5 key pregnancy nutrients
While becoming pregnant is an exciting time in a person’s life, many are shocked at the toll it can take on their body even from those early first weeks. Nausea, vomiting, huge amounts of growth, increased blood volume, on top of actually growing a human, cause many people to become depleted of key nutrients during pregnancy. On top of this many people are actually starting pregnancy depleted of iron and vitamin D, while folate has huge importance in the early days of pregnancy, before many people even know they are pregnant. Below are 5 key nutrients for pregnancy, what they do and where to get them:
Folate
Why? Folate decreases the risk of neural tube defects such as spina bifida and is essential for DNA formation. The neural tube is what will be become the baby’s spinal cord, spine, brain and skull. It is important to realise that the neural tube forms between 4-6 weeks pregnancy, often when a woman does not even realise she is pregnant so ensuring good levels of folate prior to pregnancy is important. Another important note around folate is that many over the counter supplements have folic acid which is a synthetic form of folate and takes a few steps for the body to metabolise into the active folate it can use. For some people due to genetic variations they cannot breakdown folic acid. This can mean there isn’t enough folate to do its important job in pregnancy, as well as potentially causing miscarriage. Unmetabolised folic acid in elevated levels in a pregnant women has also been linked with her child she is carrying having a higher risk of allergies in life. It is best to choose a prenatal multivitamin with an active form of folate such as methylfolate and also to consume a wide range of folate foods. High folate foods are dark leafy green veggies, whole grains and avocado.
Iodine
Is a mineral essential for the brain and nervous system of the growing baby. A deficiency in iodine in a mother has been associated with a lower IQ in the baby. It is also essential for thyroid hormone production, hormones that regulate our metabolism and energy processes which is essential for a healthy pregnancy. Many prenatal supplements do not contain iodine or at very low levels. It is a common deficiency as our main sources of iodine are seafood and seaweed which many women do not consume regularly in their diet. Compounding this exposure to fluoride from toothpaste and in water, can further reduce iodine levels as it blocks uptake into the thyroid gland.
Choline
Is a commonly unheard of nutrient for pregnancy, but it is extremely important. It plays many of the same roles as folate in a baby’s brain development. Some studies are showing children born to women deficient in choline during pregnancy may have lower attention span and cognitive issues. It also helps with the transport of nutrients across the placenta to the baby. The current recommended daily intake for pregnancy is set for 400mg but some reports show the need for pregnancy may even be as high as 800mg. Choline is found in eggs, liver, meat, legumes, nuts and cruciferous veggies. 1 egg yolk contains 140mg choline (note none in the egg white), which is one of the foods with higher levels of choline so we can see how easy it is to not get enough in our diet. Many prenatal supplements have NO choline in them so you will need to really focus on choline foods in your diet or ensure your supplement has choline. If you are a vegan, choline is an essential additional supplement in preconception and pregnancy.
Iron
I think we have all heard of iron and deficiency in pregnancy. Reports range but up to 30% of reproductive age women are iron deficient with that increasing to 50-60% when pregnant. When we fall pregnant our blood volume increases by 30% and as iron is involved in blood formation it is essential our levels increase. Iron is essential for mitochondria function, the energy powerhouse of the cell, oxygen transport, DNA replication, thyroid hormone production, of foetal blood, brain, eye and bone. Non pregnant women should consume 14mg iron per day whereas a pregnant woman from second trimester needs 27mg. Our body does help us in pregnancy by increasing hepcidin, which increase absorption of iron from the gut. It is important to know though that more is not better and too much iron can block the absorption so be careful high doses supplements of over 45mg/ day.
Heme iron is from animal products and is more absorbable than non-heme vegetarian sources. Non heme iron sources also contain phytates which can further block absorption and why I recommend women in pregnancy consider eating meat if they have been a vegetarian or vegan. Preferred supplemental form of iron, is an iron biglycinate, as it is more easily absorbed and less likely to cause constipation. To ensure you are absorbing your iron supplement, avoid with your prenatal multivitamin, zinc and calcium supplements as they block absorption.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is commonly known as a vitamin important for bone and immune health, but it has so many more roles than that, as it acts like a hormone in the body. In pregnancy it supports bone health, protects against infections in mother and baby. A deficiency has been associated with an increased risk of non-elective caesarean and higher rates of lower respiratory tract infection, wheezing, eczema in a baby once born. It also increases risk of Bacterial Vaginosis, which can cause preterm labour deficiency, along with post natal anxiety and depression. I like levels to be around 100nmol/L in pregnancy, not the minimum 50nmol/L on blood test results. Some vitamin D food sources are high fat fish such as salmon, herring, mackerel, red meat, milk, eggs and mushrooms, but getting sunshine is our main source. Vitamin D is commonly in prenatal multivitamins but most women need additional supplementation, particularly when there pregnancy is over winter and spring.
While the above are 5 key nutrients, I also cannot leave out the importance of these other nutrients in pregnancy:
Omega 3 fatty acids
Calcium
Magnesium
other B vitamins
Zinc
Some for another post!
To ensure you getting enough of the above nutrients, my key take-aways are :
· Test before conceiving and work on building up nutrients before getting pregnant. This will ensure you are starting from a well nourished place, as well as having lots of folate in those key early weeks of pregnancy.
· Eat a diet with lots of different proteins and fats such as meat, eggs, legumes, nuts, seeds and lots of veggies with whole grains and you will be able to provide your body with a lot of these nutrients
· Every pregnant person should take a good quality prenatal multivitamin checking it contains active folate, iodine and choline in particular, along with generally needing additional iron and vitamin D throughout their pregnancy.
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