Green tea

[Soapsuds86]

Just wanting to know everyone's thoughts on green tea during the ivf process? I drink on average around 4 cups a day, mainly to keep warm at work atm to be honest. However I've read lots of conflicting statements about it being good and bad. I did read it can be an antioxidant to new potential eggs and also it slows down the release of folic acid in your body.

Im a type 1 diabetic and must say that drinking green tea does regulate my levels and lower my sugars.

I've cut down to two cups per day because of reading about this. Am I worrying over nothing or should I stop drinking it altogether? I'm currently taking the down regs and a week in.

Just wanted to know what everyone thinks??

[samrakkar]

Hi your not meant to drink it when your pregnant that's all I know. I'd probably stop now or ween off it before your transfer date x

It can cause birth defects

dailymail.co.uk/health/arti...

[Soapsuds86 in reply to samrakkar]

Thanks for the link. It's similar to what I read up about it. It makes sense with the folic acid and spinal bifeda. Going cold turkey from it now as would be hi risk pregnancy anyway. Something else to not enjoy 😯

[scribble1603]

I've heard the same about not drinking green tea during pregnancy. Does anyone know the reason why? I drink decaf green tea - not sure if the same rule applies to that?? xx

[scribble1603 in reply to scribble1603]

Sorry - just saw comment above re birth defects!

[Soapsuds86 in reply to scribble1603]

Is de caf green tea available at supermarkets the same as normal green tea? I haven't seen it before but to be fair I've never looked 😅

Not sure what it is about the green tea that stops the folic acid.

[scribble1603 in reply to Soapsuds86]

I buy it in Holland and Barrett as I haven't seen it in the supermarkets x

[Sweetpea76 in reply to Soapsuds86]

Tetley's do Green Decaf t-bags which I buy in Tesco.

Is decaf ok during pregnancy?

[Mel77]

Well, I'm trying my best to prepare my body for our first cycle of IVF in Feb. I don't drink a lot of tea and coffee anyway. So I switched to decaf and bought some caffeine free green tea.

Reading on the internet, it says green tea can help to improve your fertility. I don't really mind it so I'll stick to drinking it. I'm just trying to make sure I've done all I can to help.

Though people on forums say green tea can actually reverse the affects of folic acid so it’s best to avoid it. Not sure if it’s true. In a few days we’ll be consulting our doc and this is to be asked as well.

A friend of mine drank organic green tea prior to starting ivf all the way through as it helped to reduce her high TNF. But she insists it is no good for women with immune issues.

I drink not more than 2 cups a day. Well, less coffee. Time passes - no coffee at all.

It's such a bloody mine field isn't it! You never know if you’re doing the right thing.

[Soapsuds86 in reply to Mel77]

This is what confuses me that one site says it has benefits for fertility and another says it isn't good for the folic acid part. I'm definatly going to stop now through this process. Just rather be safe than sorry.

[Lynnr54]

I drunk bucket loads of green tea during IVF but stopped as soon as I became pregnant (other than one cup a day from second trimester). I stopped partly because of the caffeine (I've never seen any decaf green tea) and partly because I read it stops folic acid from working properly. Good luck with your cycle!

[Soapsuds86 in reply to Lynnr54]

This is what I saw about the folic acid and I'm already taking supplements for it for being a diabetic as well as the ivf. What a nightmare! Looks like hot water in future!

[Soapsuds86]

This is it! I just presumed it was a healthy option to drink. I don't even drink normal tea or coffee and only really started to drink green tea because of the health benefits ( helps sugar levels and weight loss) . Now I'm thinking to avoid it if i'm not sure about it.

I'm doing everything so right and have been for ages. Had a boring christmas diet wise because was very sensible and had 1 glass of wine. Limited myself with chocolate etc ready for the new ivf starting this year. Just hope I haven't ruined it by drinking loads of green tea 😯 it's my 3rd round and I don't get good quality eggs as it is.

I know I shouldn't believe everything I read online and I don't want to worry over nothing either.

Think I'm going to steer clear of it. Just incase, so I don't have that as a blame if my eggs are poor quality again. Just want to give it my all.

[Hope_faith]

Hi i drink lots of decaf green tea i bought mine in the supermarket, ive never seen anything bad said about it and ive jus stocked up for my FET cycle, having 2nd thoughts on drinking any of it now though im glad ive seen this just in time i think🙈 gona have to do abit more research on it x

[Hope_faith]

Ive just done a little bit of reading and ive seen to drink it in moderation, as too much will decrease ur folic acid intake and iron, both of which i take, so i think ill continue but just not drink too much, the benifits seem to out weigh the bad points, thanks for bringing this to my attention x

[Sweetpea76]

Green decaf is my choice of drinks at work and I probably have 2-3 cups a day.

Been through three ICSI cycles and now 8 weeks pregnant.

It gets to the point that you don't know what's good or bad for you......arghhh!

Certainly a question that I'm going to be asking at my midwife appointment!

[Tlove]

I googled this as it was news to me about the influence it can have on spina bifida and I also don't entirely trust the Daily Mail! 😊 I did find a scientific paper that was written where they interviewed women to compare incidence of spina bifida with tea intake. It seems if you take 3+ cups a day it does impact somewhat on the absorbance of folic acid and from what I read, it's not the caffeine that causes it, it's another chemical found in tea. Green tea seems to have a high amount of this chemical, while oolong and black tea have less of it. This is the paper here: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

I've been drinking maybe 2 cups of breakfast tea a day as this is the limit recommended by NHS based in caffein intake, I have never seen any warnings about tea causing spina bifida - you would think they should carry a warning like alcohol does if it were proven. I don't know, it's a total minefield, this pregnancy do and don't list!! Another thing to worry about now.

[Soapsuds86]

Thanks for the link, that's an interesting read. It's so confusing as everything I look at says something different!

Yeah if it is the case it should have a warning not to take when pregnant ( or trying). So frustrating.

I guess in moderation is ok but I'm not willing to risk it. May be going over board but already on 3rd attempt and type 1 diabetic so already high risk for things like spina bifIda.

Feel like I'm going over the top with it but rather be safe. I'm sure there's still loads of things I eat or drink that have risks somewhere along the line.

Total nightmare!! Like we do t have enough to think about as it is!

[Natasha83]

Hi, i've also read that decaf green tea can be beneficial in fertility as it helps with the blood flow to the uterus. Not sure if green tea itself causes spina bifida or because it reduces the absorption of folic acid which can then lead to spina bifida. I would recommend having it far apart from when you take your folic acid so it does not interfer with folic acid. Although I read 4 cups was beneficial, with the conflicting views on it, probably best to take one or two a day. Xx

[Tlove in reply to Natasha83]

It seems that there is a chemical in the green tea that interacts with the folic acid, preventing it's absorbance. So perhaps you're right about spacing them out.