# Can coffee inhibit folic acid absorbtion?



## Maple Leaf Mama (Jul 2, 2004)

This is not a debate. I have a legitamate question.
I have heard recently that green tea should be avoided in early pregnancy b/c it is a strong inhibitor of folic acid absorbtion.

Yet today I was speaking to a herbalist and he didn't know this (!!)
He also said that black tea would be just as bad if that were the case, though I had not heard this previously to be the case.

I said that maybe I'll just stick with my cup of coffee and he wrinkled his nose at me and said that would be even worse than the tea.
Well, I have cut down my coffee consumption considerably. I drink 1-2 cups per day only. I eliminated it entirely during my first pregnancy and was miserable. I craved it. Pathetic but true.

So I am currently taking 6 mg of folic acid/day-dr.s orders.
But I'm wondering if anyone knows if coffee can also leach folic acid?
Like I said, this is not a debate. If you don't agree with coffee during pregnancy-fine. But I'm more interested in hearing about the theories about the folic acid. (And yes, I'm feeling defensive/feisty today, which I will appologise for now)


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## TopazBlueMama (Nov 23, 2002)

I've actually read that before, and would definately believe it. But I don't have anymore info than that! sorry!


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## jiva (May 25, 2006)

From my understanding, there's only evidence that green tea inhibits folic acid use...which, I guess means more test have to be done to prove or disprove it. Both black tea and coffee have been fermented, which changes/deactivates many enzymes, making them work differently in the body than unfermented green tea.
Personally, I drank green tea straight through my first pregnancy and only took 400-800 mcg folic acid daily (whatever was in my multi...sometimes prenatal, sometimes not). Ds is a-ok







. I still drink some during this pregnancy but for some reason have been finding myself favoring black teas...hmm. Anyways, I think the only risk of coffee messing with folic acid use is simply from the diuretic/stimulant effect. Folic acid is water-soluble and I also think that the various stimulants in coffee (and teas) can quickly use up the body's b vitamins. But as long as diet is nutrient-rich, you're most likely just fine. My mom recently cut back to 1 POT of coffee daily (down from 2)...then she started reading about all the benefits of coffee...








HTH.

jiva


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