Folic Acid Absorbtion

[Vicsteur81]

I'm ttc and trying to cut down my tea intake based on the fact that I should definitely drink less if I do get a bfp. I'm on 3/4 cups a day so nothing drastic but still 1/2 cups would be better.

However I'm now wondering if I need to cut it out entirely as I've just been reading that tea can affect the absorption rate of folic acid. Does anyone know anything further, or have any thoughts? Info I can find is reasonably limited.

I'm aware I'm clearly spending too much time on google and I should probably stop it, but thought I'd get the Mumsnet hive mind view on this.

It's probably best to drink less, as they recommend to have 1-2 cups a day max I think it's something like that, don't quote me while you're pregnant.

I was drinking about 7-8 cups a day when I got pregnant and luckily went off tea completely which made me cut down.

Problem is all this thinking about ttc is making me want a cuppa

I presume I shouldn't take the folic acid with my tea, but hopefully a few cups during the day shouldn't affect it too much. I'm just not sure that is a habit I can completely kick!

Well good luck with everything. I hope it all goes well for you x

Hey. I'll jump in on this as I have some info. Tea and coffee do affect folic acid and iron absorption. I used to take iron tablets and my brother (pharmacist) recommended to make sure I left an hour window around taking the tablets before having a cuppa. Folic acid aids the absorption of iron so it's something I've taken for my anemia years ago.

I would definitely cut down as much as possible as, although it won't stop the absorption completely, it can make a significant enough difference and also because caffeine intake should be reduced if not cut out during pregnancy anyways.

I'll admit it's hard for me too. I have a psychological bond with coffee so I find it so hard to cut down. But I'm down to 2 cups....think of them as treats lol.

That's super helpful @Buns thank you. I'll work on cutting down and keeping my tea and folic acid consumption separate.