Are Herbalife Teas Safe for Pregnancy?

By Dogus Dilan, Herbalife Independent Wellness Coach  ·  Last updated 11 August 2026

There are two separate considerations here, not one. First, caffeine: Instant Herbal Beverage provides 87.5mg per serving, and NHS guidance sets a 200mg daily limit from all sources during pregnancy, so one serving uses a significant share of that budget. Second, and less commonly discussed: the green tea in this blend contains catechins that can measurably reduce folic acid absorption — relevant because folic acid is specifically critical during pregnancy for preventing neural tube defects. Neither of these makes the tea dangerous outright, but both are worth knowing before deciding how it fits into your day, and this is a conversation worth having with your midwife or GP.

The Caffeine Limit, in Real Terms

NHS guidance is to stay under 200mg of caffeine a day during pregnancy, from every source combined — coffee, tea, chocolate, and supplements alike. At 87.5mg per serving, one cup of Instant Herbal Beverage already uses close to half that daily allowance on its own.

This isn’t unique to Herbalife’s tea — it’s the same maths that applies to any caffeinated drink during pregnancy. The point is simply that it needs to be counted, not assumed to be negligible because it’s labelled as a wellness product.

The Less-Known Consideration: Green Tea and Folic Acid

This is worth knowing specifically because it rarely comes up. A controlled pharmacokinetic study in healthy volunteers found that both green and black tea reduced peak serum folate concentration by around 27-40%, depending on dose — the proposed mechanism is that catechins (particularly EGCG, the dominant one in green tea) structurally resemble folate closely enough to competitively interfere with its absorption and metabolism. A separate cohort study, the Japan Environment and Children’s Study, investigated the same relationship specifically in pregnant women.

It’s important to be precise about how strong this evidence is: the mechanism and the pharmacokinetic effect are well-documented, but larger population studies on actual serum folate levels during pregnancy have produced mixed results — one large study of over 1,700 women found no clear association, while smaller studies have. This isn’t settled science with a single clean answer, but given how critical folic acid is for neural tube development, it’s a genuine reason to be thoughtful about how much green tea (from any source, not just Herbalife) you’re having, particularly if it’s on top of your prenatal folic acid supplement rather than instead of it.

What This Means Practically

Take your prenatal folic acid supplement as prescribed, and don’t rely on tea timing to avoid this — it’s simpler to keep total green tea intake moderate than to try to time it around your supplement. If you’re already using Instant Herbal Beverage and are pregnant or planning to be, this is genuinely a good discussion to have with your midwife or GP alongside the caffeine question, rather than deciding based on general guidance alone.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Reading

Sources & References

• NHS — “Foods to Avoid in Pregnancy.”
• “Influence of Green and Black Tea on Folic Acid Pharmacokinetics in Healthy Volunteers: Potential Risk of Diminished Folic Acid Bioavailability.” ResearchGate
• Otake, M. et al. (2018). “Association Between Serum Folate Levels and Caffeinated Beverage Consumption in Pregnant Women in Chiba: The Japan Environment and Children’s Study.” Journal of Epidemiology. PMC
• Herbalife Nutrition — official UK product label, Instant Herbal Beverage with Tea Extracts.

This is a sensitive topic, and this article is general information only, not personal medical advice. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, please speak to your midwife or GP before making decisions about caffeine or supplement intake.