Drinking tea is a wonderful option when looking to lower caffeine intake, increase anti oxidant consumption, and it may increase fertility potential. If you are looking for a fertility/pregnancy friendly beverage that has health benefits, no calories (unless you add sugar, honey or cream) and a lower or no caffeine content, tea may be the beverage for you! I’m a tea drinker! I never really liked coffee; even though everyone in my family drinks it. Did you know that tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world ? All “true” tea comes from the same plant called Camellia Sinensis. Any leaf, root, fruit or flower that comes from a different plant is considered an herbal tea.
CATEGORIES OF TEA
It is important to distinguish between real tea and herbal tea because the flavor, health benefits and nutritional characteristics vary from plant to plant.
Teas are divided into 4 major categories white, green, oolong and black. Generally these categories refer to how much the tea is oxidized. Oxidation (also called fermentation) is a natural process that changes the color and flavor of the leaf. To initiate oxidation fresh tea leaves are rolled either by hand or by machine in order to crack the surface of the leaf so that Oxygen will react with the plants enzymes.
Black teas are fully oxidized. Oolong tea is partially oxidized and green and white tea are unoxidized. Generally speaking the less a tea is oxidized the lighter it will be in both taste and aroma. Heavily oxidized teas will yield a dark rich reddish brown infusion; while the less oxidized teas will make a light yellow green infusion.
White tea is considered the healthiest because it virtually has no processing. White tea is harvested by hand and for only a few days each spring, so it is the most rare of teas. Different kinds of teas contain different antioxidants so drinking a variety of teas is beneficial. Although White and green teas are reported to have the highest levels of anti oxidants all true teas are rich in antioxidants and health promoting properties. Regardless of what tea you choose you really can’t go wrong.
HEALTH BENEFITS OF TEA
Tea is a great choice if you are looking for a low caffeine drink. A diet lower in caffeine is recommended for women who are trying to increase their fertility and this low caffeine diet is also encouraged during pregnancy. Black Tea has about a third of caffeine as a cup of coffee and green tea has less caffeine than a bar of dark chocolate.
- Coffee has about 135 mg of caffeine per cup.
- Black tea has 40 mg per cup
- Oolong has 30 mg per cup
- Green Tea has 20 mg per cup
- White tea has 10 mg per cup
- Decaf tea 5 mg per cup
- Herbal tea 0 mg per cup
I thought it was interesting that you can decaffeinate tea at home using only hot water. You simply infuse the tea leaves in hot water for 30 seconds then discard the water then add more hot water to the same leaves and steep again. This method will not eliminate caffeine completely, but will lower the caffeine level in your cup.
It is generally agreed that pregnant women and those trying to conceive should avoid consuming large quantities of caffeine. The March of Dimes advises women to limit their caffeine to less than 200 mg per day when trying to conceive. Remember there are other sources of caffeine that should be considered when estimating caffeine intake too – like coffee, chocolate, soft drinks and some medications.
So, if you would like to try a beverage that is low in caffeine, low calorie, and high in anti oxidants have a cup of tea! Hot or cold it is refreshing!
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