Can pregnant women drink green tea?

Drinking some green tea on a regular basis is good for the body, but can pregnant women drink green tea? In fact, pregnant women can drink one or two cups of very light green tea one hour after a meal, because green tea can help adults and children absorb zinc. But they can't drink it often, let alone drink herbal tea, otherwise it will affect the development of the fetus. Pregnant women must have strict requirements on their diet, not only to ensure adequate nutrition, but also to ensure the health of themselves and the fetus, so that they can give birth to a healthy baby safely.

Can pregnant women drink green tea?

"Some people believe that drinking tea affects fetal development, causes fetal malformations, and affects children's intelligence. In fact, this is a prejudice." We found that zinc-containing foods in daily life include green tea, cocoa powder, hemp and seaweed. Among them, green tea (such as E'mei Zhuyeqing, Liu'an Guapian, etc.) has the highest zinc content. Drinking 2-3 cups of tea brewed with 3-5 grams of ordinary green tea every day can meet the body's zinc requirements. A medical research survey shows that babies born to pregnant women who drink tea also have higher levels of zinc in their blood.

However, scientists have discovered that many ingredients in green tea are good for the human body, including tea polyphenols, aromatic oils, minerals, proteins, vitamins and other nutrients. If pregnant women can drink 3 to 5 grams of tea every day, especially light green tea, it can enhance heart and kidney function, promote blood circulation, help digestion, and prevent pregnancy edema. Green tea is rich in zinc, which can promote fetal growth and development.

Can pregnant women drink too much green tea?

Scientists have conducted experiments using ferric chloride solution as a source of iron for human consumption and found that the iron absorption rate for those who drank plain water was 21.7%, while the absorption rate for those who drank strong tea was only 6.2%.

Although drinking light green tea is beneficial to pregnant women and fetuses, green tea also contains tannic acid, which can combine with the iron in the food of pregnant women to form a complex that cannot be absorbed by the body, and can also hinder the absorption of iron by mother and baby.

In addition, although the caffeine content in green tea is relatively low, caffeine has a stimulating effect. A higher concentration of caffeine not only increases the heart rate and urine output of pregnant women, thereby increasing the burden on the heart and kidneys of pregnant women, which can easily induce symptoms of pregnancy poisoning and is not conducive to the health of the mother. It will also stimulate the fetus to increase fetal movement and even harm the growth and development of the fetus. Therefore, scientists suggest that it is ideal for pregnant women to drink 3 to 5 grams of green tea every day.

Notes on drinking green tea:

Since green tea contains tannic acid, it will hinder the absorption of iron by mother and baby. Iron is very important for pregnant women to have a healthy pregnancy. So how can we make green tea beneficial to the health of pregnant women and fetuses without affecting the absorption of iron? Doctors suggest that pregnant women should drink light green tea one hour after a meal to solve this contradiction.

Judging from the above indicators, a moderate amount of green tea can bring healthy pregnancy conditions to pregnant women, but drinking too much strong green tea will have certain adverse effects. Therefore, pregnant women must master certain skills when drinking tea. The best way for pregnant women to drink tea is to brew and drink it with warm boiled water at about 80℃-85℃. Do not over-brew or leave it for too long, and it should not be too strong each time. It is better to drink it in multiple times.