What we do (or don’t) eat before and during pregnancy sets the entire health trajectory for our future generations.
My passion is helping people live their most vibrant, healthy lives with optimal nutrition and lifestyle practices.
I help people identify nutritional deficiencies and diet tweaks/supplements that replete them, as well as modifiable lifestyle factors that can help prevent long-term illness. I fully empathize with clients and how hard it is to make such changes in our modern food surplus.
I love this work, but at the same time, I’m disheartened at how many people are suffering from preventable chronic illnesses. The more I learn about prenatal nutrition, the more I’m convinced that THIS is where/how individuals and health practitioners alike truly make a difference for the health of our future generations.
If you’re pregnant, plan to be, or are still on the fence about it (like I was for many years), this information might be some of the most important to learn regarding the health of your future child(ren). It certainly has been for me. But it’s far from common knowledge in maternal/prenatal/postpartum care. Let’s change that!
By “most important information,” I, in no way, take credit for any of it. This is all new information I’ve learned from true experts in this field. I’m sharing it with you in case it changes the way you think about your own health like it did for me – my only wish is that I had learned it sooner!
Making A Human
If you read no further, the best message I can leave with you is to read the book ‘Real Food For Pregnancy‘ by Lily Nichols. Most of what I share here is from her book but in far less depth (aff link). I would consider this an essential read for every mom!
Have you ever really thought about pregnancy and birth? Your body makes an entirely new human – that’s wild!
Have you given much thought to what goes into building a human? Given my profession, I probably think about it more than the average person. It’s A LOT! Here’s what your body is responsible for building:
- An entirely new organ of your own (the placenta)
- A brain and nervous system
- DNA and genetic coding for every single cell and tissue
- Heart, lungs, kidneys, and other vital organs
- A full detoxification system complete with a liver and various pathways of elimination
- A full digestive system
- A skeleton, plus muscles to move it
- Hormones and neurotransmitters
- A competent immune system
- Mitochondria for every cell that makes up these systems (which come exclusively from the mother btw)
- If you’re pregnant with a daughter, you’re also responsible for the building blocks of the eggs she will have for her whole life that might one day be your grandchildren.
This is not an exhaustive list. I’m actually pretty blown away that the female body manages to do this within just 9 months.
It’s no wonder that a mother’s daily caloric needs can increase from 15 more calories per day in the first trimester to 420 calories per day in the third trimester (though this varies for every woman). (source)
Maternal Nutrition and Epigenetics
Now consider this: what if those extra 420 calories lack essential nutrients and cofactors like vitamins and minerals? Or what if your body already has insufficient nutrients to support your own optimal health?
You can still make a healthy new human, but your baby would be even healthier had those nutrients been available. When you’re pregnant, your body’s number one priority is the growing baby. So, it will divert nutrients from you to give them to the baby first. That’s reasonable; anyone who’s had children knows this is how it generally works with food, even after they’re born.
If those nutrients aren’t available in the bloodstream, your body will start to pull from your own tissues and organs.
If this still isn’t enough to support a growing baby, this will literally change your baby’s DNA and genetic expression as a compensation mechanism – and not for good. These changes predispose them to more easily develop chronic diseases later in life, like diabetes, obesity, heart disease, kidney disease, and liver disease. Excessive carbs and elevated maternal blood sugar do this, too.
Nutritional deficiencies can also result in developmental issues, both physically and cognitively. The role of adequate folate intake in pregnancy is well-known, but many other essential nutrients are often not emphasized enough during pregnancy. That’s what this article is all about. So, let’s get to the good stuff.
The Building Blocks of Life
These are the key essential nutrients for growing a healthy baby that are often inadequate in a Standard American Diet and are often missing or insufficient in prenatal vitamins.
I’ve outlined the best possible food and supplemental sources for them. Some women may not be able to or want to eat some of these foods (morning sickness also makes this challenging); supplements are essential when they’re not obtained through the diet.
B Vitamins (all of them!)
There’s a huge emphasis on folate during pregnancy, but the role of all other B vitamins is just as important. They just don’t always cause very apparent birth/health defects when deficinet, so they’ve been left out of the spotlight. Nonetheless, they are vital for proper DNA formation and numerous other systems.
