This is interesting...I've seen a lot of discussion of different risks and drawbacks associated with heavy caffeine use. I am male (and thus obviously not pregnant), so I can't comment about breast pain, but I have noticed that in general, on days in which I drink large amounts of caffeine, I notice aches and pains all throughout my body a lot more than I normally would. It is well-known that high doses of caffeine can greatly increase stress, and stress is not only universally hard on the body, but it also can make us feel pain and other uncomfortable sensations more intensely.
Do you have a link to the original study that this article was written about? I looked in google scholar and found a number of different articles relating to this topic, but most of them were substantially older than this article. At RateTea.net, we have been working on an article on tea and pregnancy, and this might be a relevant issue to add there if there are any solid studies on it. Women interested in reducing their caffeine intake during pregnancy might also want to read that article.
It is worth mentioning, for people who do feel a need for some sort of caffeine throughout the day, that tea offers a good low-caffeine alternative to coffee. The current scientific consensus, as we discuss in our article, and as is mentioned here in this article here on empowher, is that moderate (<200mg / day) caffeine intake during pregnancy is completely safe. Two cups of strong coffee can place you over this limit, but three or more cups of tea is safe, unless the tea is brewed exceptionally strongly. Also important, tea has also been shown to boost alertness equally well will coffee, even though it contains caffeine, because it also contains other alertness-boosting substances. See this study for more info about that.
I think the important thing here though is to practice moderation. An excess of anything is going to be unhealthy, whether you are pregnant or not. If you live a balanced lifestyle, without excess of caffeine or anything else, you have nothing to worry about!
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This is interesting...I've seen a lot of discussion of different risks and drawbacks associated with heavy caffeine use. I am male (and thus obviously not pregnant), so I can't comment about breast pain, but I have noticed that in general, on days in which I drink large amounts of caffeine, I notice aches and pains all throughout my body a lot more than I normally would. It is well-known that high doses of caffeine can greatly increase stress, and stress is not only universally hard on the body, but it also can make us feel pain and other uncomfortable sensations more intensely.
Do you have a link to the original study that this article was written about? I looked in google scholar and found a number of different articles relating to this topic, but most of them were substantially older than this article. At RateTea.net, we have been working on an article on tea and pregnancy, and this might be a relevant issue to add there if there are any solid studies on it. Women interested in reducing their caffeine intake during pregnancy might also want to read that article.
It is worth mentioning, for people who do feel a need for some sort of caffeine throughout the day, that tea offers a good low-caffeine alternative to coffee. The current scientific consensus, as we discuss in our article, and as is mentioned here in this article here on empowher, is that moderate (<200mg / day) caffeine intake during pregnancy is completely safe. Two cups of strong coffee can place you over this limit, but three or more cups of tea is safe, unless the tea is brewed exceptionally strongly. Also important, tea has also been shown to boost alertness equally well will coffee, even though it contains caffeine, because it also contains other alertness-boosting substances. See this study for more info about that.
I think the important thing here though is to practice moderation. An excess of anything is going to be unhealthy, whether you are pregnant or not. If you live a balanced lifestyle, without excess of caffeine or anything else, you have nothing to worry about!
August 3, 2010 - 11:38amThis Comment
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