Final Thoughts: Prenatals

What you need to know about prenatal's:

• They are unregulated and anything can be called a 'prenatal' regardless of what nutrients it contains and how much of each nutrient it has. This means that just becuase something is called a prenatal vitamin doesn't mean that it has all the nutrients you need to grow a healthy baby. I've not found a single prenatal that covers your needs during pregnancy.
• There are over 70,000 naturally occurring compounds in foods that work together to impact every aspect of our health including our digestion and nutrient absorption, our immune system, our fertility and our hormones. Relying on a prenatal vitamin to cover our needs is incredibly narrow sighted and an ineffective way to replace the health benefits of eating whole, real foods during pregnancy.
• Nutrients are absorbed better and work better within the body when they are in their natural form and when they come with all the complementary compounds that they need to work properly - this is called nutrient synergy and it happens naturally when we get our nutrients from food.
• If you don't feel comfortable relying on real foods and some targeted whole-food supplements during your pregnancy thats ok - you need to make the choices that feel right for you & I know for some women, the thought of not having a prenatal doesn't feel right. So, if I was forced to recommend a prenatal vitamin (knowing that none of them are perfect and that they do contain synthetic vitamins) then I would look at Seeking Health Optimal Prenatal or NaturoBest, being sure to compare what nutrients they have with the Nutrient sheets found in 'Maximise Nutrients' so you can ensure you fill any gaps (for example neither of them contain any omega 3 fats and they don't have enough choline). And of course, still try to meet your needs through food first, just like our ancestors did. 
   

Dont' forget to utilise Cronometer - it's an incredible tool to help you work out if you're meeting your needs through your diet or if you may need some help from supplements.