Highlighting just the role they play in DNA formation: Your baby begins as just a little ball of stem cells. When the sperm and egg meet, their nuclei fuse, and they ‘exchange genes from mom and from dad to make the baby’s new DNA.
Once the baby’s DNA is established, the cell splits into two cells, then 4, 16, and so forth. At this point, the cells have not differentiated, meaning all 20,000 coding genes are still “turned” on, and the cells have not developed special functions yet (like liver cells, blood cells, brain cells, etc.).
For differentiation to happen, certain genes have to be “turned off” and others “left on” by a process called methylation (you know, like the MTHFR mutation). To do methylation, cells need B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, biotin, folate, B12, and various other nutrients like glycine, methyl donors, and sufficient ATP (source).
Without these nutrients, cells won’t efficiently differentiate into all of the various systems and tissues outlined above.
- Beef liver/chicken liver
- Wild-caught salmon
- Free-range chicken
- Green leafy vegetables
- Whole grain
- Beans and Legumes
- Sprouted grains and seeds
- Avocado
Choline
Choline is an essential nutrient for human health. The most common manifestation of choline deficiency is liver disease/fatty liver. For the growing baby, choline is essential for cellular membrane growth/function, neurotransmitter production, liver function, methylation, and much more (source)
Choline has only been recognized as an “essential nutrient” since 1998, so there is still much to learn about its role in health and pregnancy. Pregnant women should have no less than 480mg of choline per day but should aim for more.
One study showed that babies of women who consumed 930 mg/day of choline during pregnancy had better cognitive outcomes than those of mothers who consumed 480 mg/d (source). The reason this nutrient is so important to highlight is because only 8% of pregnant women (and only 10% of the population as a whole) are meeting the adequate intake of choline.
- Egg yolks from pasture-raised hens (the more yellow, the better)
- Wild-caught salmon
- Beef liver/Chicken Liver
- Full-fat milk
- Shiitake mushrooms
- Grass-fed beef
- Free-range chicken
- Wheat germ
Vitamins A, D, and K2
Vitamin A: Studies have shown that people don’t convert beta-carotene to vitamin A as well as we thought – this is especially true for women (source). During gestation, vitamin A is essential for cell differentiation, as well as for the development of organs like the heart, lungs, and eyes, and regulating healthy immune function (source).
Vitamin D: This nutrient is controversial. Studies show blood levels above 20 ng/mL (50mmol/L) don’t confer additional health benefits (source). This is also a measure of only the inactive/storage form. The need for high-dose vitamin D supplements as a general health recommendation has been questioned. Nonetheless, low vitamin D intake in pregnancy has been link to bone formation defects (source).
It’s recommended that pregnant women consume just over 6,000 IU/d, and 4,000 of these IUs should be supplemented. The best place to start is by testing vitamin D levels in blood before and throughout pregnancy to prevent your 25,OH(D) from falling below 40 ng/mL (source).
Vitamin D requires adequate vitamin A to work properly, and high-dose D has been shown to encourage iron storage in tissue, making it less available in the blood (source). For these reasons, I recommend getting it from food and sunlight first, ensuring balance with other nutritional cofactors, and using the minimal-effect dose of vitamin D to achieve optimal blood levels.
Vitamin K2: We get K1 from some foods like leafy vegetables and can convert some of this to K2 via gut bacteria, but not enough. K1 helps blood to clot and prevent bleeding, while K2 is essential for bone formation. Both the mother and the baby need K2 during pregnancy. The mother needs it because minerals are leached from bones during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and the baby needs to form their bones (source).
- Beef liver (A, D)
- Egg yolks from pasture-raised hens (A, D, K2)
- Full-fat grass-fed dairy (A, D)
- Fermented full-fat grass-fed dairy (A, D, K2)
- Grass-fed butter (A)
- Oily fish like salmon, sardines, anchovies (A, D)
- Cheese (A, D, and K2 – the more aged the more K2)
- Natto (K2)
- Sauerkraut(K2)
- Mushrooms (D)
Iron
Anemia is very common during pregnancy, but if you’ve worked with me, you already know I have a problem with iron supplementation. It’s not that we need more iron – it’s that we can’t use what’s there. During pregnancy, there is absolutely a higher demand for iron. You need enough for your blood and the babies.
