Information About Prenatal Supplements
If you are pregnant, it has never been more important to watch what you eat and to
be certain that you are only consuming the healthiest of nutrients for you and your growing baby. Your body is undoubtedly changing and growing more rapidly and significantly than ever before, so you will need to stay in the best physical condition possible to meet the challenging changes that lie ahead. Likewise, your growing and developing child will be a baby outside in the real world before you know it, and it is up to you to give him or her all of the best nutrition to grow and thrive.
If your doctor has advised you to stop taking all of the supplements you were on before you were pregnant, by all means do so. However, for most women it is possible to continue to supplement with certain things. Read the labels, as even the supplement bottles themselves seem to tell you whether or not its a good idea to continue taking through pregnancy. Most of them indicate on the label that you should consult your doctor before taking if you are pregnant or nursing. However, there are some nutrients that are so important that many doctors suggest taking them in addition to a healthy regimen of diet and exercise. Lets look at the makeup of certain prenatal vitamins, and talk about some of the most critical nutrients involved. This way, you can be sure to not only take your daily prenatal vitamin and eat plenty of foods that supply these nutrients naturally, but you can see whether you need to supplement with anything additional.
Folic acid is probably the most critical nutrient for consumption during pregnancy. It is so important that many health practitioners recommend it to women who are simply trying to conceive a baby and havent even become pregnant yet. By building up their stores of folic acid, they can ensure that the levels are high when pregnancy occurs. It is a good idea for all women of child-bearing age to take in at least 400 mcg daily, but for women who are trying to conceive or have begun their first trimester of pregnancy, it is sometimes recommended that they take ten times this amount!
Why is folic acid so important? Folic acid can drastically reduce the chance of your baby being born with birth defects. Adding a folic acid supplement to your diet can not only add to your peace of mind, but can drastically reduce chances of the horrible conditions of birth defects occurring. Specifically, the chances of having neural tube defects are lessened with extra consumption of folic acid. Neural tube defects are those that affect the brain and the spinal cord, the most well-known example being spina bifida. These tragic defects can cause mental retardation, paralysis, blindness, or other serious conditions. By eating plenty of fortified cereals and grains, you also increase your chances of getting a good amount of folic acid. The FDA now ensures that folic acid is added to meet 100% of the recommended daily allowance (RDA). Also good are greens such as broccoli, asparagus and spinach, and oranges as fruit. Beef liver is especially high in folic acid.
Calcium is another critical and very abundant mineral, and it is not likely that you will suffer from extreme calcium deficiency. Further, the most well-known source of calcium is milk and other dairy products, and these are usually consumed aplenty by most people. In any event, to be on the safe side it is smart to supplement your calcium intake while pregnant. Your bone density and that of your developing babys is at stake!
Iron, which can be found in high levels in beef, is also very important for pregnant women. For those who are not beef eaters, you can meet your needs well when eating cereals and other grains since the FDA has fortified many if not all of the often-consumed and popular rice, flour, bread and cereal products. If you are a vegetarian, however, you will not be eating beef (or chicken or seafood, which are other popular sources of iron) and an iron supplement becomes all the more important for you in particular when pregnant. While you can get iron from dark leafy green vegetables, most people do not eat enough of these. It is recommended that a woman get 27 mg per day, which is significant jump from the needs of a non-pregnant woman, who requires 18 mg per day. The importance of iron for a pregnant woman and developing baby cannot be overemphasized.
Be sure to consult your obstetrician before starting any sort of supplement program while pregnant, even as it regards folic acid, iron and calcium. Chances are you will be able to continue to supplement with all of the above.
by: MeganHazel
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