Could drinking too much green tea affect your ability to have kids?
Do you love your green tea? Well, perhaps you might want to slow the number of cups you’re drinking on the daily.
Go on the street and ask anyone if they drink green tea, chances are you’ll hit the nail 8 out of 10 times. That’s how much Singaporeans love their green tea and we can’t fault them either since the antioxidant-rich beverage does boasts of a wide range of health benefits.
However, a new study shows otherwise – or rather shows one downside of green tea. A study published in the Journal of Functional Foods examined how green tea would affect the development and reproduction of fruit flies. The fruit fly embryos and larvae were exposed to various doses of green tea polyphenols (antioxidants). Now those who were exposed to larger amounts took longer to develop and were more likely to starve or face stress from heat. In addition, the polyphenols displayed a “a negative impact on reproductive organs in both males and females,” such as causing the lack of mature eggs.
While it’s a good study to consider, since fruit flies share 75% of the disease genes in humans, it’s not all doom and gloom though. All that’s important to note here is that you can still indulge in your daily cup of green tea – just don’t overdo it. The results in the study were from large doses of polyphenols so if you’re not going to be drinking green like water than you would probably be on the safe side of things.
Remember, everything in moderation.
Tarandip Kaur
