1. The Side Effects of Green Tea During Pregnancy
It is very important to monitor the health of pregnant women to ensure the health of the
mother and the baby. Some expectant mothers are quite anxious because of the various
changes that take place in their body. Doctors often recommmend a diet regimen for
pregnant mothers and if you're among those pregnant women out there, you should be extra
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, doctors and researchers were able to prove that green tea contains
caffeine. Caffeine intake is discouraged during pregnancy because of certain side effects.
Despite the many 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 many others, it is not advisable to drink green
tea when you're pregnant.
Studies have proven that green tea contains EGCG or epigallocatechins which affects the
use of folate in the body. Folate is very important 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 can't use folate effectively. There hasn't been any
conclusive studies which show how much green tea a pregnant woman should consume or
how much folate can be affected.
Some doctors recommend pregnant women to drink moderate amount of tea as well as
coffee. If you're still unaware, green tea also contains caffeine and when you're pregnant,
it's not good to drink a lot of beverages which contain caffeine. So if you want to be extra
sure, don't forget to ask your doctor 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 six cups of coffee per day can definitely affect
your baby's weight at birth. If you don't want your baby to suffer, you can have a cup of
coffee a day or if you want, you can just stop drinking coffee. The caffeine content in green
tea is lower than that of coffee and so you can drink more than one cup; but as said earlier,
ask your doctor about it first.
Pregnancy will only take nine months and so you need to enjoy it. Even if you experience a
lot of body changes, just 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.

2. 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're not pregnant and you don't have any problems related to caffeine intake,
then you can drink as many tea as you like. Right now, be careful in drinking green tea;
perhaps you can settle for a small cup every other day just to satisfy your thirst for it.
When you feel anything abnormal, seek the help of your doctor at once. Besides, its just
going to be for nine months and after that, you can resume in drinking tea again. Aside
from not taking caffeinated drinks, you're also not allowed to take just 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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