In this Article
Caffeine is the most widely used legal and unregulated psychoactive drug in the world. It is present in various food and beverages such as coffee, chocolate cake, brownie, tea and so on. Most of us give in to the temptation of these luscious foods. But do you know that too much of caffeine is not good for your health?
How Does Caffeine Affect Fertility?
By now, there must be several questions rushing through your head about caffeine and its effect on one’s fertility such as “Does it impact our health”? Does caffeine affect getting pregnant? Does caffeine affect male fertility? We have got all your answers covered below:
Effects on Male Fertility
Well, there are contradictory results from the research on the correlation between male fertility and caffeine intake. According to one study, caffeine has no effect whatsoever on semen quality or sperm count. Another study shows that heavy intake of coffee results in low success rate during fertility treatments such as IVF. To be safe, men are recommended to consume it moderately, especially if you have been trying for a child with your partner for some time or are underway a fertility treatment.
Effects on Female Fertility
Well, ladies, there are several means by which caffeine may affect your fertility and pregnancy state as explained below:
- Caffeine is known for causing muscular movement of the fallopian tube. The fertilization of eggs takes place inside the fallopian tube, once fertilized it moves the eggs to the uterus. So, a muscular movement induced by caffeine might affect the position of eggs, which might move the eggs to a place which is not ideal for a viable pregnancy.
- Researchers have found that due the above reason, caffeine reduces the probability of getting pregnant by 27 percent.
- There are medical results which indicate that caffeine users have a higher probability of miscarriages as compared to non-users.
How Much Intake of Caffeine Is Fine?
According to Dr. Ronald Gray, PhD, a professor in the Department of Population, Family and Reproductive health at the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, per day consumption should not cross over 300 milligrams of caffeine.
Amount of Caffeine Available in Some Common Food and Beverages
Did you know that not all types of coffee contain the same amount of caffeine? The amount of caffeine in a serving of coffee is determined by several factors such as the type of bean used, method of roasting, serving size and the method of brewing.
Caffeine-rich food includes soft drinks, tea, ice cream, kola nuts and chocolate. Even herbal products, medicines for a headache, cold and allergies contain caffeine. Give below is the list of caffeine available in some common food and beverages:
| Coffee | Caffeine |
| coffee, generic brewed | 95-200 mg |
| espresso, generic | 64 mg |
| coffee, Dunkin’ Donuts brewed | 211 mg |
| caffé latte or cappuccino at Starbucks | 150 mg |
| generic decaffeinated coffee | 2 mg |
| Starbucks brewed coffee | 330 mg |
| Tea | Caffeine |
| green tea, brewed | 25 mg |
| black tea, brewed | 47 mg |
| Lipton Brisk iced tea | 5 mg |
| instant tea unsweetened | 26 mg |
| black tea decaffeinated | 2mg |
| Soft drinks | Caffeine |
| 7-Up, Sprite | 0 mg |
| Coke | 35 mg |
| Diet Pepsi | 36 mg |
| Pepsi | 38 mg |
| coke diet | 47 mg |
| Mountain Dew | 54 mg |
| Energy drinks | Caffeine |
| Red Bull | 77 mg |
| 5-Hour Energy | 138 mg |
Cutting Back On Caffeine from Your Diet
If you are determined to cut down on your caffeine intake, then try doing so gradually to avoid withdrawal symptoms such as a headache or fatigue. You may start with diluting your beverages or brewing it for a shorter time. Alternatively, you may opt for half decaf or half brewed coffee.
How Can You Get By Without Having Caffeine Rich Foods?
Coffee and infertility are closely related in women. According to some studies , excessive dosage of caffeine and trying to conceive do not go hand in hand and often leads to miscarriages as well. Considering to go for caffeine-free lifestyle? Check out the below tips to get started.
- Start your day with protein-rich breakfast to have energy throughout the day
- Replace coffee with hot chocolate which has less amount of caffeine than coffee.
- Pour more milk in your coffee, so your coffee amount goes down.
- Go for flavoured carbonated water, when you crave for soda drinks.
- Avoid late afternoon or evening coffee routine as it interferes with your sleeping pattern.
It is clear from the above mentioned that one needs to take a moderate amount of caffeine to lower its impact on one’s health, especially, for expecting mothers. It’s highly risky, and hence consumption of caffeine is not recommended.
Also read: Caffeine Use During Pregnancy, Ectopic Pregnancy
