolerance Beverage” by AeroMed:
These drinks (also known as “Glucola”) are essentially sugar water with hazardous artificial colors and preservatives with a VERY LONG shelf life. They are no better than most sodas on the market – and truly not something you’d want to consume while pregnant. Yet, doctors routinely prescribe this non-carbonated soda to their pregnant patients, without taking into consideration the dangerous ingredients they contain. While it’s certainly important to monitor your blood glucose during pregnancy, there are alternatives to drinking this toxic sugar water.
Realize you have a choice – Simply ask your doctor what other options you have and if they don’t know, educate them!
The purpose of the drink is to ingest 50 to 100 grams of glucose, after which your doctor can test how your body handles influx of sugar. This woman was given the alternative of eating real food, such as bananas. This study showed that eating 28 jelly beans had the same effect on blood sugar in a 50 gram glucose test. Of course, you’d want to choose a non-gmo variety, free of artificial colors and other nasties!
An even better option that you can discuss with your doctor would be to avoid the test altogether and monitor your blood sugar with a glucometer throughout your pregnancy, as recommended here, here and here. This is the best alternative because you won’t create an extreme blood sugar spike, and can stick to your regular healthy diet. You will also avoid feeling like you are going to vomit and the dreaded “crash and burn” that women report after drinking glucola – including several Food Babe readers who have reached out to me personally.
As you can see, there is absolutely no reason that you need to consume these toxic glucola drinks. Now that you are informed, you can make a better choice for yourself and your baby.
Remember, I am not a doctor (take my advice at your own risk), however, in my opinion there is no way in hell any doctor could convince me to drink something with flame retardant, artificial dyes made from petroleum, controversial preservatives and GMOs, pregnant or not!
If you know someone who is pregnant or is still drinking BVO, please share this critical information with them and let them know they have a choice!
Wishing you the greatest health imaginable.
Xo,
Vani
Update 12/6/2017: There is now a natural alternative, The Fresh Test, which is an exact equivalent to glucola – but without all the preservatives, dyes, and BVO.
I’m appalled. This glucose test is done on every single pregnant woman in the US!
Me too. So pissed. Something needs to be done!
Not too mention Pediasure. I can not believe this sugar filled drink is promoted by health professionals.
Oh yes, my overweight pediatrician recommended us giving to our 18 lb. one year old son, because he thought my son was “failing to thrive”. I don’t think so! My son was perfectly healthy and vibrant, and lively.
Hahahaha……”my overweight pediatrician”. Is that not rather…umm…..an oxymoron? A “health-CARE” provider being unhealthy? I would tend to think so.
We must be WORTHY of our position in this life.
I am always wary of humans who use catch phrases ( i.e. “failing to thrive” , ” the benefits outweigh the risks”, etc, etc. ) in their push to pimp their product/s.
Your son obviously has a chance to “thrive” because of your ability to spot hypocrisy!
Keep up your great work, Food Babe!
At the birth center that I gave birth at, they had me drink two juice boxes of organic lemonade. Still not the best (major sugar rush) but much better than the alternative!
So happy to hear this – so much better than the alternative, I agree!
I took a picture of this last week when the doctor had me do my glucose test and was going to send it to you! I was so upset by the ingredients and stunned that my health care provider was having me drink it to test my health! I didn’t know it was something I could refuse to do, but I should have known better!! Thank you for bringing this to light!!!!
Absolutely, so many readers were in your same shoes – they took it anyways. Thanks for sharing your story.
You didn’t know it was something you could refuse to do? I can’t believe I just read that statement.
Do you realize there is not a single thing in this world that you cannot refuse to do? It doesn’t matter if it is a doctor or any other kind of authoritarian figure. No man has the power to tell you what to ingest for any reason.
Parents across the country are being mandated to have their children vaccinated in order to attend school. NYC is a state for this and more and more states are bullying parents. Children are getting sick. Talk about toxins at their worse, and no one is even reading the manufacturer’s label, not enen the doctors who have children injected. Vaccines are full of toxins! So are they really preventing a disease or causing many other issues far worse….?
