OT: green tea? safe for pregnancy

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Caffeine and possibly the ECGC in green tea, are both anti-inflammatory and oppose oxidative stress within the body, aiding in healing and protection. Many studies elucidate this for caffeine and a few new ones for ECGC in green tea, warranting more studies on the ECGC. However, caffeine is a two-edge sword. The blood sugar must remain adequate, as not going too long between meals, in order for this protection to be in place. Otherwise, caffeine becomes the opposite, oxidative, inflammatory, lending toward disease. The half life of caffeine is approx. 12 hours in a healthy individual. Need to keep blood sugar adequate a minimum of 12 hours. In someone with liver or thyroid issues, insulin resistance and estrogen dominance, the half-life may be up to 72 hours. Thus, one may have to keep blood sugar up for longer. If thyroid and progesterone are adequate in the pregnancy, it may be OK. Keeping in mind small frequent meals may be in order.The other side is that the tea may have a diuretic effect and there is concern of loss of B vitamins, namely folic acid with it's importance in preventing spinal cord defects.Darcy Hemstad, RN, BSNNutr Rev. 2012 Jan;70(1):41-56. doi: 10.1111/j.1753-4887.2011.00440.x.Therapeutic potential of green tea in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.Masterjohn C, Bruno RS.SourceDepartment of Nutritional Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA.AbstractNonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a constellation of progressive liver disorders that are closely related to obesity, diabetes, and insulin resistance and may afflict over 70 million Americans. NAFLD may occur as relatively benign, nonprogressive liver steatosis, but in many individuals it may progress in severity to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, fibrosis, cirrhosis, and liver failure or hepatocellular carcinoma. No validated treatments currently exist for NAFLD except for weight loss, which has a poor long-term success rate. Thus, dietary strategies that prevent the development of liver steatosis or its progression to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis are critically needed. Green tea is rich in polyphenolic catechins that have hypolipidemic, thermogenic, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities that may mitigate the occurrence and progression of NAFLD. This review presents the experimental evidence demonstrating the hepatoprotective properties of green tea and its catechins and the proposed mechanisms by which these targeted dietary agents protect against NAFLD.© 2012 International Life Sciences Institute.