Matcha green tea and pregnancy | What is Matcha Tea

Monitoring woman?s health during pregnancy is one of the crucial things to do.? Some pregnant women are anxious when it comes to consuming certain type of food or drinks because they think it might harm the baby. According to recent studies, drinking an excessive amount of Matcha green tea (or any other drink containing caffeine) throughout pregnancy is not sensible. Why is that? Well, doctors and researchers have already proven that Matcha green tea (and green tea in general) contains caffeine. Excessive caffeine intake is generally not recommended during pregnancy because of its side effects.

Despite the numerous health benefits of Matcha green tea, it is not advisable to drink it when you are pregnant. Studies have shown that Matcha green tea contains EGCG or epigallocatechins which affects the utilisation of folate in the body. Folate is very vital throughout pregnancy because it will help in preventing birth defects. EGCG becomes harmful in pregnancy because it resembles the structure of methotrexate. The latter will dispose of cancer cells by bonding an enzyme called DHFR or dihydrofolate reductase. The folate pathway contains these enzymes and since the EGCG is like 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 are no conclusive studies which would indicate what amount of green tea during pregnancy becomes harmful or how much folate can be affected.

Some doctors advocate drinking moderate amounts of green tea or coffee. Caffeine is generally not recommended during pregnancy because it can lead to miscarriage and lower birth weight of babies. Drinking around six cups of coffee per day will definitely have an effect on your baby?s weight at birth. If you do not wish your baby to suffer, you will have to cut down your consumption or stop drinking coffee.

Although the health benefits of Matcha green tea are outstanding, it does contain caffeine and no study has yet established the correct quantity of green tea intake for pregnant women. If you are not pregnant and you do not have any problems connected to caffeine intake, you can drink as many tea cups as you prefer. Aside from avoiding caffeinated drinks, different prescription free medication should be also avoided during pregnancy because it can be harmful to your baby. Have your baby?s health and safety on mind before anything else.

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