Coffee and Your Fertility

I have to admit, that I enjoy drinking coffee: the aroma, the velvety taste and I even admire the artwork done on my well made cappucino at my favourite boutique cafe. I haven't always been a coffee drinker, I had always been a "Hot Chocolate Girl" and couldn't understand why so many people liked drinking coffee so much. I was offered my first taste of coffee by my boyfriend at the time. He would drink espresso, not just any ordinary espresso either, but the sophiscated kind with the fancy Italian names and he would always finish the last drop with a very satisfied look on his face.

I was curious and before long, I was hooked on this beverage called coffee. Yes, I was actually hooked on this hot beverage, that I had ignored for all these years! I couldn't believe it and neither could my family who are very health conscious. Now that I drank coffee, I could have a "real" coffee catch up with my friends and not be the odd one out with the small glass of lonesome hot chocolate on the side. However, I do feel guilty drinking coffee at times, despite the fact that I have drastically cut down my consumption of this tasty hot drink.

There are so many reasons why people drink coffee, the main reason is that it is a stimulant that keeps coffee drinkers alert in the morning or late in the afternoon. Some people are even addicted to coffee and state that they can't function without drinking at least 3-4 cups of coffee daily. However, regardless of the reason why people drink coffee, the reality is that they should not be drinking it. There are more negatives than positives to drinking coffee, the most obvious is the side effects on your health. In particular, for women and men coming to El'ohim Clinic-FertilityCare, there are many reasons why drinking coffee and caffeine in general, affects their fertility. For men it affects their sperm production and for women it affects their cervical mucus production, obviously this can reduce or even eliminate their chances of conceiving. Drinking coffee on a regular basis can even heighten a couple's chances of having a miscarriage. There is a lot more to this and sometimes couples sit in disbelief and resistance, that the ordinary cups of coffee they have everyday, several times a day can play a contributing role to their infertility.

I am not an advocate of coffee lovers going "cold turkey" on their coffee consumption. I always suggest that it should be a gradual process, until they are physically and psychologically prepared to give up coffee completely. This is to prevent the caffeine withdrawal symptoms, that some coffee drinkers experience. I need to point out, that drinking de-caffeinated coffee is not the same as completely eliminating coffee out of the diet. Sorry, no cheating :) When a coffee is labelled as de-caffeinated, it does not mean that there is no caffeine, it just simply means that the caffeine present in the coffee is not at a level that is considered as "regular" coffee.

There are alternatives to coffee, such as drinking herbal teas that taste good and are good for you. I also recommend a particular women's health herbal tea for clients, it assists with promoting fertility, preventing miscarriage, assisting a women to recover after giving birth and helps with general women's health issues such as PMS (Pre-menstrual Syndrome). Eliminating coffee gives the body an opportunity to cleanse the body of the built up toxins.

Think about it, coffee plantations are sprayed with all sorts of pesticides and herbicides and who knows what else. Do you really want that absorbed into your bloodstream or affect the health and development of your unborn child? Yes, there are women who continue to drink several cups of coffee on a daily basis, despite the fact that they are pregnant. There is a long list of other side effects relating to coffee consumption, such as joint inflammation but for the purpose of this blog focusing on fertility and women's health, I will not elaborate further.

I strongly recommend that you drink more water, have fresh fruit juices or some other healthy and natural alternative, if you don't like hot beverages or herbal teas in particular. Your body will be healthier. As I always tell my clients: You need to have good general health, before you even start to think about taking action to have good fertility to conceive.

I wish you good health of body, mind and spirit.