Pam, I agree with everything you said. Just because they are mandated to vaccinate does not mean anyone can force a vaccination into your child against your will. If you try to inject my child against my wishes, you bring the syringe and I will bring my .45 and we shall see who makes the biggest puncture.
Vani.. you so pretty.. 🙂
I was given that by my Dr…..I got soooo sick thouggt I was going to die……with my next pregnancy I refused to ingest it….we do hav the right to say no 🙂
Article In Mother Jones.
I Went to the Nutritionists’ Annual Confab. It Was Catered by McDonald’s.
Our national nutrition experts are in bed with Big Food. And we wonder why we’re fat.
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/05/my-trip-mcdonalds-sponsored-nutritionist-convention
OMG! Unbelievable
Wow! Thanks for sharing.
This is infuriating! NONE of those “sponsors” have any business serving their toxic food to dieticians, let alone give keynotes and symposiums on why their chemically altered lab foods are safe and smart choices. This is the prime example of Americans putting money before the health of the public. And shame on the people who organized the conference for giving into this corporate pressure. They know better!
That is just sad and sickening.
Thank you for posting this article. I refused the drink for the glucose testing at my prenatal appointment. They were able to run a blood test. I didn’t feel right about consuming the ingredients in the “concoction” and asked what we could do instead. It is possible to question and ask for alternatives when it comes to any testing. Thank you again and I hope more people learn they have a choice.
I refused this drink and a actually switched dock 3 times during my pregnancy until I found a doctor that would work with me on an alternative…I check my blood sugars frequently and have had a perfect and t healthy pregnancy. I am 10 days from my due date, still working out 5 days a week, have gained 19 pounds and continue to eat clean and feel amazing! Thank you for shedding light on this! Us pregnant woman have a voice!! We need to fight!
Thanks for all your great research! Thankfully I didn’t have to take the “glucola” during my 2 pregnancies. Twenty years ago during my first pregnancy, and waaaayyy before much awareness of nutrition, we were able to isolate refined sugar as the cause of my all-day-long “morning sickness”. I had just cleaned it all out of my body when they told me about this test. When I asked for an alternative to the sugar-drink, they told me to consume a meal with a certain number of calories (and perhaps carbs). I’m pretty sure I had a bowl of cereal or oatmeal with a banana. Early lesson in being my own health advocate, and later for my children.
OMG this is so awful 🙁 Vani, what are your thoughts on drinks like Boost and Ensure, which are constantly given to the elderly, and to cancer patients….from what I understand, there is nothing of any quality in them to help give “nutrition” to folks who need it! Thanks for what you do!!
My midwife had me drink one whole “green machine” drink instead of the regular glucose drink. Not perfect – but much better!
My midwife had me have a full breakfast: toast w butter, eggs, orange juice to do my glucose test because that is way more natural and normal than drinking the nasty orange drink drs give. Who actually drinks that normally? It doesn’t seem to reflect actual levels you would have on an everyday basis.
Hi Vani,
My wife drank this crap a few times during her pregnancy. The last time, we had heard about it being yucky stuff, we asked the OBGYN if we could substitute something else for it and he said NO. He told us that it was totally safe and we MUST use it cause it was perfectly measured and something else would cause the test results to be flawed. So we complied. We were kind of scared into it cause the DR told us that Diabetes was super dangerous and that the risks (our worry) of the test would far outweigh any negatives. We had heard that we could use OJ instead. You should’ve seen the look on his face when we asked him to use a substitute. Obviously he had NEVER been asked that before. It’s scary to find out the truth about the chemicals that we come into contact with daily that NOBODY ever questions. We eat 80-90% Organic, use ONLY Dr Bronners soaps, use homemade coconut oil based deodorant, clean with Organic vinegar, use Earthpaste toothpaste, homemake our own RAW Organic Whole milk baby formula, have a NO-shoe policy at our house and we make everyone wash their hands when they come in too, etc. Everyone of our family members thinks that we are paranoid “conspiracy theorists”. NONE of them feel the same as us or even care about learning like we have. We have been following you for a while now and just LOVE you and your work. We just saw a new Subway commercial last night talking about them removing the Yoga Mat chemical from their breads. YIPPPPEEEE. Thank you for all that you do. You are making a HUGE impact in our world and it’s really just starting. Keep up the good work and putting pressure on these companies to take the toxins out of their products, especially the food. We used to eat Subway 3 times a week until we heard about the Yoga Mat additive. We have eaten there maybe twice in the past 2 months. We want them to go further and remove the Sodium Nitrate and Nitrites from their meats next. A man can dream right? Thanks Vani. You da Bomb.
