First, I want to thank Sarah Holland of The Fertility Focus Telesummit for making such an amazing, week-long event possible (in March, 2011). She hosted an impressive range of fertility experts who spoke on a variety of info-packed topics, attracting over 4,000 sign-ups from a variety of countries around the globe. I was honored to be among them, speaking on eating to optimize fertility. Look out for it next year!
Infertility Awareness Week is coming, Apr. 25 - 30. In honor, we will be sharing any event info and special deals on our Facebook page.
THE WORD ON CHAMOMILE TEA AND FERTILITY
I receive a lot of questions on a variety of food/fertility topics, and I thought I would anonymously share some of my answers here for the benefit of others. A few have written in and asked why chamomile tea is "off" our fertility diet list, and what if they have it just sometimes. Here's my answer:
When you’re not trying to conceive or are pregnant, chamomile has a lot of wonderful, positive qualities, such as aiding digestion, easing inflammation, alleviating menstrual cramps, and easing nerves. However, the reason it is on our “no” list is that it can potentially stimulate the uterus and cause miscarriage, and my rule is that if something can potentially get in the way of conceiving or carrying a baby to term, it should be eliminated (temporarily, at least).
That being said, however, with chamomile in tea form, you generally need to be drinking a LOT of it—every day, all day long—to inspire possible negative effect. A cup of chamomile tea here and there is probably just fine. Use your judgment. Do avoid any stronger medicinal version of chamomile, however, such as concentrated chamomile oil.
Something else to keep in mind: Every person reacts differently to various foods and substances. It’s hard to know how you, specifically, might react to a particular item, such as chamomile. Your uterus may be very sensitive or not at all. Unfortunately they rarely conduct medical studies on herbs because it’s not worth the cost (herbs are not regulated by FDA the way drugs are in the US). This is why we err on the side of caution with food choices while TTC and pregnant.
photo by: http://www.ifood.tv/blog/learn-to-speak-the-language-of-tea
2 comments:
What about Green teas and peppermint teas
Hi, there. Peppermint tea is fine. Although green tea is known for its healthy antioxidants, it does have caffeine, which should be avoided while TTC, so go for a de-caf version of green tea instead. Herb teas are best.
Take care! Cindy
Post a Comment