Green tea and reflexology

[1Abeer]

hi! I'm so glad to be able to finally find a place where questions are answered by doctors. I'm 26 yrs old and my husband is 32 we got married 4 years ago. didn't try any birth control methods, instead, have been trying to conceive. my test results came clear thank God my husband's results were also clear, doc said he just needs to raise his sperm count and motility level for which he gave vitamin E and zinc supplements.
i gained a little weight a few months back am trying to shed it off. heard about reflexology but read somewhere that certain areas should not be massaged if one is trying to conceive. and i want to consume green tea daily for weight loss purposes but again, i read that it contains caffeine, and an ingredient which doesn't let folic acid be absorbed in the body.
so basically, my question for now is, how much green tea can i consume daily? and how much folic acid supplement can i take daily? can i increase my 5 mg folic acid into a double intake as in one in morning one at night? also, can i practice reflexology regularly? all these with ttc. Thanks a lot!

[John Kim, M.D.]

Yes, indeed green tea has caffeine and so you should not drink any green tea or anything that has caffeine in it. It has been found that women can increase their risk of miscarriage if they take more than 200mg of caffeine. I would avoid it completely.

5mg of folic acid daily should completely adequate even for those who have history of neural tube defects.

Reflexology should only be done on you by someone who understand fertility and reflexology ie a specialist in reflexology for women with fertility issues because there are indeed area you do not want to stimulate if you are trying to get pregnant or pregnant.

Exercising is a complicated answer.  If you are thin, you should minimize your exercising to avoid wait loss and ovulatory dysfunction. If you exercise too much that can affect your fertility, so no marathons or long running. Walking 20-30 minute a day should be fine and try to get your heart beat above 110 beats per minute.
For obese patients, weight loss to correct your body mass index between 20-24 is the optimum and so you can lose weight to optimize your health so exercising strenously would be helpful until you reach your target BMI.

I would suggest that you see a specialist called a Reproductive Endocrinologist and Infertility specialist if you have not done so yet.

[1Abeer]

Thanks again! another question please. can i start taking a vitamin E supplement daily, as i read it's a good source of omega 3 fatty acid useful in conceiving. is that correct? should i start taking it? i also read this :
'Vitamin E should not be taken together with inorganic iron supplements as it may destroy the vitamin, while organic iron, such as ferrous gluconate and ferrous fumarate does not affect the vitamin.'
so can it be taken alongside folic acid supplement? thank you!

[1Abeer]

Thank you very much indeed. ur reply is very helpful. i have minimized my intake of green tea to just once in a while instead of 3 times daily. and walking 20-30 mins seems convenient where i was considering yoga and reflexology. thanks again!

[1Abeer]

also, how much exercise can i do while ttc? and i forgot to mention that my doctor put me on clomid in the beginning of this year. i took it for 4 months, no result as yet. and tests are clear, thankfully.