So, I just wanted to make a few comments on green tea and pregnancy. I get a fair amount of people on this blog looking for information on green tea relating to pregnancy, so I wanted to make a few points.
Is Green Tea Bad While Pregnant?
The only thing about green tea that would be bad for you while pregnant is its caffeine content. You would do well to look into research relating to caffeine and pregnancy. I’ve done a bit of research myself. There doesn’t appear to be all that much research into the affects of caffeine, and that that has been done is sketchy at best. Here are two examples of the type of studies you’ll find done.
The general consensus I get from the studies I’ve been reading is that caffeine, in higher daily doses (one study said over 200 milligrams), might possibly have negative affects on pregnancy, increase the chance of miscarriage, etc. The key words being ‘might possibly.’ So, it certainly doesn’t hurt to stay away from caffeine. Drinking large amounts of caffeinated coffee daily might possibly have some negative affects. A little bit every now and then certainly isn’t going to be bad.
Of course, the health of your baby is not something you want to risk, so it’s always better to err on the side of safety. If you wash your tea before drinking it, it’ll take out most of the caffeine content of the leaves, so I’m pretty sure drinking a lot of tea during your pregnancy (especially if you prep your leaves right) isn’t going to be bad for the baby, according to the studies I’ve been reading. But that’s just from the studies I’ve read, which are inconclusive.
Is Green Tea Good During Pregnancy?
Well… besides the fact that green tea is just plain good for you, I haven’t read any studies that conclude that green tea is somehow especially helpful to the mother or child during pregnancy. I don’t think any research has been done into that. I wouldn’t be surprised either way. But regardless, green tea is still good for you, pregnancy or no.
Can Green Tea Help Me To Get Pregnant?
Yes, believe it or not, I get people on this site with that question. As far as I’m aware in my browsings of green tea research and studies go, I don’t think there is any research on this topic. I am inclined to raise my eyebrow and say “No… why would you think that…?” Aside from the fact that–as I said above–green tea is just plain good for you, I don’t think it’s going to help you get pregnant. But… you never know. Maybe some research will pop up that proves me wrong. Until then, I think you’re much better off concentrating on cutting out things that can adversely affect reproductive processes like gluten, smoking, sugar, and other such things.
In conclusion
I hope all that’s helpful… if you have any specific questions feel free to comment or shoot me an email at green tea earth at gmail dot com.
