Caffeine use during pre-pregnancy and pregnancy remains controversial. The current guidelines offer a safe range of 0-300 mg/ day. But, there have been studies that have shown ill effects on women at lower doses. Some women are simply more sensitive to caffeine and so to be on the safe side let’s set a more conservative limit of 0-100mg/ day. This more conservative guideline will lessen the chance of more sensitive women reacting to the stimulant and lower the risk of dehydration through caffeine’s diuretic properties. The following chart shows the caffeine content of popular beverages.
12-ounce beverage | milligrams |
Red Bull (8.2 oz) | 80.0 |
Jolt | 71.2 |
Pepsi One | 55.5 |
Mountain Dew | 55.0 |
Diet Coke | 45.6 |
Dr. Pepper | 41.0 |
Diet Dr. Pepper | 41.0 |
Pepsi-Cola | 37.5 |
Diet Pepsi | 36.0 |
Coca-Cola Classic | 34.0 |
Snapple Flavored Teas (Reg. or Diet) | 31.5 |
Canada Dry Cola | 30.0 |
Nestea Sweet Iced Tea | 26.5 |
Nestea Unsweetened Iced Tea | 26.0 |
Lipton Diet Green Tea with Citrus (16.9 oz) | 23.0 |
Slim-Fast Chocolate Flavors | 20.0 |
Lipton Brisk, All Varieties | 9 |
Canada Dry Diet Cola | 1.2 |
Sprite | 0 |
7-Up | 0 |
8-ounce Beverage | milligrams |
Coffee, Drip | 115-175 |
Coffee, Brewed | 80-135 |
Coffee, Espresso (2 ounces) | 100 |
Coffee, Instant | 65-100 |
Tea, iced | 47 |
Tea, brewed, imported brands (avg.) | 60 |
Tea, brewed, U.S. brands (avg.) | 40 |
Tea, instant | 30 |
Tea, green | 15 |
Hot cocoa | 14 |
Coffee, Decaf, brewed | 3-4 |
Coffee, Decaf, instant | 2-3 |
Caffeine isn’t the only chemical compound in caffeinated beverages that you should be worried about. Another reason to remove sources of caffeine is that other compounds in the beverages interfere with key nutrient absorption. Soda pop contains phosphates that decrease iron absorption. Coffee and black tea contain tannins which interfere with the absorption of manganese, calcium, magnesium and iron (from non-heme sources of iron, plants, but not from heme sources of iron, red meat). Herbal teas do contain some tannins, though less than caffeinated teas. You can reduce the affect of tannins on iron absorption two ways. The first is by adding lemon to your tea; vitamin C enhances iron absorption. The second is to be careful not to oversteep your tea. You may have noticed that oversteeped tea tastes bitter; this bitter taste is due to tannins. Reduce your steeping time and you will reduce the amount of tannins in your tea.
The more caffeinated drinks you are consuming the longer it may take you to gradually remove yourself from this habit. You can lessen your chances of experiencing withdrawal symptoms, such as headaches, shakiness and tiredness (remember, stimulants are drugs) by gradually lowering your daily intake over a week or two and replacing your usual caffeinated beverage with a healthier option. If you are addressing your caffeine intake before you get pregnant then you have the luxury of slowly removing yourself from caffeine. If you are already pregnant then you should immediately switch over to non-caffeinated choices. You can weather the withdrawal symptoms by staying hydrated and resting with a cold compress across your forehead to help with the headaches. Filtered water, seltzers or herbal teas are your best choices. Herbal teas are truly ‘caffeine free’ and have not undergone a decaffeination process, which always leaves some caffeine behind.
Do not take any medication to counteract the withdrawal symptoms unless approved by your doctor.
Angela Pifer, MSN, CN Seattle Nutritionist
www.NutritionNorthwest.com Enjoy the day to day support, structure and accountability that will finally help you meet your health goals!
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Categories: Pregnancy
