Supplementation is a tricky thing to navigate. If you’ve ever tried counting calories, you know how burdensome that can be. Can you even imagine trying to count milligrams, micrograms, and International Units of each and every micro vitamin and mineral you need to keep yourself healthy? The good news for you, is that it’s not really necessary.
If you eat a varied diet, you’re probably covered on the vitamins and minerals. However, there are a few groups in which we should probably keep an eye on.
- The picky eaters
- The vegetarians/vegans
- The pregnant/breastfeeding mamas
There are plenty of other groups who may have increased needs or need to replace lost nutrients, but for simplicity sake, these are the most common groups in which discussing supplementation is important. It’s also important to note that picky eaters and vegetarians/vegans may* need supplementation because of missing food groups – for example, picky eaters who don’t enjoy many fruits or vegetables may be missing out on important vitamin A, vitamin C, folate, and fiber. Plant-based diets can also be lacking in certain nutrients, like calcium, B12, and B6, if there is limited variety day-to-day.
Pregnant and breastfeeding women, on the other hand, may require supplementation because their needs are increased. Growing a fetus and supplying a newborn infant all its nutrition is hard work! Pregnancies require a few hundred extra calories, and a lot of extra nutrients. So how do expecting and breastfeeding mothers make sure that their babies are well supported? Can diet alone be the focus?
Essentially, yes, you can get the nutrients you need to support a healthy pregnancy, but you have to be on it. And I mean on it – most every meal you eat has to be optimized to make sure you are covering each and every one of those bases to support that human life. Because we are humans, and can’t be on top of everything all the time, my general recommendation is supplementation to support pregnancy and breastfeeding. While a basic prenatal is a good place to start, there is so much to consider, so let me break down exactly what you need to think about when thinking about supplementation.
Prenatals are a great way to cover the basics, yet there is a bit of information to consider when choosing one. There is no single prenatal out there that covers each and every nutrient you need during pregnancy. So what should your prenatal cover, and what might you have to add to your supplementation regimen? Well, it depends on the prenatal, but I’ll give you some things to keep in mind.
Plant-based?
First, consider if it is important to you to have a vegan or vegetarian option for supplementation. While there are vegan options, some fat soluble nutrients, like vitamin D and omega-3 (DHA), are less easily found in their vegan form. If this is a consideration for you, start by finding a vegan supplement brand.
Folate vs Folic Acid
Next, another factor which may disqualify a lot of prenatal supplement brands is the argument for folate vs folic acid. Why is this important? Folate is the active, biological form of the vitamin B9, and is usually found in plant foods. Folic acid is the synthetic version of B9 usually found in processed foods and supplements. While folic acid is a completely safe and useful version of B9 to take for supplementary purposes, a large percentage of women (up to 25%) have a mutation in their MTHFR that prevents them from converting folic acid to folate. Folate deficiency can have serious detrimental effects, such as neural tube defects in developing fetuses, and can even contribute to miscarriage. You can test yourself for this gene variant, but it might just be easier to assume you have it. Go for folate sources of food and supplementation rather than folic acid.
Not quite enough
There are some nutrients found in prenatal supplements that just do not meet the entirety of your needs. Many prenatals are too low in:
- Iron:
- Recommended amount: 27 mg
- For best absorption: supplement on an empty stomach, and do NOT take iron with any dairy or tea.
- Calcium:
- Recommended amount: 1000 mg (1300 mg for <18 years old)
- For best absorption: calcium can only be absorbed in 500 mg doses, so make sure to split your dose throughout the day. Also, take at a different time than iron!
- Vitamin D:
- Recommended amount: the recommended amount is far too low, for pregnancy and breastfeed. Research shows that a dose of 5,000 IU of vitamin D3 is safe and effective in supporting a healthy vitamin D status in women and breastfeeding infants.
- For best absorption: take your vitamin D supplement with a fatty meal, as it is a fat soluble vitamin.
- Choline:
- Recommended amount: 450 mg for pregnancy / 550 mg for breastfeeding
- DHA (omgea-3)
- Recommended amount: 300 mg
If your prenatal covers any of these supplements in their entirely, there is no need to add any additional supplementation. Odds are, you will need to supplement at least one of these nutrients.
What about diet?
The other side to this all is diet. Even though I recommend supplementation as a backup layer of nutrients, I want to emphasize the importance of eating a varied diet. For pregnancy, I think the focus should be on the nutrients that you might need cover with additional supplementation (as mentioned above): calcium, iron, folate, choline, and omega-3 fatty acids. If you noticed, I excluded vitamin D, because it’s very hard to get enough from diet alone. Unless you’re regularly spending time in the sunlight with ample skin exposed, and without sunscreen, supplementation is the way to go.
Calcium
Focus on dietary calcium by going for dark leafy greens such as kale, collard greens and spinach , soy protein like tofu or edamame (leafy greens and soy protein are also high in folate), or dairy. Other sources include fortified foods like cereals and juices, fish consumed with their bones (like sardines) almonds, some seeds, and beans/lentils!
Iron
Many people think that good sources of iron are mostly found in animal products. And while it’s true that shellfish, dark, red, and organ meat are all fantastic sources of iron, there are plenty of plant-based options. Go for some spinach, legumes, pumpkin seeds, broccoli, or dark chocolate for vegetarian or vegan sources of iron. Pro tip: cook in cast iron for a boost – yes, cooking in cast iron does add iron to your diet!
Folate
The good news about a healthy diet, is that you often get densely packed nutrients from your fruits and veggies. Overlapping with calcium and iron, you can get dietary sources of folate from broccoli and leafy greens like spinach and kale. Beans and peas are also a good source of folate. There are plenty of fortified foods with folic acid, but because of the chance of a mutated MTHFR gene, I recommend going for plant-based sources of folate.
Choline
If you are vegan or vegetarian, choline may be a difficult one to get from diet alone. While vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower are great sources, they provide little choline in comparison to eggs, cod, beef liver and chicken liver. Choline requirements jump up a bit during pregnancy and breastfeeding, so it might be in your best interest to make sure you are supplementing.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Similarly to choline, some of the best sources of omega-3 fatty acids (also known as DHA) are non-vegan/vegetarian. Fatty fish like salmon and mackerel are great sources. However, you can get some plant-based omega-3 by eating nuts, seeds (flax and chia), and oils such as olive oil, canola oil, and soy oil. Try to eat at least one source of omega-3 fatty acids per day to keep up on intake!
That’s a lot to consider, and that doesn’t even cover the entirety of a healthy diet for pregnancy and breastfeeding! It can be overwhelming. Working with a Registered Dietitian can be a great way to get all your burning questions answered. From figuring out supplementation and prenatal vitamins, to managing gestational diabetes, to feeding after birth. I will support your pregnancy and family in whatever way I can! Schedule a free consult, or send me an email at rileytherd@balancedlifenutritionconsulting.com.