Is Caffeine Decreasing Your Fertility?
photo credit: rwp-roger
The simple fact of the matter is, what we put into our bodies can make a difference. While cutting out one thing from our diet may or may not have the dramatic impact we’re looking for, each step is a step to better health.
Take caffeine for example. Studies have shown that women who drink one to one and a half cups of coffee each day had up to a 50% reduction in fertility. Three cups a day has been linked to early miscarriage (new evidence shows 200 milligrams as the limit). Yes, there are some women who conceive while drinking multiple cups of coffee a day. Yes there are women who drink it during their entire pregnancy. But remember that each of our bodies are so very different and what affects one women will have no affect on the other.
Some basic facts about caffeine that could effect fertility:
- The liver has to convert caffeine so that it may be passed in your urine. Your liver also has to deal with excreting your hormones. If the liver is overworked in one area, it can’t function properly.
- Caffeine increases the excretion of calcium. Calcium helps build strong bones and the bones of a baby.
- It has also been shown to dehydrate your body, something you need to keep your system in tip top shape.
- Coffee in particular is hard on your adrenal glands – your adrenal glands control your sex hormones.
While it may seem to some that I’m on the extreme side of things here when I say to cut out caffeine completely, I’ve also realized it’s a relatively easy thing to do. I used to be a soda junkie, then turned coffee junkie when my parents owned a coffeehouse. I had at least one large cup per day (by the way, one cup is equal to about 8oz, so if you’re drinking out of a 16oz cup like I did, it’s two cups) and a lot of times two. Caffeine is the most used drug in America, and if you’re addicted like so many others, start slow and cut back a little at a time. Get a small instead of the grande, or ask for half decaff until you can cut it out completely. For those of us who don’t drink coffee, you still need to be careful about sodas, chocolate, tea, and medications.
And you know, I think it’s not only the caffeine in the drinks, but the sugar and flavorings as well. That’s a lot for your body to deal with! Sugar causes your body to lose excess amounts of vitamin B during digestion and also causes a spike in insulin, which effects your endocrine/hormone system. And while this may not be the one issue between you and fertility, is it not worth the extra effort?
How much caffeine do you normally drink each day? Is it something you could give up?
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About donielle
Donielle is an amateur herbalist and natural momma to two littles (with another babe in heaven) after struggling with infertility. She has a passion for nourishing nutrition, natural living, and spreading the word on how food truly affects our health. Her blog Naturally Knocked Up focuses on fertility and reproductive health and her book on natural fertility will be available in June 2012. She also runs a local blog (Grand Rapids Natural Living) and is active the local community in order to provide the area with resources and information for natural families.
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I developed a caffeine addiction during my second semester of college. I lived with a girl who was always chugging either diet coke or coffee, so I picked up a lot of her bad habits. That summer, I realized what had happened as I began enduring excruciating headaches. It scared me so much that I quit cold turkey! I continued to drink coffee occasionally (I love plain lattes), but a couple of years ago I gave it up completely for health reasons (even caffeine-free coffe is highly acid-forming). If I drink caffeine now, I feel so, so sick.
Since I love the flavor of coffee, I recently began experimenting with Teeccino. I LOVE IT!! Have you tried it? It’s an “herbal coffee” that’s full of minerals and no caffeine. I love it with some lightly warmed raw milk or in a “frappuccino” with raw milk and some stevia. Heaven!
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One more thing: do you have a link or reference for that caffeine-infertility connection? I’d like to be able to pass it on!
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I was horrible with caffeine when I was younger. I had to stop drinking my diets cokes because all the junk in them were making my hands and feet go numb and lose sensation. Then my parents owned a coffeehouse and I quickly replaced the habit with coffee! I still love my coffee, but never drink it everyday, and never while I’m trying to conceive or while pregnant. The risks just aren’t worth it. I’ll have to look into teeccino – never heard of it!
Some of the info I’ve got for this post were out of a couple books, here’s the link to a study published earlier this year(broken so it’ll fit)
http://ckp.kp.org/newsroom/national
/archive/nat_080121_caffeine.html
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I’m not a coffee fan… so I drink 0 cups a day. I don’t like soda either.
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Crystal – good for you. And like I’ve always been told about smoking – never start!
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I’m catching up on some of your old posts.
Giving up caffeine is going to be hard for me. I do love my cup of coffee a day and when I don’t have that I drink black tea so I don’t get a headache. But I like that you said that you will drink it occasionally, just not when ttc or pregnant. If I know it is only for a time, I think I can handle it. I really should give it up and become just a social coffee drinker when not ttc. *sigh* I miss it already!!
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What about Yerba Mate? Is that ok?
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donielle Reply:
March 18th, 2011 at 12:29 pm
@Beth, From what I understand, Yerba Mate is fine.
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Carissa Reply:
April 11th, 2011 at 7:31 pm
@donielle,
In _Caffeine Blues_, Stephen Cherniske writes that yerba mate is also a no-no, as it is “another herbal source of caffeine” (123). Yikes — caffeine is in everything!
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donielle Reply:
April 11th, 2011 at 9:12 pm
@Carissa, Good to know! Thanks for the info.
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This was really informative. Thank you so much. Thankfully, I have not had much caffeine within the last two weeks, and I’m happy about it. Though I wasn’t consuming as much as some, I still find cutting it out almost completely has improved my sleep.
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