White tea and pregnancy

Recent studies in cancer research show that the compound EGCG, found in white and green tea, can stop growth of cancer cells by inactivating an enzyme in the cancer cell, called dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR). However, the same enzyme is needed for folic acid utilization. If during pregnancy DHFR is inactivated by the EGCG, the fetus will not be receiving the full benefits of folic acid, which is the key nutrient in forming the neural tube.

Mostly it is advised that pregnant women should not drink more than 2 cups of white or green tea daily. Again, even this advice is a general one, since quantity of caffeine varies with type of tea and strength of the brew. If you would like to keep it on the safe side or drink that extra cup of tea, you can follow this decaffeinating tips:

1.    Boil some water, let it cool a bit and infuse the tea leaves as you normally would. Use less water though, since you are going to pour it away.
2.    Infuse the tea leaves only for about 40 seconds and pour out the infused water.
3.    Since most of the caffeine is extracted in the first 30-40 seconds, the leaves you just prepared contain only about 20% caffeine it normally would. Infuse the leaves as you normally would and voila! - you have just made yourself homemade decaf tea.

In time when caffeine should be avoided as much as possible, Rooibos Tea is a great caffeine free beverage, whose strong and aromatic taste makes it a natural substitute even for coffee.