For proper pregnancy nutrition, many experts agree that it is better to obtain vitamins, minerals and other nutrients from whole foods, not isolated supplements. Whole food nutrients are easier for the body to absorb, whereas isolated vitamins and minerals are often eliminated as waste before they can actually be put to use.
Essential elements of pregnancy nutrition include:
*Â calcium
*Â protein
*Â phosphorus
*Â potassium
*Â folic acid (folate)
*Â Vitamins A, D, C, E and the entire B complex.
Nutrition facts point to calcium as an important mineral for sound pregnancy nutrition. It is especially challenging to get enough calcium from whole foods like fruits and vegetables.
Some of the more familiar sources of calcium are:
*Â Broccoli
*Â Yogurt
*Â Cheese
*Â Milk
*Â Beans
Dandelion is a natural source of calcium from a whole food source and alfalfa has a high level of calcium, but these are a little harder to include in daily pregnancy nutrition. There is one whole food calcium supplement that includes dandelion and alfalfa along with other whole food calcium sources, but you won’t find it in a typical health food store.
It is equally important that Vitamin D2 is present in the calcium supplement for perfect pregnancy nutrition. Vitamin D2 is crucial to aid the body in absorbing calcium. In one particular natural whole food calcium supplement, 3 types of calcium are included with different absorption characteristics, and Vitamin D2 is present to augment the absorption of calcium.
Of course some supplements may be necessary to get all the required nutrients for proper pregnancy nutrition. However, it is important to consider how they are made and where the nutrients are coming from. Isolated vitamins like those typically found on store shelves will be next to useless for sound pregnancy nutrition. In addition to supplements, there are whole food formulas that provide sound pregnancy nutrition in health drink concentrates. These drinks make it easy for expectant mothers to get the nutrients they need for perfect pregnancy nutrition while satisfying whole food requirements.
2 responses so far ↓
Robert // Jun 14th 2009 at 12:42 am
Folate and folic acid are not the same! Folate comes from foods, while folic acid is a manmade chemical. Folic acid builds up in the blood and depletes the body of vitamin B12.
Cliff Smith // Jun 14th 2009 at 4:27 am
Here is a good description of the difference between folate and folic acid from NutritionData.com (http://blog.nutritiondata.com/ndblog/2006/12/folic_acid_vs_f.html):
“The words ‘folate’ and ‘folic acid’ are often used interchangeably but there are important differences between them. Folate is the naturally-occurring form of the vitamin. Spinach, lentils, and garbanzo beans are all good sources of dietary folate. Folic aid is the synthetic form of the vitamin that is used in supplements and in fortified foods. Just to make it even more confusing, folic acid can also be called folicin. (Don’t blame me…I’m just the messenger!)
The nutrient listing for foods shows you the total folate content, which is then broken down into naturally-occurring folate and added folic acid.
“Folic acid and folate work the same in the body, with one exception: the synthetic form (folic acid) is better absorbed by the body than the natural form. You only need 60 mcg of folic acid to get the same benefits you’d get from 100 mcg of naturally-occurring folate.”
Leave a Comment