While green tea has been studied for its numerous health benefits, there’s at least one area of interest that needs more attention.Can drinking green tea really enhance fertility?
Now that's one-hundred-thousand dollar question! There’s a lot of conflicting opinions and research results pertaining to that subject. We'll try to be fair and present both sides of issue.
Any tea made from Camellia sinensis bush contains caffeine. On bright side of teapot, green tea has only one-sixth to one-tenth of amount of caffeine that a similar amount of regular coffee contains.
For those of us who are trying to watch our caffeine intake, that’s a good deal. If you need a caffeine fix though, green tea isn't going to give you what you're looking for. Better start looking for nearest Starbucks.
How can drinking green tea increase fertility?
A study done by Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in Oakland, California revealed that chances of conceiving doubled for woman who daily drank more than one- half cup of green tea containing caffeine (American Journal of Public Health, 1998). Because this wasn't case for other tested caffeinated beverages, caffeine wasn't deemed causing agent. Some credit was given to possibility that polyphenols and hypoxanthine, compounds found in tea, resulted in a greater number of viable embryos, and increased maturation and fertilizability of oocytes.
Another conclusion of this study was that healthy lifestyle of many green tea drinkers, such as regular exercise and decreased smoking and fat intake, might also play a role in enhanced fertility levels of test subjects.