Is It Safe to Drink Green Tea While Pregnant
I am really sorry for not being around for a while, but I had a reason. I allowed you - our regular readers and users of Green Tea 300 - to experience the great benefits and weight loss effect of this amazing product.
Now, when I am back here, I expect you also be here and share your experience and thoughts about Green Tea 300 weight loss system.
There is something I’d like to share with you…
When it comes to whether green tea is healthy, a lot of questions arise. Recently I came across a few very important ones: Is green tea good for helping to get pregnant? Can you drink green tea if you are pregnant? Is it safe to drink green tea while pregnant?
I am sorry if I am gonna disappoint you, but my answers to all questions are NO.
Despite its numerous health benefits, a recent research has shown that green tea might have some serious side effects on pregnant women.
It is all about the active ingredient of green tea (EGCG) that might affect the healthy development of the baby, and more specifically the baby’s use of folate. And as most of you ladies know, the folate is very important for pregnant women, as it prevents some common birth defects called neural tube defects that affect the brain.
In short, the connection between the green tea main ingredient (EGCG) and the neural tube defects is that: the EGCG binds the enzyme DHFR and inactivates it. This enzyme is involved in folate uptake. And when it is inactivated, the protection afforded by folate over the healthy development of the baby might be reduced (the baby can’t absorb folate properly).
The real problem of green tea and its negative side effect on pregnant women is that EGCG is chemically similar to a compound called methotrexate. This methotrexate kills cancer cells by binding with the enzyme DHFR (dihydrofolate reductase). This enzyme is involved in the folate uptake (folate pathway) – a natural process of folate transformation into a form that can be used by the body.
Because of this chemical similarity the EGCG in green tea also binds to the enzyme DHFR, which causes deactivation of the enzyme. When this enzyme is inactivated, the ability of the body to use folate is seriously affected, as is the folate absorption by the baby.
According to the research two cups of green tea 300 daily can stop cancer cells growing. But it is still not clear how much the folate absorption is affected by these two cups of tea. This question will be answered by future researches.
December 6th, 2006 at 8:20 pm
[...] Breastfeeding women should not drink any caffeine containing beverages, because it could cause sleep disorders in babies and infants. As for the pregnant women – they could take some green tea in small amounts and be careful not to exceed the amount of 400 mg of caffeine (more than 6 cups of green tea), because this could cause a miscarriage and some other serious side effects on pregnant women. Read more about drinking green tea while pregnant here [...]
May 7th, 2007 at 4:26 pm
All the other literature I’ve read, which includes several other websites, one of which is the Children’s Health Encyclopedia, the the LeLeche’s “Bible” - The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, says that a small amount of caffeine is Ok while breastfeeding. Two eight-ounce servings is considered small. Sleep-deprived mothers need at least a minimal amount of caffeine to get through the day. Both my OB and pediatrician advised that caffeine in moderation will pose no harm to an infant. My six-week old baby sleeps all night except for a short feeding at 2am during which he really doesn’t fully wake up. I consume one to one and a half cups of green tea or coffee per day. My baby suffers from no sleep disturbances or irritability.
October 8th, 2007 at 7:25 am
Hi
I havent tried the green tea 300 but I took the regular green tea pills while TTC and also asked my midwife if it was ok to drink when TTC. I was informed if I drink any more then 2 cups a day to take extra folic acid since it will eat the folic acid, so all I do is take an extra folic acid with my prenatals. I was never told it was bad to drink when TTC nor pregnant. This is the first one I have come across that says that.
January 22nd, 2008 at 5:26 am
Do white and black tea do the same thing to folate, or could they be safer than green tea during pregnancy? BTW, these only have less than 50 mg of caffeine.