Drinking Lots of Green Tea Could Wreak Havoc on Your Fertility

Green tea is loaded with a bunch of potential health benefits! It tastes delicious, is loaded with antioxidants, gives a nice energy boost and keeps your metabolism humming along. However, it could be negatively affecting something else. A study that is being published in the January 2016 issue of the Journal of Functional Food, has found that drinking too much green tea can have a negative impact on not only your fertility, but that of your fella's as well. For the purposes of the study, researchers exposed 48 Dropsophilia melanogaster fruit flies to various doses of the antioxidants, known as green tea polyphenols (GTP), that are found in your favourite warm beverage. They gave six flies of each sex four different amounts of GTP: zero, two and a half, five, and 10 milligrams. After, the flies were dissected and the water, lipid, and protein levels of the flies' reproductive organs were examined for toxicity.   [bctt tweet="Drinking Lots of Green Tea Could Wreak Havoc on Your Fertility"] They discovered that the female fruit flies given 10 milligrams of GTP had a "significant reduction in reproduction." The offspring of the flies given the highest doses were smaller as adults compared to the control group. These baby flies also had genital abnormalities. The males had testicle atrophy and the females had smaller ovarian structures and fewer mature eggs. Overall, the researchers said the effects of GTP were more noticeable in the female flies. So if you are looking to start a family, should you be worried? Well, it is important to take a moment and note that this study was done on a ridiculously small number of fruit flies and not on humans. However, the authors of the study say, "considering the highly conserved pathways between fruit fly and mammalian reproductive systems, the fruit fly is considered an excellent model system for the evaluation of drug toxicities." They are certainly used in a great deal of biomedical research. Basically, if you are pregnant or looking to become pregnant in the near future, it is always best to consult your ob-gyn on what foods are safe for you to consume. The good news is, if you are an occasional or moderate drinker of green tea, you are likely safe. Just like everything else, moderation appears to be the key. Are you a big green tea drinker? Are you a little concerned by these findings? Source: Women's Health