Any women who is pregnant or even thinking about getting pregnant, whether it’s this week or a year from now, should strongly consider investing in a prenatal supplement. However, there are some questions that every woman asks themselves when considering becoming pregnant and taking a prenatal.
Do I really need to take a prenatal vitamin?
If you’re very tuned in to nutrition and regularly eat a broad range of foods, including meat, dairy products, fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes, your diet will provide almost all the nutrients you and your baby need. Realistically, though, most women — especially those in the throes of morning sickness — can benefit from taking a prenatal vitamin and mineral supplement, preferably before they start trying to conceive. Think of it as an insurance policy to make sure you’re getting the right amount of certain important nutrients during pregnancy.
What’s in a vitamin supplement that I can’t get from food?
Folic Acid:Folic acid is one of the most important nutrients found in prenatal vitamins, and is an essential nutrient during pregnancy. In addition to being important for the growth of the unborn child, Folic Acid has been shown to reduce the risk of neural tube defects. Folic acid is a vitamin that promotes normal cell replication and growth. Folic acid supports the normal formation of building blocks of DNA, the body’s genetic information, and building blocks of RNA needed for protein synthesis in all cells. Therefore, rapidly growing tissues, such as those of a fetus, and rapidly regenerating cells, like red blood cells and immune cells, have a high need for folic acid. This vitamin promotes the development of the fetal central nervous system and healthful diets containing adequate folic acid may reduce a woman’s risk of having a child with a brain or spinal cord defect. However, routine nutrition does not always supply enough folic acid to meet the requirements of a pregnant woman. Additionally, folic acid intake is necessary in the months before pregnancy and during the first trimester.
Iron: Iron is an important mineral found in prenatal vitamins, and is responsible for helping the mother and the baby’s blood to carry oxygen. Iron deficiencies can lead to severe birth defects for the baby. As an essential mineral, iron is part of hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying component of the blood. The demand for iron, essential for blood formation, is also significantly increased during pregnancy because the mother’s blood volume increases, and the fetal red blood cells have to be developed. In order to support fetal tissue growth, blood volume and contents must grow to help feed these tissues, including red blood cells. Further, about one-third of the mother’s iron storage will be passed on to her developing baby in order to form its blood and to be stored for future use.
Is there anything that I won’t get in a prenatal supplement?
Calcium is one of the nutrients that you won’t find a full day’s supply of in your prenatal vitamin and mineral supplement. Most prenatal vitamins contain between 100 and 200 milligrams (mg) of calcium, but some don’t contain any. That’s because calcium is a particularly bulky mineral, and the pills are already big enough!
The amount of calcium you need during pregnancy is about 1,000 mg per day — the same amount you need when you’re not pregnant. (If you’re 18 or younger, you need 1,300 mg per day.) But it’s even more crucial that you get the recommended amount during pregnancy because you’ll need to replace the calcium your growing baby is getting from your own bones. Skimping on calcium now increases your risk for osteoporosis later in life. Luckily, there are many ways to get this mineral. For example, a cup of milk and a container of yogurt each contain about 300 to 350 mg. If you can’t stomach dairy products, you can get your calcium from separate supplements (Isotonix Calcium Plus).
How do I choose a prenatal supplement that’s right for me?
Unfortunately, since the Food and Drug Administration doesn’t regulate what goes into vitamin and mineral supplements, no standards have been set for what should be in them. That means it’s up to you and your practitioner to make sure you choose one that’s safe and appropriate for you. For an expecting mother, it’s very important that her and her unborn baby receives good nutrition for a healthy start in life. Why not consider a prenatal multivitamin that supplies superior delivery and rapid absorption?
Isotonix® Prenatal Multivitamin (Code 13064) is an isotonic-capable supplement that supplies many of the Recommended Daily Allowance of key vitamins and nutrients needed for an expectant mother or woman who is wanting to conceive. Isotonix superior delivery and rapid absorption ensure you get the necessary vitamins and minerals for the normal growth and development of your baby and for a healthy pregnancy. Isotonix Prenatal Multivitamin promotes a healthy birth weight of the baby, helps maintain normal blood pressure during pregnancy and tastes great with a soothing lemon-lime flavor.
Isotonic, which means “same pressure,” bears the same chemical resemblance of the body’s blood, plasma and tears. All fluids in the body have a certain concentration, referred to as osmotic pressure. The body’s common osmotic pressure, which is isotonic, allows a consistent maintenance of body tissues. In order for a substance to be absorbed and used in the body’s metabolism, it must be in an isotonic state.
Isotonix® dietary supplements are delivered in an isotonic solution. This means that the body has less work to do to obtain maximum absorption of the nutrients. The isotonic state of the suspension allows nutrients to pass directly into the small intestine and rapidly absorb into the bloodstream. With Isotonix products, little nutritive value is lost, making the absorption of nutrients highly efficient while delivering maximum results.
In tablet form, prenatal vitamins are hard for an expecting Mother to consume, especially when they are experiencing morning sickness. It is more convenient for the expecting Mother could take an isotonic solution and not have to worry about how much of the nutrients they have absorbed. Isotonix Prenatal Multivitamin provides superior delivery with maximum results.
