Lemongrass in Pregnancy - Is It Safe?

The short answer is - yes, lemongrass is safe to drink or eat in pregnancy.  Just be sure to only have in moderation.

The most recent research has been done in Brazil, with women, and showed that there were no negative impact on pregnancy, when women drank 3 cups of lemongrass tea a day.

MODERN RESEARCH ON LEMONGRASS AND PREGNANCY 

The only recent medical research to look at lemongrass, alongside many other herbs in pregnancy, was done in Brazil in 2016.  The paper is called - 'Use of Medicinal Plants with Teratogenic and Abortive Effects by Pregnant Women in a City in Northeastern Brazil.Rev Bras Ginecol Obstet. 2016 Mar;38(3):127-31. doi: 10.1055/s-0036-1580714. Epub 2016 Mar 29.'

In this study, lemongrass was the only herb that had no toxic impacts on pregnancy.  And the women who took part drank it regularly through pregnancy, limiting themselves to 3 cups a day as the maximum.

However, you may have read elsewhere that it is not safe.  This is because many websites/articles were written before this research was completed, and these warn lemongrass is dangerous based on a 2006 animal study.

This study gave mice 60 mg/kg body weight of citral essential oil.  This dose is highly concentrated compared to the amount you consume when drinking an infusion from a tea, or using lemongrass to cook a Thai dish. 

To put this into context, in each bag of our Morning Rescue tea, there is less than 1g of lemongrass. Of this, citrals will make up 0.7g at the very most, and you will be able to extract a maximum 0.28g of this into your tea (When you drink tea, you will get a maximum 40% of total compounds pulled from the leaf).

So, if you weigh 60kg (c. 9 stone), you'd need to consume 3.3g of citral per day to be similar to the mice in this research. This means drinking 12 cups of our tea a day.  If you weigh more than 9 stone, you'd need to drink even more, but 12 cups is a good guideline.

At this point, you may be putting yourself at risk, but at a more reasonable level - the more recent research, following actual women through their pregnancy, show that you should have no issue.

3 CUPS A DAY

The NHS advises that when pregnant or breastfeeding, you should drink more than 4 cups of any herbal tea a day. At this level, you will not be at any risk from drinking lemongrass in your tea, and it can actually help ease nausea.

So do this, and both the NHS and the most up to date research confirm that lemongrass has no toxic impact on pregnancy.

Hopefully this puts your mind at ease, and if you are suffering from morning sickness, you can consider drinking our Morning Rescue Tea with confidence.  It's an award winning blend of anti-inflammatory herbs to help ease morning sickness.

LEMONGRASS CAN EASE MORNING SICKNESS

So why would you want to drink lemongrass?  Essentially - it's been shown to really help ease nausea.  Extremely useful if you're in your 1st trimester and suffering from morning sickness.

Studies have shown that an essential oil found in lemongrass, citral, can help to ease nausea, after it is inhaled regularly for 2-4 days.   

OTHER THINGS THAT MIGHT HELP MORNING SICKNESS

If you're suffering with morning sickness, you can also try to...

- Eat little and often

Plain foods that are high in carbohydrate and low in fat are often easiest to digest.  It may be why you crave white carbs in the first trimester.

- Sleep

Tiredness can make nausea worse, so prioritise resting and sleeping as much as possible

- Eat/Drink cold food and drinks

Cold things don't trigger nausea as much as hot.  So it's well worth avoiding anything piping hot.  Luckily our Morning Rescue tea is delicious cold - you can even make a jug of iced tea to enjoy when you need.

- Stay away from trigger foods

Whether it's fish, or meat, follow your bodies instincts and stay away from anything with triggers your sickness.  

And if you are having severe symptoms, do contact your midwife or doctor.  Severe morning sickness is known as hyperemesis gravidarum and needs to be treated.  No dietary changes will help with this unfortunately, and you shouldn't try to cope alone.