Green Tea and Pregnancy

Despite the much touted health benefits of green tea about its ability to provide protection against cancer, it is advised by the scientists to avoid green tea if you are trying to conceive as it reduces the efficacy of folic acid, which is very important in preventing neural tube defects in the first month after conception. This effect though can be minimized by eating folate rich foods like the greens and the regular usage of folic-acid supplement, but again why to take a chance with a baby. Of course you can have a cup of green tea after the first trimester if you wish to.

The main reason for researchers advising against drinking green tea during pregnancy is because as we all know green tea is rich in antioxidants and definitely has lot of benefits relating to dental health, blood sugar levels, cholesterol, and weight loss, but scientist have made a discovery after examining the active constituent of the green tea, the epigallocatechins and that it may affect the way the body absorbs folate.

But nowadays, almost all the greens teas that are available commercially are thought to be safe for consumptions by almost anybody whether pregnant or not as these companies are using herbs thought to be safe when consumed in reasonable amounts. They do not use any herbs that are considered dangerous and all the herbs used by these top branded companies are according to the guidelines of FDA. But again, green teas that are not made commercially may contain excessive amounts of herbs which could prove toxic, so it is always better to talk to your doctor before you plan on starting green tea during pregnancy.

Here we have given few of the ingredients and their uses for safe pregnancy

Red Raspberry Leaf - This leaf helps in strengthening the uterus, increase the mild production, and reduce the labor pains and is recommended to be used only after the first trimester.

Peppermint Leaf - This leaf helps in reducing nausea and flatulence.

Lemon Balm - This leaf is thought to have a calming effect and help relieve anxiety, insomnia, etc.

Some pregnant women may be sensitive to caffeine and tea. Therefore you need to avoid both the tea as well as caffeine. Should there be any content of caffeine in green tea, one can reduce the potency of caffeine by just putting boiling water over the dry leaves and then sieved off after 30 seconds.

As a word of caution pregnant women should avoid all sources of caffeine; if possible, pregnant women should avoid caffeine entirely for few weeks before the conception. In comparison, green tea is much better than coffee as they contains very less quantity of the caffeine if any do not produce much of a adverse effect.

We can only conclude that even though green tea is good for health, it is best avoided during pregnancy, if at all you still want to have green tea then it would be better to have it only after the first trimester.

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