Drug & supplement interaction

Green Tea + Birth control pills

Birth control pills brand name: Birth control pills.

Moderate Interaction
Medically reviewed by · Updated September 2026
The bottom line Moderate

Green Tea has a moderate interaction with Birth control pills. Theoretically, concomitant use might increase the effects and adverse effects of caffeine found in green tea.

Read the full interaction report
SeverityModerate
LikelihoodProbable
EvidenceB
What do Severity, Likelihood & Evidence mean?
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Interaction report

Green Tea and Birth control pills

Here is the interaction we found between these two, with the evidence behind it.

Moderate

CONTRACEPTIVE DRUGS

Why this applies to Birth control pills

Birth control pills falls under CONTRACEPTIVE DRUGS — the group Green Tea interacts with.

Theoretically, concomitant use might increase the effects and adverse effects of caffeine found in green tea.
Green tea contains caffeine. Oral contraceptives can decrease caffeine clearance by 40% to 65%.
Severity Moderate Likelihood Probable Evidence B

Interaction has not been documented in well-controlled studies, however, the interaction has been demonstrated in some small human studies or in controlled animal studies in conjunction with multiple case reports..

Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS
Dr. Brian Staiger explains PharmD, Clinical Pharmacist

Here's a small twist worth knowing: this interaction isn't really about your birth control pills changing, it's about the caffeine in your green tea. Birth control pills slow down how fast your body clears caffeine, by roughly 40% to 65%. That means the caffeine from your tea can hang around longer and hit a little harder than usual.

In everyday terms, you might notice more jitteriness, a faster heartbeat, trouble sleeping, or a restless, wired feeling, especially from concentrated green tea supplements rather than a casual cup. Your pills still work fine for preventing pregnancy. If caffeine seems to bother you more than it used to, just ease back on the amount, and check with your pharmacist or doctor if you have questions.

Contact Dr. Brian directly if you have additional questions on this interaction
References
  1. Haller CA, Jacob P 3rd, Benowitz NL. Pharmacology of ephedra alkaloids and caffeine after single-dose dietary supplement use. Clin Pharmacol Ther 2002;71:421-32. PubMed

What These Ratings Mean

Every interaction above is graded three ways — here’s the key to each label.

Severity how clinically significant the interaction is
Major

Clinically significant. Avoid the combination, or use only under close professional supervision.

Moderate

Usually worth avoiding or managing — may need monitoring, a dose change, or timing apart.

Minor

Generally not serious. Be aware of it and mention it to your pharmacist.

Likelihood how strong the evidence is that the interaction actually happens in people
  • LikelyWell-controlled human studies have demonstrated the likely existence of this interaction.
  • ProbableInteraction has not been documented in well-controlled studies, however, the interaction has been demonstrated in some small human studies or in controlled animal studies in conjunction with multiple case reports.
  • PossibleInteraction has been documented in animal or in lab research, or the interaction has been documented in humans but is limited to case reports or conflicting clinical research exists.
  • UnlikelyInteraction has been demonstrated in animal or in lab research but has been shown not to occur in humans.
Evidence the quality of the studies behind the rating (graded A–D)
  • AHigh-quality meta-analysis (quantitative systematic review).
  • BCase-control study.
  • CConsensus.
  • DAnecdotal evidence.

These ratings are for information only. Never start, stop, or otherwise change your therapy before speaking with your provider.

Keep it in perspective

Green Tea Also Interacts With Other Medications

Green Tea has 13 major, 904 moderate, 375 minor known drug interactions in our database — the Birth control pills one above is one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Major 13 Moderate 904 Minor 375 No known interaction 1,538 (incl. Birth control pills)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Green Tea

Covers the 2,830 medications we’ve checked against Green Tea. Pick one to open its full report.

From our Q&A

Questions About Green Tea or Birth control pills

These are real questions from readers, answered by the pharmacists at HelloPharmacist — written by a person, not generated from a database. Each one covers Green Tea or Birth control pills, not necessarily both, but if one is close to what you were about to ask it will usually go further than a database entry can:

Not quite your question? Ask our pharmacists directly — it is free, there is no account required, and answers usually come back within 24 hours.

