CAFFEINE & B-VITAMINS
By Joy Jones
Original Link:
Topic of the Week: Aspartame, Caffeine, B-Vitamins, & Insomnia
Submitted: 8/20/2008
Printed With Permission.
In my opinion, one of the biggest problems with the consumption of caffeine during pregnancy is that caffeine destroys B-vitamins, which are essential vitamins in pregnancy. According to Adelle Davis, nutritionist and author of Let's Have Healthy Children, "Since the B vitamins dissolve in water, they are readily lost in urine. The
stimulating effect of coffee and caffeine-containing soft drinks causes them to be washed through the body." (p. 98) She also says that a deficiency of Vitamin B-6, one of the B-vitamins, can cause or exacerbate nausea and vomiting, bad breath, headaches, dry, scaly skin, intestinal cramps, aches and cramping in the legs (especially at night), nervousness, insomnia, dizziness, irritability, dandruff, difficulty concentrating, hemorrhoids, anemia, and lowered resistance to infections. She found that all of these symptoms disappeared within 2 weeks of the volunteers being given the level of B-6 that they needed (p. 46).
It is very easy to have a B-vitamin deficiency in pregnancy, according to Ms. Davis, because the body's need for B-vitamins "increases immediately after conception" (p. 45). And most prescription prenatal vitamins have very low levels of B-vitamins. Most of them have less than 5 mg of most of the B-vitamins, while most pregnant women need 50-100 mg or more of the B-vitamins, varying from B vitamin to B vitamin, and varying from woman to woman. For example, in order to help alleviate the nausea and vomiting of pregnancy a pregnant woman needs to take "10-25 mg of B-6 every hour or two for a day or longer" (p. 47). Taking extra B-vitamins can also help with insomnia, anemia, and hemorrhoids in pregnancy.
However, it should also be noted that it is important to not take either the multi-vitamin or the extra B-vitamins after 3 PM, because the B-vitamins in them may interfere with sleep if taken at that time of day, while they can help alleviate nighttime insomnia, if they are taken before 3 PM. If you are working on alleviating nausea and vomiting with extra B-6 supplements, you can try continuing to take them every hour or two after 3 pm, and see if your sleep is affected when you do that.
If you do decide to switch from your prescription prenatal vitamins to a health-food-store brand, the "Whole Foods" brand of prenatal vitamins is one brand that contains more adequate levels of B-vitamins than the prescription brands do, in my opinion. However, if you decide not to switch away from your prescription brand, you can still supplement your prescription prenatal vitamin by taking that prescription multi-vitamin with breakfast, and add your extra B-vitamins with lunch. If you do this, be sure to find a brand of B-complex vitamin which has all the B-vitamins in the proper balance. I suggest that you avoid the "B-25" or "B-50" or "B-100" vitamins, in which all the B-vitamins are at the same level, since that is not a safe way to take B-vitamins. The proper proportion of B-vitamins is as follows: "For every 3 mg of vitamin B-1, there should
also be 3 mg of vitamins B-2 and B-6; 18 mg of pantothenic acid, niacinamide and PABA; 600 mg of choline and inositol, and 9-15 micrograms (mcg) of vitamin B-12 and biotin respectively." (p. 191) One of the "Whole Foods" B-Complex preparations is apparently balanced in a fashion similar to Ms. Davis' description.
The bottom line is that one of the main dangers of consuming caffeine - in coffee, tea, sodas, or chocolate - is in the fact that caffeine destroys B-vitamins, which are important nutrients in pregnancy. So even if you have only 1 cup of coffee a day, it can be destroying some of the B-vitamins that you are paying good money to put into your body, at the same time that your body's need for more B's has increased because of the pregnancy.
I recommend that you get a copy of Adelle Davis's book, Let's Have Healthy Children, from your local library, or through inter-library loan, and find out more about B-vitamins in pregnancy. I also recommend that you consult with your midwife regarding your questions about caffeine and B-vitamins.
Meet Joy Jones
The Brewer Pregnancy Diet
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