Is Cyclamate safe while breastfeeding?
Here is what LactMed, the Drugs and Lactation Database published by the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), reports about Cyclamate. The text below is quoted from that source — it is not our own verdict.
Summary of use during breastfeeding
Very little cyclamate enters breastmilk after maternal ingestion. However, some authors suggest that women may wish to limit the consumption of nonnutritive sweeteners while breastfeeding because their effect on the nursing infants are unknown.[1,2]
Effects on the breastfed infant
Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
Effects on milk supply
Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
Levels in milk
Maternal Levels. Forty-nine women consumed a beverage containing 60 mg of cyclamate. Normal and overweight women were about equally represented in the sample. Breastmilk samples were collected before the beverage and at 30, 60, 120, 180, 240, 300, and 360 minutes after the beverage. The average peak milk concentration was 2.56 mcg/L an occurred at 5 hours after the beverage.[3]
Infant Levels. Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
Alternatives LactMed lists
“No published information” means the studies do not exist yet — not that Cyclamate is known to be harmful, and not that it is known to be safe. Your prescriber or pharmacist can weigh your baby's age and whether a better-studied alternative would do the same job. Worth asking before stopping a medicine you need.
Source: Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed), National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), via NCBI Bookshelf, record “Cyclamate” (cyclamate). LactMed on NCBI Bookshelf. LactMed is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Educational summary of an authoritative source — not medical advice. Never start, stop, or change a medicine while breastfeeding without confirming with your doctor.