I found an interesting story on the Daily Mail website and BBC Health News today that I wanted to share, as many of my clients originally started taking the Herbalife products as part of a healthy lifestyle in preparation for pregnancy (we have several babies on the way in the next few months!!) For all current clients who are intending to get pregnant, and have some fertility issues, this may be of interest:
Just four cups of coffee a day could significantly reduce a woman’s chances of having a baby, research suggests. A study of hundreds of women revealed that those who drank four or more cups of coffee a day were 26 per cent less likely to have a baby.
The startling figures – revealed at a fertility conference – are comparable to the damage done by drinking, smoking or being overweight.Dutch researchers followed the health and habits of 9,000 women who had been through IVF treatment, including some 1,350 who fell pregnant naturally after the treatment ended.
The analysis showed those who drank four or more cups of coffee a day were 26 per cent less likely to have gone on to have a baby. Having three or more alcoholic drinks a week had the same effect, the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology’s annual conference in Barcelona heard today. Being overweight cut the chances of having a baby by 29 per cent, while smoking cut the odds by more than a third.
The study, carried out at Radboud University in Nijmegen, comes in the wake of research showing that even small amounts of caffeine can double a woman’s risk of miscarriage.
And from the BBC article some cautions about the findings:
However, some experts warned that the findings of the study had to be examined with caution. Fiona Ford, of the Centre for Pregnancy Nutrition, said: “Whilst the results of this study are interesting, there are evidently limitations to these findings as post IVF patients are a selective group who have already experienced problems with conception.
“There is nothing within this study that provides a reason to change guidance to patients.” She cited previous research which said there was no “convincing support” for the claim that coffee was linked to delayed conception.
Fertility expert Professor Bill Ledger, from the University of Sheffield, said caffeine could potentially have a mild, but toxic, effect on ovaries and sperm which could be a problem for those with poor fertility. But he added: “A lot of women can have 20 cups of coffee a day and get pregnant while falling off a log, but if you’re already subfertile it could push you over the edge. “It is only a problem if you are subfertile and you overdose.”
Zoe Wheeldon, from the British Coffee Association, said: “There is no need to cut caffeine or coffee out of the diet completely, scientific evidence demonstrates that for pregnant women or those trying to conceive up to 300mg of caffeine per day is perfectly safe.”
If you are looking to get fit and would like some recommendations for natural, effective products that will help you to safely manage your energy levels and reduce your reliance on caffiene to get you through the day, please feel free to contact us for a free consultation on how our Herbalife product range can help you. You may also want to check out this useful website!
If you are in Europe, you may also want to subscribe to the blog in preparation for the H3O launch – an energy drink which is caffiene free!
