QUESTION from a reader: You mentioned in your talk that there were a lot of other properties in coffee apart from caffeine that were detrimental to fertility. I’m interested in knowing a little more about that. Also, what about Swiss filtered decaf coffee?
ANSWER: We say no to coffee, even decaf coffee, because, caffeine aside, roasted coffee contains hundreds of chemicals, of which about half of those tested were found to be carcinogenic on rodents (Ames, Bruce N; Gold, Lois Swirsky [1998]. “The causes and prevention of cancer: the role of environment”. Biotherapy 11 [2–3]: 205–20). Also, many of the chemicals in coffee and decaf coffee irritate the stomach lining causing an increase of stomach acid, leading to digestive disorders, something you don’t want when trying to conceive. You want to be as easy on digestion as possible and maintain a slightly alkaline pH in your body. Coffee can also hamper the absorption of essential minerals and vitamins, such as magnesium, zinc, iron, potassium, and B’s, and it is also one of most heavily pesticide sprayed crops.
Harsh chemicals are used in the decaf process. With organic, Swiss water-filtered decaf, you are getting a much better product (the decaf process is not nearly as harsh), but for what I’ve listed above, coffee and decaf still have to go while trying to conceive and while pregnant. My theory is that if something has a chance of getting in the way of conception, it comes off the list, at least temporarily until after the baby is born.
All the best to you!
photo by: http://www.jacksonscoffeeandgelato.com/
