Researchers have found a correlation between drinking diet soda and metabolic syndrome — the collection of risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes that include abdominal obesity, high cholesterol and blood glucose levels — and elevated blood pressure.The scientists gathered dietary information on more than 9,500 men and women ages 45 to 64 and tracked their health for nine years.Over all, a Western dietary pattern — high intakes of refined grains, fried foods and red meat — was associated with an 18 percent increased risk for metabolic syndrome, while a “prudent” diet dominated by fruits, vegetables, fish and poultry correlated with neither an increased nor a decreased risk.But the one-third who ate the most fried food increased their risk by 25 percent compared with the one-third who ate the least, and surprisingly, the risk of developing metabolic syndrome was 34 percent higher among those who drank one can of diet soda a day compared with those who drank none.“This is interesting,” said Lyn M. Steffen, an associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Minnesota and a co-author of the paper, which was posted online in the journal Circulation on Jan. 22. “Why is it happening? Is it some kind of chemical in the diet soda, or something about the behavior of diet soda drinkers?”

Decaffeinated coffee is not 100 percent caffeine free.That’s right, even though decaf coffee has far less caffeine in it than regular coffee, it has some — enough to give you a caffeine punch. It’s also enough caffeine to cause physical dependence, reports Reuters of a study from the University of Florida College of Medicine in Gainesville.”The concentration of caffeine in these brewed decaf coffees does have physiological and behavioral effects on a person,” lead study author Dr. Bruce A. Goldberger told Reuters.His team tested the caffeine content of 10 different brands of decaf coffee. Only Folger’s Instant had no caffeine, while the rest contained between 8.6 milligrams to 13.9 milligrams per 16-ounce cup.In addition, the team tested six samples of decaf espresso and six samples of decaf coffee from Starbucks. Again, they found a wide variation in caffeine content with the decaf espresso shots containing 3 milligrams to 15.8 milligrams of caffeine and the Starbucks decaf ranging from 12 milligrams to 13.4 milligrams of caffeine, reports Reuters.For comparison, how much caffeine is in regular coffee? Goldberger said an earlier study he conducted found caffeinated specialty coffees contain an average of 188 milligrams per cup. Obviously, decaf is a small fraction of this, but if people think they are drinking something that is caffeine-free, they may be surprised.And it’s enough caffeine to cause harm for those who have kidney disease, anxiety or are taking certain types of medication. “For people who need or want to abstain from caffeine, they should also abstain from decaf coffee,” Goldberger told Reuters.The study results were reported in the Journal of Analytical Toxicology.

word from Anne:

I’ve discussed this many times with many different patients over the years — decaf isn’t, really!

What patients need to know, particularly patients pursuing fertility, is that coffee use leads to vasoconstriction which means tightening of capillaries. This negatively impacts blood flow, especially to the extremeties. This is particularly impactful in terms of bloodflow to the reproductive organs. In speaking about reproductive extremeties, guys have an “outtie” and women have  an “innie”, if you get my drift   >>>…..and we all know what happens when a guy has lack of circulation to the reproductive organs.  Promoting circulation to this area is critical for the delivery of nutrients and hormones, the entire system depends on this flow. Egg quality and development are certain to be affected if the blood supply is disrupted.

                                                                                                                                                                                                 Additionally, caffeine creates an overly acidic environment which does not contribute in a positive way  to the reproductive environment.  If you are thinking that decaf is okay, think again.

Try substituting green tea, matte tea, or Celestial Seasonings brand Roastaroma. Green tea and matte both contain some caffeine, but also have antioxidant vitamins and are not damaging the way coffee is. Roastaroma is made basically from chicory root and has a rich, coffee-like flavor. These are great with almond milk or any of the other nut milks on your healthfood grocery store shelf, and will NOT impede fertility.