Brian – thank you so much for sharing your story. It’s very inspiring to me and I’m positive, other readers too! Xo! Say hi to your wife 🙂
This.makes.me.mad! I drank this in three pregnancies before I became a food nazi. I failed the test with my first child so had to go in and drink even more for three hours while they drew blood after each time. For the third, I failed it again and said no way. He was fine.
By the grace of God, my children are very healthy today but if I knew what a GMO was and other harmful ingredients, I would have turned it down amongst many other food choices. We trust our physicians though because most of us have not gone to medical school. Thanks for making this public to those who listen.
I refused my glucose test by challenging the necessity of it, and all the nurse- midwife could say in response was it is a precaution recommemded by the ACOG (i knew this, obviously), but “we certainly can’t force you to do it” (condescendingly). I told her I was probably the healthiest, crunchiest patient they had (in Atlanta) and what would they do even if I failed, which I wouldn’t bc I don’t eat any sugar, meat or processed food? “We send you to a nutritionist at the hospital”. I laughed in her face. Then I pointed out the ingredients to her.
She gave up but steered clear of me in the office after that. 🙂 I was pretty well known around there after that since no one has ever done that.
You rock Mary Beth!
It is remarkable how much “medication” and other adjunct items have such terrible things in them. We avoid food dyes for our kids, but can hardly find medication–including antibiotics!–that does not have such dyes in them.
Bad, bad, and more bad!
What about the Ensure that they want the elderly to take for added nutrition? I’ve been wondering about that. My mom drinks it because they tell her it is healthy.
I just took my glucose test a couple weeks ago, and didn’t realize I’d have a choice! I had been lamenting to my husband before I went that I was dreading having the drink because I knew it was laden with chemicals. Though I don’t think it’s the end of the world to drink something like that once during pregnancy, it just appalls me that it is DOCTORS giving this to us! It also makes me mad how horrible of food and drinks the hospitals have to give you. I plan on packing several healthy snacks when I give birth so I can avoid their nasty food as much as possible.
I also notice doctor’s suggesting the horrible product Ensure. The only thing sure about this product is that it’s toxic. The worst part of it all is that no one questions what the doc tells them. 🙁 For example my friend was feeding her baby ‘baby formula’, I looked at the ingredients and asked her if she knew what they were. She said no, the doctor told me I should give it to her. Well why are you giving it to her if you don’t know what’s in it and can’t pronounce the majority of the ingredients? Since when did chemicals replace real whole vitamins for optimal growing???
I’m pregnant with my 4th child (due in 10 days) and I finally realized during this pregnancy that I needed to do my own research on the glucose solution for the gestational diabetes test. I found the same studies you presented and asked my doctor if I could eat 2 bananas instead. I told her I could not put all of those poisonous chemicals and food colorings in my body. She agreed and I have been telling everyone I know about this!! I know so any pregnant women who have gotten so sick from drinking this solution- it’s no wonder when you know what is in it!! Thank you for all of your awesome work. I use all of your recipes. I served the melt in your mouth kale salad for a lunch party today and everyone raved about it. Recommended for all of them to check out your site!!
That’s great to hear Sarah! Thanks for your support 🙂
I have had 3 pregnancies. With my first daughter I did the gluclose test…I drank the “stuff” they gave me and almost passed out. My heart was racing, I was dizzy, and my arms and legs went numb. It was intense! I was so nervous!!! With my second and third, I refused to drink that stuff again…so they said have 2 glasses of OJ. Interesting…WHY couldn’t I have done that the first time?
