The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating During Pregnancy by W. Allan Walker; Courtney Humphries

Author:W. Allan Walker; Courtney Humphries
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: &NEW, Health and Hygiene, Health & Fitness, Pregnant Women - Health and Hygiene, Diets, Nutritional aspects, Pregnancy & Childbirth, Women's Health, Pregnancy, Pregnancy - Nutritional Aspects, Popular works, Pregnant women
ISBN: 9780071443326
Publisher: McGraw-Hill
Published: 2006-01-02T00:00:00+00:00

6

Dietary Supplements—

What’s Good and

What’s Not

Most ofyour nutrient needs can and should be met by following the steps outlined in Chapter 4 for choosing healthier foods and eating a balanced diet.

But you may wonder whether all the foods you eat really are enough to support the growth and development of your baby. In reality, there are sound reasons why pregnant women should take a little something extra beyond what their diet provides.

Most physicians now recommend some kind of prenatal vitamin and mineral supplement to pregnant women to help prevent any dietary deficiencies they might have. But there are also a lot of supplements out there that are not necessary and may even be dangerous.

A dietary supplement is a product that contains a dietary ingredient that is taken out of its natural form in food and is often delivered in concentrated form. It can include vitamins and minerals, as well as herbs or other botanicals, or amino acids and other components of natural foods that have been isolated and reconstituted 91

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Healthy Eating During Pregnancy

in another form, such as a capsule, softgel, powder, or liquid. It’s important for all pregnant women to know what supplements can and can’t do for them, and which ones are the ones they need.

First, I’d like to issue a cautionary note about all dietary supplements. Dietary supplements are regulated differently from either food or medications. The respon-sibility for ensuring a supplement’s safety lies with the manufacturer, not an over-seeing agency such as the FDA, which is responsible for taking action against any unsafe substance that reaches the market—but only after a substance has been found to be unsafe and brought to the agency’s attention. With thousands of products on the market, only a very severe or widespread danger would single out one particular product. So far, the only herbal ingredient to be pulled from the market entirely has been ephedra, and then only after years of concern by health authorities. And supplements that contain the same ingredient have been found to vary widely in quality and content. This doesn’t mean that all supplements are dangerous; most reputable companies know that ensuring a safe, consistent product is in their best interest. But you can’t assume that everything sold on your local pharmacy’s shelves has been tested for quality or safety.

Prenatal Vitamins

I have encouraged you to eat foods that are nourishing and provide a natural source of vitamins and minerals. Many foods on the market—such as breakfast cereals, beverages, and nutrition bars—are also fortified with vitamins and minerals, and these nutrients can be included in your daily tally. But there are a few critical nutrients—especially iron, calcium, and folic acid—that are difficult to get enough of through diet alone. Folic acid supplementation for women who may become pregnant and women in their first trimester of pregnancy is a key health goal in the recent federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans released in 2005. Most physicians recommend taking a prenatal vitamin to ensure that pregnant women are not deficient in nutrients.

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