How to Select the Best Prenatal Vitamin
Don’t settle for just any prenatal vitamin! Our Naturopathic Doctors guide you to find the best one with proper dosages, absorbable forms, and minimal fillers. Discover key nutrients for pregnancy like folate, iron, and choline, plus their best forms for optimal health. Learn more & book a FREE consultation at Serene Clinic! Pregnancy is an extraordinary and thrilling time, yet it can also be overwhelming and full of novelty! There’s a ton to understand about maintaining a healthy pregnancy, labor, delivery, and the postpartum period. You are likely already exploring the healthiest diet, the best exercise routines, and what to avoid to provide your baby with the best start. Allow us at Serene Naturopathic Doctors and Doulas to help guide you into this journey.
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One of the key steps to ensuring a healthy pregnancy and baby is selecting the right prenatal vitamin. As Naturopathic Doctors, when discussing prenatal vitamins, we want to ensure we are meeting patient goals as well as supporting optimal health and needs.
Common questions we encounter at Serene Clinic:
- Are all prenatal vitamins beneficial? Are they all the same? The answer is simply no! Many prenatal vitamins that are over the counter are low quality, and potentially include harmful material, or that you will be absorbing very few of the nutrients. Main concerns regarding prenatal vitamins include insufficient dosages, unabsorbable forms and addition of preservatives and fillers.
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What to look for in a high-quality supplement?
Proper Nutrient Levels – Ensure that the vitamins and minerals in the supplement are in the right dosage for pregnancy.
Most Absorbable Forms – Vitamins and minerals come in different forms, and some are more absorbable than others. Taking the most absorbable form is essential to get the most benefit from your supplements, especially for pregnant women with inflammatory conditions or other health conditions.
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Minimal Additives and Fillers – Examine the “non-medicinal ingredients.” A long list of unrecognizable words or the presence of food dyes and chemicals usually indicates poor quality.
Which forms of the nutrients are ideal?
Iron
Many forms of iron can cause or worsen constipation during pregnancy. Choose iron glycinate or a heme iron source, which are gentler on the digestive system and better absorbed.
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Calcium and Magnesium
These minerals are vital for your baby’s bone, muscle, and nervous system development, and they are crucial for your bones too. Research indicates an increased risk of osteopenia (bone loss) in pregnant and postpartum women. Avoid forms like carbonate, sulfate, and oxide (e.g., calcium carbonate) as they are poorly absorbed. Instead, opt for more absorbable forms such as citrate, malate, and glycinate.
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Folic Acid vs. Activated Folate
Understanding the difference between folic acid and methylated folate is crucial. This vitamin is vital for reducing the risk of neural tube defects (NTD). However, only about 50% of the population can convert folic acid into a form (methylated folate) that the body can absorb. This conversion depends on the MTHFR gene, and a defect in this gene impairs your ability to utilize folic acid properly. The methylated form of folate is essential for detoxification processes, neurotransmitters, hormones, cellular energy, cellular repair, and more. MTHFR gene defects are linked to recurrent miscarriage, pre-eclampsia, depression, autism, cardiovascular disease, and heavy metal toxicity. Without specific testing, you wouldn’t know if this gene is defective, so it’s best to select a prenatal vitamin with the methylated form of folate. Look for 1mg of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate.
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B12 and Other B Vitamins
B vitamins are essential for stress reduction, energy, mood, and methylation. Seek out absorbable, active forms of B12 (methylcobalamin) and B6 (pyridoxal-5’-phosphate).
Vitamin D
Contrary to popular belief, sun exposure alone often doesn’t provide adequate vitamin D, especially for women in North America with long winters or darker skin tones that absorb less sunlight. Vitamin D helps regulate calcium and phosphate in the body, necessary for healthy bones, teeth, and muscles. Supplementation can reduce the risk of pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, and low birthweight. Look for Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) and ensure your prenatal vitamin contains at least 1000IU of Vitamin D3.
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Vitamin A
Vitamin A is crucial for the immune system, skin health, and eye health, but high levels (>10,000IU) can be toxic and harmful during pregnancy. Synthetic Vitamin A is poorly absorbed, so choose retinol (animal-sourced) or beta-carotene (vegetable-sourced). Note that beta carotene increases the risk of lung cancer in current or past smokers.
Choline
Choline supports the development of your baby’s brain and neural tube and is linked to a reduced risk of stress-related diseases later in life, such as hypertension, diabetes, and depression. During pregnancy, the need for choline increases to 450mg per day, and it’s unlikely you’re getting enough from food alone. Experts estimate only 10% of pregnant women meet their daily choline requirements.
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]To understand the details of your prenatal, and guidance in other areas of health during your pregnancy including nutrition, exercise, sleep support, stress management and labour prep, connect with one of our Naturopathic Doctors at Serene Clinic.
Book your FREE 15 minute meet and greet today to get started! https://sereneclinic.janeapp.com/locations/serene-naturopathic-doctors-and-doulas/book#/discipline/1/treatment/8
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