# matcha?



## csrabine (Jul 12, 2005)

I've been enjoying one cup of matcha green tea every day for the past few months. Recently found out that I am pregnant...







Should I stop drinking it now that I'm pregnant?

I thought that matcha was supposed to be really good for you, but I've heard some people say that it is bad for pregnant women.

If so, would white tea be an acceptable alternative?

Thanks for the advice.


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## amberskyfire (Sep 15, 2007)

Macha tea is high in caffeine and you definitely should not drink it during pregnancy. You also need to quit any other caffeinated teas such as white tea and green tea.

If you would like a tea that is high in antioxidants, I HIGHLY recommend Rooibos (Redbush) tea. It is widely available and probably the tastiest tea I have ever tried. It is caffeine-free, often organically grown, and does not need as much sweetener as regular tea as it has no bitter bite. You'll love it









I like mine with honey or vanilla.


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## Luca'smum (Apr 1, 2005)

I drink a cup of black or green tea everyday and I think it is fine to do so in moderation. Your doctor or midwife might have might have more information though.


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## Ironica (Sep 11, 2005)

Most of the literature says that caffeine is ok "in moderation," which is generally interpreted as no more than 2 cups of coffee a day... an amount of caffeine my body hasn't been able to tolerate in years. ;-) Actually, here's a pretty good summary of the available research:

http://www.fetal-exposure.org/CAFFEINE.html

It seems that, sometimes, at high enough doses, a small effect has been determined. The lowest threshhold dose that found any correlation is 71 mg a day, which is less than you'd find in your cup of green tea most likely (depending on type, green tea has 30-50 mg per 8 oz. cup).

Rooibos has its own issues; the plant is a legume, which is relatively allergenic. Some women feel it's important to avoid common allergens during pregnancy (two of the items on the "big 8" list, peanuts and soy, are also legumes). IOW... you can drive yourself crazy trying to decide what's "safe" in pregnancy. ;-)


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## csrabine (Jul 12, 2005)

I do like rooibos tea. DD is a rotten sleeper, so I cut out caffeine altogether when I was breastfeeding, and drank rooibos instead. After we stopped breastfeeding, I went back to drinking small amounts of caffeine (1 cup of matcha tea per day).

I've just been SO tired during the first part of this pregnancy, that I feel like I need a little pick-me-up so that I don't fall asleep at my desk at work! I will probably ease off the caffeine after the fatigue passes (maybe the second trimester), going to white tea first (much less caffeine than matcha), then down to rooibos.

Didn't know about the allergenic possibilities of rooibos... But I'm a vegetarian, so I already eat nuts and soy to get my protein. Sheesh, it seems like there are so many "don'ts" during pregnancy, how am I supposed to enjoy myself?







:


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## tallulahma (Jun 16, 2006)

[quote
*It is estimated that a woman would have to drink 10-14 cups of coffee in one sitting to begin to reach the doses which have teratogenic effects in animals (Nehlig & Debry, 1994a)
quote]

MODERATION!

*If you have been drinking one cup everyday since before you were pregnant, you would most definitely be safe to continue that practice. The amount of caffeine in that cup of tea is not excessive, you are aware of how it effects your body.

but I believe that anything in moderation is fine. so take my advice fwiw.

I drink my cup of coffee everyday.


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## Anouk (May 13, 2007)

I had read somewhere that green tea inhibits the body's absorption of folic acid. For that reason I had stopped drinking it while TTC and now during pregnancy. Can anyone else confirm this?


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## Ironica (Sep 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Anouk* 
I had read somewhere that green tea inhibits the body's absorption of folic acid. For that reason I had stopped drinking it while TTC and now during pregnancy. Can anyone else confirm this?

Hmmm... I think that they suspected that was why green tea seemed to have anticancer properties, but now they think it's more about the antioxidants.

Soy does have something in it that inhibits the formation of new blood vessels, which is why prostate and other cancers are sooo rare in Japan, since tumors have to create new blood vessels to grow past a certain size... and why Japanese businessmen who come to the US for a couple of years (and stop getting their daily dose of miso soup) often develop prostate cancer "all of a sudden."


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## tallulahma (Jun 16, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Anouk* 
I had read somewhere that green tea inhibits the body's absorption of folic acid. For that reason I had stopped drinking it while TTC and now during pregnancy. Can anyone else confirm this?


Quote:

ECGC, a catechin present in green tea in amounts about 5 times higher than in black tea, inhibits the enzyme dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR), which cancer cells need to be able to grow, and which is a well recognized target of anti-cancer drugs.
Scientists decided to look at ECGC after they realized the green tea catechin looks a lot like the cancer drug methotrexate, which prevents cancer cells from making DNA by inhibiting the DHFR enzyme. They discovered that ECGC kills cancer cells in the same way as the drug.
Although ECGC binds strongly to DHFR, which is essential in both healthy and cancerous cells, it does not bind as tightly as methotrexate, so its side effects on healthy cells are less severe than those of the drug.
ECGC's binding to DHFR may also explain why women who drink large amounts of green tea around the time they conceive and early in their pregnancy may have an increased risk of having a child with spina bifida or other neural tube disorders.
Women are advised to take supplements of folic acid when trying to conceive and during the first trimester (the first 3 months) of pregnancy because it is during this time period that the baby's neural tube is developing. Folic acid helps ensure normal development and protects against spina bifida by enabling the production of the enzyme DHFR. While a cup or two of green tea is unlikely to pose a problem, drinking large amounts of green tea could decrease the activity of DHFR, increasing risk of neural tube defects.
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?t...spice&dbid=146

Most sources I can find say not to drink large amounts of green tea during pregnancy. But I try not to consume large amounts of any ONE thing ever.... so I think one cup for me is fine.


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