Choosing The Best Prenatal Vitamins

How to choose the best prenatal vitamin

There are so so many prenatals out there! How do you know if the one you’re taking is the right one? Easy!

Here's your checklist for picking a great prenatal multivitamin:

[Image credit: www.drbenlynch.com]

The first rule of picking a multivitamin

ONLY have Activated Folate NOT folic acid.
Folic acid is hard to absorb by the body and mucks up your methylation pathways, making it hard to detoxify the body.
Folic acid is used often because its cheaper to produce, but that does not mean it’s better for you!

Forms of good bioavailable folate include 5-MTHF folate, levomefolic acid and folinic acid.

Want to see more research on this?
Dr Ben Lynch has plenty of info and resources on folic acid.
This article explains the difference between the types of folate. and this article explains what happens with folic acid in pregnancy.

You need LOTS of iron

Unless you have Haemachromatosis (a genetic disorder), your prenatal NEEDS to have iron in it.

24mg a day is ideal. Remember, you need at least 18mg per day of iron (a steak only has 4mg, chicken and spinach even less than that) and that requirement jumps up to 24mg when pregnant. Stay mindful of any gut issues which compromise your ability to absorb iron.

I recently wrote a great blog on how iron affects fertility, which you can read here

[Image credit: www.drbenlynch.com]

The type of B12 you take matters

If Cyanocobalamin is the type of Vitamin B12 in your prenatal - ditch it. Its cheap , nasty, and hard for your body to use. It can also disrupt methylation pathways. You need B12 to help carry around iron around the body, especially if you're vegetarian.

Hydroxocobalamin, Adenosylcobalamin or Methylcobalamin are easy forms for your body to use. Some people may need differing types but these 3 are generally well-tolerated.

Vitamins & minerals help make babies

Your body needs an array of vitamins and minerals to keep it functioning happily and well enough to take on extra tasks (like making great eggs, lining and sperm). Your body doesn’t only need folate or iron, but a whole bunch of vitamins to keep your beautiful body humming along and ready to make babies.

While you may need to top up a certain vitamin or mineral for a short while (if blood tests indicate it), a good quality prenatal covers the basics!

What about just eating a really healthy diet?

While this is a great start, unless you've calculated that you're getting the EXACT amount of every nutrient needed, incorporating a prenatal vitamin will help you cover all of your nutritional basics during this important time.

Keep in mind it takes about 3 months to mature your eggs, so taking a good prenatal vitamin (ideally) for at least 3 months before conception, as well as during pregnancy is recommended.

What do we recommend?

Our personal favourite is Naturobest. They satisfy all the above criteria, are made in Aus, have specific vitamins for prenatal, preconception for men, trimester 1 and trimester 2, 3 & breast feeding to meet your differing nutritional needs.

Tresos Natal is also quite good if you're taking an iron supplement alongside or have tested your levels and don’t need much additional iron.

*We dont receive anything for recommending these products, just sharing what we love!