It’s common to see iron levels decline during pregnancy, but it’s important to keep them from going too low. The majority of women can achieve this through food or food-based supplements – this should absolutely be the first-line approach (source)
I’ve heard far too many anecdotal accounts of maternal hemorrhaging during/after birth following an iron infusion during pregnancy to feel comfortable recommending an iron supplement (source). Additionally, iron supplements often cause constipation, which is already an issue for many women in the later trimesters.
High-dose vitamin D increases hepcidin, which causes your cells to hold onto iron, rendering it non-bioavailable and potentially exacerbating anemia (source). This is why I recommend food first.
- Liver, kidney, organ meat
- Red meat
- chicken/turkey
- Egg yolks from pasture-raised hens
Omega-3s
Most people don’t consume enough omega-3s in general; this is especially true during pregnancy, as many women are instructed to stop eating fish to avoid mercury exposure. Lily Nichols breaks this down in her book, along with easing our minds about the potential risk of foodborne illness from fish and eggs during pregnancy. Smaller, shorter-lived fish have very little mercury, and the selenium content of whole fish helps to buffer absorption.
Adequate EPA and DHA are essential for the babies’ developing nervous system. Studies also show that higher maternal DHA intake during pregnancy is associated with better coordination and cognitive functions.
The baby’s body accumulated 67mg of DHA daily during the last few weeks of pregnancy (source). 300 mg of DHA (650 mg of omega-3s) per day should be the minimum (source); some studies have seen benefits at a dose of 2,200 mg/d and an intake of 12oz of fish per week (source).
- Fish eggs – especially salmon eggs
- Oily fish like salmon, sardines, anchovies
- Beef liver/chicken liver
- Egg yolks from pasture-raised hens
- Grass-fed beef
Are you noticing a pattern with these foods? They tend to show up as excellent sources of all of these essential nutrients. While there are certainly more essential nutrients and increased demands for others during pregnancy, these are a few that most people don’t consume enough of in general.
Adding these foods to your diet can make a lasting, life-long difference in the health of your child(ren). I understand that not everyone wants to or can eat these foods, but below is a list of the next best thing – whole-food-based supplements.
- Formula IQ – Cod liver IQ (A, D, some omega-3s)
- Formula IQ – Beef liver IQ (A, D, Bs, choline, iron)
- Formula IQ – B Complex IQ (Bs)
- Formula IQ – Krill IQ (omega-3s, choline, A)
- Formula IQ – Recuperate IQ (A, D, Bs, Iron, choline)
I know anyone who wants to be a mother wants to be the best they can be and wants to give their child the best possible life they can have. I know I do. As I’m learning this new field of nutrition, it feels necessary to share this information with other future mothers and parents.
I was led to learn this information for my own future child’s health. Now that I’m here, I see how dire of a need there is for making more women aware of the role their diet and lifestyle play in the future health of their children.
I will now be offering comprehensive pre-conception, prenatal, and postpartum functional medicine care as part of my practice.
Preconception care covers:
- Blood work and personalized interventions to prepare the body for pregnancy
- Reducing toxic load internally to provide a safe internal environment for the baby
- Eliminating toxin exposure from your external environment
- Preparing the body structurally and metabolically for the changes that come with pregnancy
- Fertility nutrition/lifestyle focus where applicable
Prenatal care covers:
- Minimizing environmental toxic load during gestation.
- Optimizing nutrient support for both mom and baby
- Managing the ever-changing hormonal fluctuations and the physical/emotional influences this can have
- Regulating normal elimination, sleep, and stress management
- Explore your options for optimal birthing procedures and outcomes
Postpartum Functional care covers:
- Resources and referrals to the top specialists for healing the body after pregnancy (outside of functional medicine)
- Replenishing nutrients
- Breastfeeding general support
- Breastfeeding nutrition support and guidance for mom and baby (nutritional demands are even higher when breastfeeding)
- Establishing healthy nutrition and lifestyle habits for your new baby as they grow and transition into whole food
Currently, I’m working towards a doula certification, followed by postpartum and lactation support specialists to offer a deeper supportive role for generational nutrition. My hope with this venture is to bridge the gap between all the years between birth and when chronic health conditions manifest – the time when clients come to work with me.
If this is an area you’d like help in, please reach out. I would love to help you and your future children experience optimal health.