Learning this makes me so grateful that because of my food allergies I was unable to drink it in the first place. I told my OB that I couldn’t drink it and she suggested that we do it anyway. I asked her if she really wanted to test my potentially life-threatening allergies by having me ingest a known allergen. She got the point, and had me do an alternative test, which was basically to fast for 8 hours, draw blood, go eat, and come back a couple hours after the first blood draw for a second one. I never had an issue with gestational diabetes, fortunately. With my allergies, I HAVE to find alternatives for tests, and for treatments since so many pharmaceuticals have one of my allergens in them and I cannot take them without a reaction. And I think I’m better off and much healthier for it.
Wow, what timing! I am 29 weeks pregnant and my test is tomorrow morning! The link to the girl that was offered a banana does not work. Do you have another? Any other options too? I already called my OB and left a message for the nurse to call me back with other options I could potentially bring. Being that its my 2nd pregnancy and I passed the first time (with the awful drink!), I am hoping that I have a low risk and may even be able to just pass on the test if they don’t give me options and monitor it another way. I’m also printing off the article for my doctors office to read!
Bring a bag of organic jelly beans with you! There’s proof that works just as well. I bet a couple of teaspoons of honey would work too – but obviously, haven’t tried it yet 🙂
Thanks Vani! My OB nurse called me back and the first phone call was a bit of a run around until I clearly said, well thank you but I am going to pass on taking those two drinks (they offered one clear liquid that didn’t have BVO in it but it still had the dyes and dextrose, etc.). She then called me back with a better solution and was very helpful. The doctor is allowing me to bring and eat two large bananas while I am there and she said the wait time will be the same. This is a local Charlotte Dr.’s office who I have had a great experience with so I am not surprised they came up with another solution – I just didn’t know to ask! Thanks again!!!
Our pediatrician’s office continues to recommend Gatorade when my kids are recovering from tummy issues.
When I told them last time I gave my son coconut water, the nurse said Gatorade was better.
We compromised on (organic) gingerale.
Unbelievable!!!!
I am absolutely appalled! I drank that for my glucose test — never in a million years would I have guessed that healthcare providers would make a PREGNANT women drink something that contains so many harmful ingredients. You really do need to take all of these considerations into your own hands. Thank you so much for bringing this to light! I will be refusing this “drink” and ask for an alternative for Baby #2!
I have always objected to this drink and I’m always told that I have no choice and skipping the test is fairly risky too. What’s a mom to do? These drinks make me sick for days… really DAYS.
About an hour after drinking this toxic sludge I feel like I’m on fire and if you throw up they will make you do it again. Then you shake and sweat and feel like total garbage and the baby starts doing somersaults in there and then finally the horribleness breaks and you have your blood drawn and feel like fainting for the rest of the day. The next several days you feel overly exhausted and sick to your stomach (and lets not forget that ingested toxic syrup has to wreak havoc all the way through your system).
This pregnancy I am going to refuse this stuff! Thanks Vani for making me feel like I am not being ridiculous! I’d much rather test my blood sugar intermittently or eat a natural, organic source of glucose prior to the blood draw!!
Thank you so much for working to educate us and change this stuff FoodBabe! Keep up the good work! It makes me mad that I drank that drink while pregnant and had no idea! I am someone who has 3 autoimmune disorders (came out during and after pregnancy) and always thought I ate pretty healthy. At least I am learning while my daughter is still young so I can try and keep the same thing from happening to her!
Luckily, most of us only had to drink one of these per pregnancy. Still too much, but I have another for you.
My mother-in-law was recently hospitalized and soon after received a feeding tube. When visiting her shortly after the procedure, I notice the aluminum cans stacked in her room. I’m sure you can figure out the name brand. I asked my husband to pass me one so I could see what they were feeding her. I was appalled and shocked. I could barely contain my outrage at what they were pouring directly into her stomach. He would not let me say anything, but if it was my mom, I would be finding an alternative. See for yourself.
