Black Tea??

[Jayray]

I always thought it was just the caffeine that made black tea "bad." But the other day I saw it on a website about herbs during pregnancy listed as an "unsafe" herb.

Any thoughts about this? I had just started letting myself enjoy a cup a day. (And of course I think about all the women in heavy tea-drinking countries thinking they're probably not abstaining during pregnancy.)

[fertilemyrtle]

I've also read that there are some herbs to be careful with. However, tea is such a diluted form of the herb that unless you were drinking many many cupfuls, I don't think there's a problem.

I'm avoiding caffeine this first trimester, but even that is probably not a big deal if you're having just one cup a day. The study that shows a connection to miscarriage mentions over 200mg of caffeine a day, and one cup of tea has far less than that.

[Ola_]

Hmm, I'm curious why that source deemed it bad. I've been having either a cup of black tea or half a cup of coffee per day, just for caffeine limiting reasons. Well that and I don't want to have to pee even more often.

[Weevil]

I've never heard that before, and have actually seen black tea (especially decaf) repeatedly on "safe" lists.

I drink decaf black tea on a fairly regular basis, I'm not too concerned. I wouldn't even be concerned about regular (not decaf), I just try to limit my caffeine to when I feel like I actually "need" it (headache or particularly sluggish, etc).

[hollytheteacher]

I just read today that black and green tea are not recommend in pregnancy because the antioxidents are so high that they make it impossible for your body to absorb folic acid and that babies of women who drink black or green tea during their first trimester have an increased risk of neural tube defects.

[Weevil]

Originally Posted by hollytheteacher

I just read today that black and green tea are not recommend in pregnancy because the antioxidents are so high that they make it impossible for your body to absorb folic acid and that babies of women who drink black or green tea during their first trimester have an increased risk of neural tube defects.

This is interesting. I never heard this about black tea before. I'm assuming it inhibits absorption of folic acid when taken at the same time? It's not a good idea to have tea around the same time as your vitamin anyway since it can inhibit iron absorption. Also curious at the level of intake that would be needed to have this effect?

[Ola_]

Now one of the things I've read is about how dairy affects the antioxidants in tea. If I recall correctly it was something about how putting milk in your tea takes away the antioxidant benefits? My tea of choice is normally chai (with milk, although I don't put milk in other kinds of tea) so it would be interesting to know how this affects the theory.

[Jayray]

I have heard similar versions of these things. I have heard that green tea inhibits absorption of folic acid (never heard about black, though!). I have also heard that adding dairy to tea decreases its acidity (which Dr. Weil thinks is a good thing--that's who I heard that from)--but not about the antioxidant thing.

I just keep thinking about the countries where tea consumption is high--Russia, England, Japan, China, etc. I can't imagine women there not drinking tea during pregnancy and there is no baby-crisis (that I know of) in these countries as a result.

[TheDivineMrsM]

Originally Posted by Jayray

I have heard similar versions of these things. I have heard that green tea inhibits absorption of folic acid (never heard about black, though!). I have also heard that adding dairy to tea decreases its acidity (which Dr. Weil thinks is a good thing--that's who I heard that from)--but not about the antioxidant thing.

The studies done on green tea and folic acid were done with the equalivalent of 6 CUPS of green tea per day. I've never heard of black tea being "bad." If anything, I've heard it used as a lower-caffeine alternative to coffee. Unless your're chugging tea by the gallon, you should be ok.

Originally Posted by Jayray

I just keep thinking about the countries where tea consumption is high--Russia, England, Japan, China, etc. I can't imagine women there not drinking tea during pregnancy and there is no baby-crisis (that I know of) in these countries as a result.

ITA. Women have had healthy babies for thousands of years eating all kinds of diets. I don't deny myself much; I stick to the "everything in moderation" school of thought.

[cappuccinosmom]

I love my black tea.

I have been drinking it since I was nine, and never stopped when I was pregnant.

The only concerns my midwives had about it was that excessive caffiene can lead to low birthweight. I give birth to moose-babies, so, um, even if it shaved a full pound or two off them, it wouldn't be a problem.

[sh0rtchica]

Originally Posted by TheDivineMrsM

ITA. Women have had healthy babies for thousands of years eating all kinds of diets. I don't deny myself much; I stick to the "everything in moderation" school of thought.

that's me! I've just started picking up my tea drinking again now that I'm into my second trimester. I like to have a cup of black mango tea at work in the AM because it is so COLD in the office.

[Lady Lilya]

Originally Posted by hollytheteacher

I just read today that black and green tea are not recommend in pregnancy because the antioxidents are so high that they make it impossible for your body to absorb folic acid and that babies of women who drink black or green tea during their first trimester have an increased risk of neural tube defects.

Good thing I avoid folic acid then, huh?

I take folate itself, because I am one of the third of the population who doesn't properly convert the synthetic folic acid into the usable natural folate. I keep an eye on folate levels, and they have been fine. So if tea interferes with absorption of folate, it hasn't been a significant issue for me.

-----

My first pregnancy, I lost the taste for tea entirely. And DS had a folate-deficiency mid-line birth defect anyway. But I didn't know then about the difference between folate and folic acid, and about my genetic status. And I didn't know that birth control pills deplete folate to such an extent that it can take months to get up to a healthy pregnancy level. If I knew any of that, maybe it wouldn't have had to happen.