Ways to Cut Down Caffeine Intake during Pregnancy

Nobody can deny the pick me up properties of caffeine. It can blow away your worries, refresh your mind and make you feel happy and alert and is an excellent remedy for flu and cold. Unfortunately it has negative aspects too which make it unsuitable for use by pregnant women. Most doctors advise pregnant women to strictly limit their caffeine consumption during pregnancy to about two hundred mg every day. This is roughly equal to two cups of instant coffee. Here is what you should know about limiting your caffeine intake. In this articleHow Caffeine Affects Pregnancy?Caffeine Content in Commonly Available Food GroupsHow to Motivate Yourself to Control Caffeine Intake?How Caffeine Affects Pregnancy?Caffeine is a powerful diuretic and it flushes away calcium and other vital nutrients out of the body. After consuming a lot of caffeine you will also feel the urge to urinate a lot and this is very uncomfortable as pregnancy will anyway have you rushing to the toilet pretty frequently.You will also be probably experiencing a lot of mood swings and hypertension during pregnancy and the properties of caffeine will only make these worse as it is a stimulant.Caffeine has been known to enter the placenta though researchers are not entirely sure about how it affects the unborn foetus. According to medical research Heavy consumption of caffeine has been known to increase the chances of miscarriage by about 5%.Caffeine Content in Commonly Available Food Groups1 cup of instant coffee contains one hundred milligrams of caffeine1 cup of filter coffee contains one hundred forty milligrams of caffeine1 cup of tea contains seventy five milligrams of caffeine1 can of soft drink or cola contains forty milligrams of caffeine (soft drinks and colas are not recommended during pregnancy)1 can of energy drink contains eighty milligrams of caffeine (energy drinks are not recommended during pregnancy)150 gram of plain chocolate contains fifty milligrams of caffeine150 gram of milk chocolate contains twenty five milligrams of caffeineYou can consult your doctor about how much should be your caffeine intake per day and which caffeinated substances are safe to include in diet during pregnancy.How to Motivate Yourself to Control Caffeine Intake?Research has already proved that caffeine is an addictive substance and once you start consuming it daily it is not very easy to stop. When you are pregnant the resulting discomfort in your body and anxiety in your mind makes it even more difficult to stop or cut down on your caffeine intake.Here are some tips which will help you motivate yourself.Remember that you are doing it for the love of your baby and this will automatically motivate you.Reward yourself by mentally congratulating yourself every time you opt for a healthy drink instead for the regular cup of filter coffee.Try to discover what motivates you about the love for caffeine. If you enjoy the aroma and taste of coffee then invest in a richly textured decaf brew. Confirm with your doctor if you can take decaf brew.If it is the stimulating property of caffeine that you like then try getting the kick from complex carbohydrate and proteins.Nuts, feta and parmesan cheese, raisins and crackers are very good alternatives that can give you an instant burst of energy and a shot of positive stimulus.If you are used to consuming a lot of caffeine regularly then cutting it down drastically will make you feel irritated and tired. Try cutting down your caffeine intake gradually and persuade your body gently to decrease its caffeine dependency.