motherhood, wellness
It is time for some more fertility knowledge! I have learned so much on my road to motherhood that I want to share with all of you. Last week Cecily Yousaf and I chatted about the topic of age when it comes to fertility and 4 simple lifestyle adjustments that can improve your egg quality. Today we are breaking down the top 5 basic supplements for fertility. These supplements were a huge factor that helped me get pregnant after my recurring pregnancy loss. You can also download all of this information right here.
PRENATAL
A prenatal that is food derived and not made from synthetic ingredients is recommended. It is important that your prenatal contain Folate and not folic acid. Food based vitamins are more easily assimilated and recognized by the body and will not contribute to prenatal nausea like synthetic forms of vitamins will. You may still experience nausea, but your vitamins will not add to it. Folate, the natural form of vitamin B9, folic acid is an oxidized synthetic compound. Folate has been well demonstrated to prevent neural tubal defects in developing fetuses as well as important things like support of our nervous systems. Synthetic folic acid has been linked to deficiencies of B12 and increased risks of certain cancers.
Recommended products: Garden Of Life Prenatal, New Chapter Prenatal, Mega Foods Baby & Me 2, and Smarty Pants Prenatal Gummies
PREBIOTICS
PREbiotics in addition to probiotics are wonderful for nourishing your helpful digestive bacteria. Prebiotics are the things that your helpful digestive bacteria thrive on. In food form they are; garlic, onions, asparagus, barely ripened bananas, apples, cocoa, jicima, seaweed, artichokes, berries, wild rice, raw honey, coconut flour, green banana flour, cooked and cooled potatoes. Add a few of these foods and diversify as much as possible (don’t eat the same thing every day for long periods of time) Add a prebiotic supplement every day
Recommended products: Garden of Life Dr. Formulated Organic Prebiotic (this tastes great and is easy to mix in with water or a smoothie)
FISH OIL
There are many brands and types of fish oil out there today but Green Pastures Fermented Cod Liver/Butter oil is recommended. It is made from the livers of wild caught fish and fermented rather than pressed and heated for purity. It is a whole food without additives and the damaging effects to the structure of oil that can occur with extreme temperatures necessary to purify toxicans in some fish oil products. They test their products for purity using a third party to ensure a top quality product. This product is a wonderful source of A and D vitamins as well as omega 3, 6, 7 and 9 fatty acids.
Recommended products: Green Pastures Royal Butter Oil/ Fermented Cod Liver Oil Blend
PROBIOTICS
Take probiotics and switch them up. There are many different types of probiotic supplements, shoot for 20 billion or more helpful bacteria per serving, and then mix up your brands. Keep a few brands on hand and alternate daily. We need helpful bacteria to convert hormones in the digestive system, to modulate our immune systems and to help us properly absorb the important nutrients from our food. One in ten of the cells we carry around is human, bacteria are much smaller than human cells but they are instrumental for our survival and helping us to thrive. Developing a friendly balance of bacteria is the first step in treating immune problems, energy levels and mood regulation, tissue growth and repair, and helps us maintain youthful properties not only for fertility but for our appearance and stamina. Don’t rely on yogurt as a sufficient source of probiotics. There are not significant numbers of live bacteria in most yogurts and they are often filled with excess sugar and low-fat dairy which can be detrimental to fertility.
Recommended products: Garden of Life Prenatal Probiotics, Jarrow, Renew Life Ultimate Flora, Mega Food Mega Flora, Nature’s Way Fortify
METHYLATED FOLATE
Prenatal vitamins typically have 800mcg of Folate, it is best to supplement with 400mcg of additional methylated folate. Jarrow makes a wonderful inexpensive methylated supplement. Methylated folate has been shown to assist in the formation for red blood cells, transcription of DNA, assisting the liver in breaking down excess hormones and toxicans, protein synthesis and production of proteins.
Recommended products: Jarrow Methyl Folate
Photography by: Chelsea Chorpenning
