Top Pregnancy Supplements!
Supplements were a big part of me and my husbands Preparing for the Pregnancy journey! As a Holistic Nutritionist I firmly believe in a food first approach but there is a time and place for supplementing!
Supplements come in all shapes and sizes and can be an amazing edition to a healthy and crunchy lifestyle! Quality and dose are two really important factors when thinking about adding a supplement into your life. You always want to take high quality supplements at the right dosage for your specific needs!
Here are the top 7 supplements I have been taking before and during my pregnancy and why I am taking them!
Top Supplements for Pregnancy
1. Prenatal Vitamin
High quality, high quality, high quality! I can't say that enough!
Taking a high quality prenatal vitamin is very important. Please do not take any generic prenatal vitamin or the prenatal vitamin that your mom used! These types of prenatal vitamins contain many harmful ingredients for you and your growing baby such as artificial coloring, additivities, and preservatives!
When choosing a prenatal vitamin you want to look for quality. A high quality prenatal vitamin will usually have more than 2 pills per day. It is really hard to get all of the nutrients you need and to absorb it efficiently with 2 pills a day.
My two favorite prenatal vitamins are Seeking Health and Designs for Health! They meet all of the below criteria!
Make sure your Prenatal Vitamin has…
Natural forms of vitamins, especially folate! You do not want to take a prenatal vitamin with folic acid! Folic acid is the synthetic form of vitamin B9 and our bodies do not recognize it as easily and have a hard time absorbing it. This could lead to developmental problems of your baby such as neural tube defect.
Methylated forms of the vitamins. Our bodies naturally methylate (convert the inactive form of a vitamin into its active form) but many people have a genetic variability that makes them poor methylators. This means that you are not able to convert the vitamins into their active form. This can also lead to nutrient deficiencies and developmental issues with you baby.
No Iron. Your prenatal vitamin should not contain iron even though it is one of the most common deficiencies pregnant women experience. Let me explain why. Iron is actually an oxidant which means it causes oxidative stress in your body which is not good! This only happens when you take iron when you already have adequate amounts. Getting your levels checked and supplementing with a separate high quality iron if needed is a much better and safer option for you and your growing baby! Iron is also a competitive inhibitor meaning it competes with many other vitamins for absorption. Taking it when you don't need it will do more harm than good!
2. Choline Bitartrate
Say hello to folate's long lost cousin! This amazing vitamin is not commonly talked about yet it has just as much of a role in preventing neural tube defects as folate. It also does so much more! I love this one!
The Importance of Choline During Pregnancy
Critical for brain and nervous system development for your baby
Also enhances mom’s cognitive function during pregnancy
It is neuroprotective, meaning it protects our nervous system from damage
Helps transport nutrients across the placenta from crunchy mama to crunchy baby!
Pregnant women are not getting enough resulting in decreased cognitive function for the baby has it grows.
Orange, pasture raised egg yolks are a great source of choline!
3. DHA
This is a beautiful omega 3 essential fatty acid! This particular omega 3 is a key component in the phospholipid layer of our brain cells. It impacts our neural signaling meaning our body can't send signals to other parts of our body easily.
The scariest thing is that over 90% of pregnant women do not meet their minimum daily requirements! This minimum daily requirement is also very outdated and is significantly lower than what pregnant women should be taking. Not only are pregnant women not getting enough but pregnancy and breastfeeding are extremely depleting of DHA. This harms the babies brain development and mom’s cognitive function. Have you heard of baby brain before? It actually has a lot to do with nutritional status!
4. Vitamin D3
You mean the hormone D3? Well no, it is technically a vitamin but it should be considered a hormone based on its extensive functions! This amazing vitamin regulates 3% of our genome!! Vitamin D3 helps implantation of the egg when you are trying to conceive and is critical for the crunchy babies development and skeleton growth! It decreases inflammation and helps regulate your blood sugar during pregnancy! This amazing little vitamin also plays a role in the maturation of your crunchy babies lungs! There are so many benefits to supplements with vitamin D.
The majority of people, even people living in warm climates, are deficient in vitamin D. Why? In colder climates we don't have enough exposure to the sun on a daily basis to meet our needs because the sun is more scarce during winter. People living in warmer climates use sunscreen and lighter clothing, both which cover the skin and prevent the synthesis of vitamin D! It is never a bad idea to supplement with vitamin D! I also recommend Vitamin D3 since it is the active form of the vitamin.
5. Probiotic
Have you heard about the gut microbiome? If you haven't then you need to go and read this blog post first! And then this one!
Your microbiome is going to become your baby's microbiome.
This is a very powerful statement since our microbiome governs our entire mental and physical health. A healthy, strong and diverse gut microbiome reduces the risk of chronic long term health conditions such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, anxiety, depression and so much more!
Probiotics will also help prepare your body and decrease the chance of you testing positive for Group Strep B at the end of your third trimester. GSB can be harmful to your crunchy baby during delivery which is why preventing it is the best option!
6. Liver
You heard me right! High quality grass fed, pasture raised liver! This is truly nature's vitamin. Nothing else is as nutrient dense as liver and has tons of amazing benefits for you and your crunchy baby!
I prefer to take it in capsule form. It doesn't have any taste or smell and it goes down easily!
Contrary to popular, old and outdated belief, liver is safe during pregnancy and I actually consider it to be a super food during pregnancy. A leading mind in pregnancy nutrition, Lily Nicholas, talks all about this here!
7. Collagen Peptides
The most abundant protein in your body! Collagen is what all of your connective tissue is made of which is really important for pregnancy since you, Crunchy Mama, will be doing a lot of growing and stretching to make room for your Crunchy Baby! It is a miracle that our bodies can do what they do, grow, stretch, move organs and grow a little human! Taking collagen will help your body be able to do this and will also help in the development of your baby!
Collagen is great for your hair, skin and nails, your liver and also to help maintain the integrity of your gut lining to support a healthy gut microbiome! Organika is my favorite brand of high quality collagen powder! It has no flavor and easily mixes into smoothies, coffee or tea!
These are the specific supplements I am taking for pregnancy!
I know they have had a huge effect on how I’ve felt and how my baby is developing! I am writing this as I am 28 weeks pregnant and have yet to experience “Baby Brain” and I 100% attribute it to my diet and lifestyle!
“I have yet to experience baby brain!”
Taking supplements may seem over whelming but just get into a routine with it. My husband and I have little pill containers for every day of the week and on Sunday’s I put them all together. That way, all we have to do is grab and go! It takes much less time to do them all at once then to take them all out every day! This will help you stay on top of your supplement and for you to see the long term results!