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Birth control pills

This page covers Green Tea only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Birth control pills page lists 46 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), St. John's Wort (major), Alfalfa (moderate), Anise (moderate) and Black Tea (moderate).

By severity: 2 major · 25 moderate · 19 minor.

Open the Birth control pills interaction page

One more smart check

Taking Green Tea as Part of a Dietary Supplement Product? Check It for Interactions

We hold 9,084 real supplement products containing Green Tea, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Green Tea. Your product may carry other ingredients that interact with Birth control pills too, on top of Green Tea — and those would not show on this page. Find your product and we’ll check every ingredient on its label:

How much people look this up

Where Green Tea and Birth control pills Sit Against Everything Else

Out of every supplement and medication people look up on HelloPharmacist, here is where these two land this week — and which way each has been moving.

Supplement Green Tea
Top 5%

#25 of 1,452 supplements looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today
Medication Birth control pills
Top 25%

#462 of 2,830 medications looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today

Position among everything looked up on this site, not a measure of how commonly either one is used or how important it is. A supplement can climb this list because of a news story. It counts every request to the page, automated ones included, and nothing here identifies anyone.

Supplement

About Green Tea

What is Green Tea?

Green Tea
  • Antioxidant support
  • Weight loss
  • Heart health
  • Mental alertness
  • Cancer risk reduction

Green tea is a popular beverage rich in antioxidants called catechins, and drinking it in normal amounts is considered safe for most people. Concentrated green tea extracts are a different story—they may help modestly with weight or heart health for some, but high doses have been linked to rare liver problems. Talk to your pharmacist or doctor before taking green tea supplements, especially if you have liver concerns or are pregnant.

Read the full Green Tea monograph & all interactions
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Green Tea

Browse every other medication we’ve checked against Green Tea — both the ones with a known interaction and the ones without. Select any drug for the full detail.

13Major
904Moderate
375Minor
1,537No known interaction
13 Major 904 Moderate 375 Minor 1,537 No interaction
Major

13 interactions

Moderate

904 interactions

Showing 60 of 904 moderate interactions — see all 904 on the Green Tea page.

Minor

375 interactions

Showing 60 of 375 minor interactions — see all 375 on the Green Tea page.

No interaction 1,537 drugs checked — show the list

We also checked Green Tea against these medications and found no known interaction in our sources. Open any page to confirm.

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 1,537 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Green Tea list.

See the full Green Tea interactions page
See every supplement checked against Birth control pills, ranked by severity
Sources

Sources & How We Checked

Interaction details are evidence-graded and sourced from the Natural Medicines database. The medication overview comes from MedlinePlus.

Content is written and reviewed by licensed HelloPharmacist pharmacists. See our data sources and editorial standards for how this information is built and checked.

Parts of this content are provided by the Therapeutic Research Center, LLC.

DISCLAIMER: Currently this does not check for drug-drug interactions. This is not an all-inclusive comprehensive list of potential interactions and is for informational purposes only. Not all interactions are known or well-reported in the scientific literature, and new interactions are continually being reported. Input is needed from a qualified healthcare provider including a pharmacist before starting any therapy. Application of clinical judgment is necessary.

© 2021 Therapeutic Research Center, LLC

Keep exploring
Green Tea monograph › Uses, safety, and every drug interaction in one place Birth control pills supplement interactions › Every supplement checked against Birth control pills, ranked by severity Supplement interaction checker › Check any supplement or product against your medications Browse medications A–Z › Every drug we've checked against herbs & supplements Ask a pharmacist › Free, personal answer from our licensed team
Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Taking Green Tea and Birth control pills Together: Common Questions

Can you take Green Tea with Birth control pills?
There is a moderate interaction, so it may be acceptable with monitoring or timing changes — but check with your pharmacist first. Read the full details on this page and confirm with your pharmacist before combining them.
How serious is the Green Tea and Birth control pills interaction?
We rate it Moderate. This combination may require monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separating the times you take each one. Consult your pharmacist before using them together.

Written and reviewed by the HelloPharmacist editorial staff. Our editorial policy

Still Have a Question About Birth control pills and Green Tea?

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This information is for education only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always check with your pharmacist or doctor before starting, stopping, or combining supplements and medications.