Rebecca Prescott is a nutrition expert. This is a personal blog and views expressed are her own.
How long could you go without coffee?
A new study has shown that a diet high in coffee can greatly decrease a woman's chances of becoming pregnant through in vitro fertilization (IVF).
The new study comes from Denmark and suggests that drinking more than five cups of coffee a day can reduce the ability to conceive by a remarkable 50%.
Drinking between one and five cups of coffee a day did not affect women's chance of pregnancy with IVF.
The National Infertility Association, Resolve, would suggest that coffee drinkers be cautious with their caffeine intake if trying to conceive. It says animal studies suggest that caffeine can prevent an egg from maturing properly, and since a less mature egg may not fertilise, it may affect your chances of becoming pregnant.
Unfortunately, this warning has been offered by previous studies on the subject. A study last year revealed that women should consider giving up coffee to maximise their chances of getting pregnant.
The report, published in the British Journal of Pharmacology, focuses on research from the University of Nevada School of Medicine and indicates that caffeine inhibits the movement of eggs along the fallopian tubes, thus reducing the chance of conception.
By studying mice, Professor Sean Ward's team found that caffeine inhibited the actions of specialised cells along the walls of the fallopian tubes that help carry the eggs from the ovaries to the uterus.
It perhaps should be highlighted that caffeine is not only found in coffee but also in tea, soda, chocolate, and some over-the-counter medications.
In the past couple of months, caffeine has been reported to lower skin cancer risk, to increase and reduce the risk of heart failure, and a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine linked coffee consumption to lower mortality rates.
It seems many of us are either dying for a coffee or simply living for the next coffee break.
What do you think? Could you go without your daily coffee fix?
Rebecca is editorial assistant of FoodBev.com
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