The Side Effects of Green Tea During Pregnancy
It is very key to monitor the health of pregnant women to ensure the health of the mom and the baby. Some expectant moms are quite anxious because of the various changes that take place in their body. Physicians often recommmend a diet regimen for pregnant moms and if you are among those pregnant women out there, you ought be additional careful with your food intake to avoid any problems or complications.
According to some studies, drinking too much green tea during pregnancy is not good. Why is that? Well, physicians and researchers were capable to prove that green tea contains caffeine. Caffeine intake is discouraged during pregnancy because of certain side effects.
Despite the numerous health benefits of green tea which includes preventing cancer, improving the heart’s health, boosting the immune system, aids digestion, lowers cholesterol, dental health, lowers the level of blood sugar, and numerous others, it is not advisable to drink green tea when you are pregnant.
Studies have proven that green tea contains EGCG or epigallocatechins which affects the use of folate in the body. Folate is very key during pregnancy because it can help in preventing birth defects in the neural tube. EGCG becomes harmful in pregnancy because it resembles the structure of methotrexate. The latter can get rid of cancer cells by bonding an enzyme called DHFR or dihydrofolate reductase.
The folate pathway contains these enzymes and since the EGCG is similar to methotrexate, it also binds with the enzyme and when this happens, the enzyme is inactivated. Once the enzymes are inactivated, the body cannot use folate effectively. There hasn’t been any conclusive studies which show how much green tea a pregnant woman ought consume or how much folate can be affected.
Some physicians advocate pregnant women to drink moderate amount of tea as well as coffee. If you are still unaware, green tea also contains caffeine and when you are pregnant, it’s not good to drink a lot of beverages which contain caffeine. So if you desire to be additional sure, do not forget to ask your physician next time you have an appointment. Always keep in mind that your health and that of your baby is of great importance.
Besides, there are already studies which proves caffeine to cause miscarriage and lower birth weight among babies. Drinking around 6 cups of coffee per day can definitely affect your baby’s weight at birth. If you do not desire your baby to suffer, you can have a cup of coffee a day or if you want, you can merely stop drinking coffee. The caffeine content in green tea is lower than that of coffee and so you can drink more than 1 cup; but as stated earlier, ask your physician about it first.
Pregnancy will only take 9 months and so you require to enjoy it. Even if you experience a lot of body changes, merely think that you will rejoice the day your precious baby comes. If you can avoid drinking caffeined drinks, then try to stay away from them.
Although the health benefits of green tea are remarkable, it does contain caffeine and no study has yet established the right amount of green tea intake especially among pregnant women. If you are not pregnant and you do not have any problems related to caffeine intake, then you can drink as numerous tea as you like. Right now, be careful in drinking green tea; perhaps you can settle for a small cup each other day merely to satisfy your thirst for it.
When you feel anything abnormal, seek the help of your physician at once. Besides, its merely going to be for 9 months and after that, you can resume in drinking tea again. Aside from not taking caffeinated drinks, you are also not granted to take merely any kind of medicine because it can be harmful to your baby.
It goes without saying always think of your baby’s safety before you do anything.
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