Ingredients: Water, Corn Maltodextrin, Sugar, Milk Protein Concentrate, Soy Oil, Soy Protein Isolate, Sucromalt, Canola Oil. Less than 0.5% of the Following: Corn Oil, Magnesium Phosphate, Potassium Citrate, Cellulose Gel, Natural & Artificial Flavor, Salt, Calcium Phosphate, Sodium Citrate, Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Ascorbic Acid, Cellulose Gum, Monoglycerides, Soy Lecithin, Carrageenan, Potassium Hydroxide, Liquid Sucralose, Ferrous Sulfate, dl-Alpha-Tocopheryl Acetate, Acesulfame Potassium, Zinc Sulfate, Niacinamide, Manganese Sulfate, Calcium Pantothenate, Cupric Sulfate, Vitamin A Palmitate, Thiamine Chloride Hydrochloride, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Chromium Chloride, Biotin, Sodium Molybdate, Potassium Iodide, Sodium Selenate, Phylloquinone, Vitamin D3, and Cyanocobalamin.
Sounds like a cocktail they’d be serving to inmates on death row.
I can’t believe I received this article today in my email – I fought with my Dr.’s for weeks about the glucose test after researching the ingredients. I annoyed them all and they would not give me any other options. They explained that eating food isn’t the same because of the fiber content and such so it doesn’t affect your sugar levels the same. One Dr. even asked me if I had done it with my other 2 pregnancies and wanted to know why I was questioning it now. I am totally against ingesting any of those ingredients but they backed me into a corner and left me with no other option than to take the test despite my arguments. They even said the only risk I had was the fact that I have other children but I eat clean, I’m in shape, and under 35 so I carry no other risks. I was going to write to you about it but I haven’t had the chance. I’m happy to see I’m not the only one disgusted by this absurd test.
http://www.waterliberty.com
I know this isn’t exactly on subject, however I would like your opinion on this mineral additive I started using in my water. I included the website for you to check out.
I was able to convince my Dr. to let me drink juice for this test. Because there is no fat, protein or fiber in juice it acts pretty much the same as the glucose syrup to produce a blood sugar spike. ( i wasn’t so happy to have to do even this, because I am one who avoids sugar and juices). there is no reason a dr. should not allow someone to use juice for this test. Thanks for raising awareness on this subject!
What about gatorade that the doctors have you ingest for colonoscopies? Is there an alternative for that?
Sandy,
There is an alternative to drinking that nasty stuff. U can get a colonic which does a better job at cleaning out the colon since it will break up and remove what is caked on the walls of the colon. I would have one a few days before and then go have one more the day before. The person we go to said there is a doctor that sends his patients to her to have this done before a colonoscopy instead of the drink because it does a better job. Hope this helps.
Tete
Oh no… I knew it will not be good!!! I had to drink this exact drink just yesterday 🙁
Would I have known about the alternatives… ! Too late now! No wonder I felt so weak and sick after that the entire afternoon!
FoodBabe, is there any detoxifying possibility you could suggest/offer me (pregnant 26 weeks!) ??? Please help!!!
Thank You!
Mel 🙂
I recently gave birth to a healthy baby boy and while pregnant I did have the glucose test done but was advised by my midwife to drink 100% grape juice instead. It was a great alternative for me.
This is just unbelievable. What has our nation come to? Thank goodness we have The Food Babe.
No wonder disease is rampant…. no wonder we are struggling as we age.
The power of pure organic food is just amazing and is a God given right for everyone.
I know because I just cured my husband’s stage 3 prostate cancer using superfoods and herbs….no surgery, no radiation, no chemo, no hormones.
My wish for everyone is access to fresh pure food and perfect health.
Way to go Food Babe,
Cathey
I did the jelly bean test with my first (not the good kind, brachs I believe, I want uneducated on food at the time) and the grape juice with the second. While the juice may not be without its issues (processing, pasteurizing etc) it is at least better than the crud. I was thankful for the option by my midwife. Regardless, consuming that much sugar so quickly is awful.
