IN THE SPOTLIGHT
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stay-healthy secrets from leading experts
6 Essential Supplements for Pregnant Women
Natural and integrative medicine expert Tieraona Low Dog, MD, shares her recommendations for healthy moms and babies. BY BETTER NUTRITION EDITORS
Ever since she was a young plays a key role in a girl, Tieraona Low Dog, baby’s healthy growth MD, has been interested and development. in the natural world and natural medicine. She Choline and DHA has studied and practiced Choline is crucial massage therapy, martial during pregnancy and arts, midwifery, and herbal while breastfeeding. Women medicine. She is one of the need 450 mg per day during To learn more about leading experts in integrapregnancy and 550 mg per Dr. Tieraona Low Dog, tive medicine, particularly day when breastfeeding. visit drlowdog.com. in the area of women’s health. But many fail to achieve This passion and expertise in female this level, getting only an estimated health drove her to formulate unique 225–280 mg per day. supplement blends for the food-based Choline is necessary for improving brand MegaFood, including Baby & Me visual-spatial and auditory memory, as 2 prenatal and postnatal multivitamins. well as providing other neurocognitive Here, she shares her top six must-have benefits. It works synergistically with nutrients for pregnant and nursing DHA in promoting brain and eye health. women—or any woman who wants to It’s a good idea to add this combo have a baby. as a complementary product during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
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Folic Acid vs. Folate
Folic acid is synthetic and has no biological activity until it is reduced in the body to its active 5-MTHF form. Some women (and men) have a mutation in the MTHFR gene that reduces a person’s ability to convert synthetic folic acid to its active form. That’s why it’s crucial to choose the active form of folate, which is listed as L-5-MTHF on labels. This active form of folate has no tolerable upper intake level, meaning you can safely take it, even in higher doses, without risk of an overdose or serious side effects. Folate is essential for pregnant women because it helps prevent birth defects such as spina bifida. It also
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Iron
A woman needs more iron during pregnancy than while she is breastfeeding. Use a gentle, food-derived iron, such as MegaFood’s Blood Builder. A study conducted at the University of Maryland found that Blood Builder was effective for correcting iron deficiency in eight weeks without any adverse GI effects, including constipation and nausea—not something anyone wants during pregnancy You can combine Blood Builder with MegaFood’s Baby & Me 2 prenatal multi. To avoid excess iron, switch to just a postnatal multivitamin after the baby is born.
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Probiotics
The probiotic L. Rhamnosus HN001 (6 billion CFU) has been shown to significantly reduce eczema, wheeze, and atopic sensitization in children when taken by both the mother during pregnancy and the child until 2 years old. According to the study, breastfeeding mothers should continue to supplement with the probiotic for at least 6 months postpartum.
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Ginger and Vitamin B6
The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology recommends 250 mg of ginger four times daily as a first-line therapy for morning sickness. If this isn’t sufficient for symptom control, then 10–25 mg of vitamin B6 can be taken three to four times daily.
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Moringa
This plant is a nutritional powerhouse. It’s a complete plant protein with nine essential amino acids that’s also rich in vitamin C, beta carotene, and other nutrients. It’s widely used by lactation consultants for breastfeeding support.
MegaFood’s Baby & Me 2 line includes pre- and postnatal multis and Morning Sickness Relief Ginger Chews (watch out, these are addictive!).
• JANUARY 2022
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11/19/21 5:08 PM
