Pregnant? Yes you can have your green tea…Just don’t drink it!
Health benefits can still be gained from green tea during pregnancy when it is used externally. If used topically, the catechins will not be present in elevated levels in the blood. Drinking green tea is not encouraged during pregnancy because of the caffeine content, ranging from 14 to 61 mg caffeine per 6-8 ounce serving.1 This is important because caffeine crosses the placenta and the effects of caffeine on unborn babies is not well know. Furthermore, there is no scientific research that showing it is safe to do so. On the contrary, two studies have shown that supplementation with green tea catechins, the main active ingredients in green tea, can cause reductions in birth weight and even cause birth defects.2,3
Healthy Mouth
Green tea constituents may be beneficial during pregnancy due to their antibacterial qualities. Rinsing with green tea for 30 seconds after eating a high-starch snack has been shown to reduce the incidence of cavities. One study reports that catechins in green tea are inhibitors of the enzyme in the mouth that turns starch into sugar.4 Scientists found a 70% reduction in the amount of starch changed to sugar in the mouth, effectively removing a food source for plaque-generating bacteria. Once the starch reaches the stomach the conversion to sugar occurs readily.
So, go ahead and rinse with green tea after your snack, you’ll still get to enjoy the taste of green tea (if you like it) and you’ll starve those cavity-causing bacteria.
Another contribution to a healthy mouth that is made by green tea is the prevention of gingivitis. Gingivitis is aggravated by bacteria classified as Prevotella spp. Gingivitis is identified by painful, swollen gums. Pregnant women are doubly affected because hormone changes that occur during gestation also contribute to swollen gums and you may not feel like brushing your teeth as often because it hurts. If neglected, Prevotella spp. can hide in air pockets below the gum line and eventually leading gums to recede, teeth to loosen and possibly fall out.
Scientists found that using green tea catechins in a solution of 1 mg catechins per milliliter of water as a mouthwash for 4 consecutive weeks inhibited growth of Prevotella spp.5 An added benefit found in the study is that Prevotella spp. is responsible for halitosis (bad breath) and using the mouth rinse freshened the breath.
Genital Warts
Another bothersome condition that can worsen during pregnancy is genital warts. For reasons yet to be discovered, they sometimes increase in size or bleed during pregnancy. Usually just keeping an eye on them is enough. If the warts get so big that they obstruct the vaginal opening or perineal area delivery and/or episiotomy may be a little more difficult.
Genital warts can be frozen with liquid nitrogen, burned with chemicals or lasers or given laser treatment. For a less expensive, less invasive and much more convenient treatment, an ointment of green tea extracts can be topically applied to the warts. A topical treatment of green tea extracts marketed as Polyphenon E (made by MediGene AG, Munich, Germany) was effective against genital warts in a study conducted in 2008 .6 In clinical trials, treatment of genital warts with 15% Polyphenon E ointment cleared up the warts in 53% of the cases, while treatment with 10% Polyphenon E ointment cleared 51% of the cases. For some reason, the effectiveness for women was 60% and for men it was 45%. When the scientists follow up with subjects, less than 7% of subjects experienced a recurrence of genital warts.
1Caffeine content of brewed teas. Chin, JM; Merves, ML; Goldberger, BA; Sampson-Cone, A and Cone, EJ. J Anal Toxicol. 2008. 32(8):702-4.
2Safety studies on epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) preparations. Part 3: Teratogenicity and reproductive toxicity studies in rats, Isbruckera, RA; Edwards, JA; Wolzb, E; Davidovichc, A and Bauschb, J. Food and Chemical Toxicology. 2006. 44(5): 651-661.
3Green tea extract increases cyclophosphamide-induced teratogenesis by modulating the expression of cytochrome P-450 mRNA. Park D, Jeon JH, Shin S, Joo SS, Kang DH, Moon SH, Jang MJ, Cho YM, Kim JW, Ji HJ, Ahn B, Oh KW, Kim YB. Reprod Toxicol. 2009. 27(1):79-84.
4Inhibition of salivary amylase by black and green teas and their effects on the intraoral hydrolysis of starch. Zhang, J and Kashket, S. Caries Res. 1998. 3: 233-238.
5Effects of tea catechins on oral odor and dental plaque. Kaneko, K; Shimano, N; Suzuki, Y; Nakamura, M; Ikazaki, R; Ishida, N; Kanayasu, E; Kakuda, T; Takihara, T; Sakane, I; Yayabe, F and Matsui, T. Oral Ther. Pharmacol. 1993. 12: 189-197.
6Topical Polyphenon E in the treatment of external genital and perianal warts: a randomized controlled trial. Stockfleth E, Beti H, Orasan R, Grigorian F, Mescheder A, Tawfik H, Thielert C. Br J Dermatol. 2008 Jun;158(6):1329-38.