Thanks for sharing your experience Karen!
Oh my lord! I wish I had known about this when I was pregnant with my daughter. But now I know and will not drink that next time.
I refused to drink this when I was pregnant with my son. They had other options without all of the toxic waste. Let’s take responsibility for what we put into our own bodies. If you can read- you can do the research. Most doctors don’t even know what is in what they prescribe, they are interested in the smooth talking pharmaceutical reps and the kickbacks that are being offered.
WISH I KNEW THIS!! THANK YOU FOR YOUR RESEARCH!
Now I know for next time!
I refused the glucola and I’m so glad I did!!
OMG how I hated that awful orange drink! I wish I had thought to ask about an alternative. My youngest is 10 so this is a long time ago but I’m glad this info is out there for the mothers of tomorrow!
Thanks, Food Babe!
Sarah
thank you so much for educating the public about what’s in their food. I’ve been on a more private campaign about this for years. It’s about time 🙂 when you talked about a toxic drink I was hoping you would take on the product called Ensure. Dr.’s put some of my elderly friends on it and there is probably nothing worse that a sick or elderly person could put into their bodies. I found powdered healthy versions of drink mixes with calories, vitamins and minerals at the health food store, but for one friend, but opening the can of Ensure was just easier for her. and unfortunately she figured it was better since the doctor recommended it! Blessings.
I JUST had this conversation w/my doctor last week! She advised I could ingest 50G of sugar either by eating jelly beans or grape juice with the same result! I refused to drink it on with my third child after getting super sick with the first two and causing a minor Crohns flare!
It’s absolutely rediculous! I have a 6 week old and I simply told the OB I wouldn’t drink it. When asked why, I explained that I eat a real food diet and would never consume so much sugar at once; I also told her I had NO risk factors for GDM and my diet wouldn’t change even if I were diagnosed (I’m a dietitian -turned “real food” foodie- familiar with the prescribed diet… Awful as well). She was left with no argument and agreed to check a random Glucose and a1c. I think this should be the first step for all pregnant women. The drink should only be used for at risk patients to begin with, but another option should especially be used then!! Thanks for your great work, changing America one person and food at a time 😉
Love that you’re bringing attention to this FoodBabe! It’s a travesty that MDs in this country haven’t a clue about chemicals in food and beverages. When I was pregnant years ago my options were this horrendous drink or jelly beans too. I chose the drink and hate to hear that a decade later it’s still in use despite more women being aware of the big nasty chemicals in their diet.
If you can shame big corporations into removing ingredients from food, hopefully you can shame MDs from using such an unnecessarily harmful product in their practice. Wish my OB/GYN had been open to the organic lemonade…I tried.
Keep up the good work! And for the love of God, any MDs reading this, please heed the advice of the founding father of medicine Hippocrates, let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.
The long list of garbage in that glucose drink is shameful!
I am so mad! I am pregnant and I literally just drank this stuff for my glucose test yesterday morning. I knew the drink was not GMO free and was reluctant to drink it, but I didn’t know I had options or could ask for other options. If I fail this first test, I will certainly ask for other options for the next glucose test. THANK YOU for this information!
You are welcome Sarah – please share this info with any other women you know so they can avoid it in the future 🙂 Take care and thank you for being brave to share your story.
I just found out I’m a diabetic (not pregnant) after taking a test using this beverage. I drank this stuff and regretted after. Anyone know if you can use some of the same alternatives, Bananas, juice,etc for a non-pregnancy diabetic testing, or does it not matter. My doc is not much for offering alternatives, but I guess I can try!
Thank you, thank you for this!! I am planning on becoming pregnant in the next year or so. I have many friends who talk about having had to do the glucose test when they were pregnant and I mentioned how I wondered what the ingredients were in that drink and that I bet it had artificial dyes. Little did I know it also had brominated oil!! This makes me so mad. I just KNEW it had a lot of crap in it. I would much rather monitor my blood sugar throughout my pregnancy than have to drink that stuff. UGH. I just hope that my doctor allows other options when the time comes.