Supplements, supplements

Aah. The capitalist world of selling things we didn't know we needed. This is an AI-generated image btw.

Today we're going to talk about prenatal supplements. Before you read further - everything in here is my personal journey. There are no advertising efforts at play, no medical advice that's being provided here - what works for me may not work for you.

Now, I was (and still am) a big believer in supplements in general. My current diet is pretty healthy - lots of leafy greens, beans, lean protein, yada yada. But because of my hectic schedule at work, there are times where I end up skipping lunch, or go for a bite that's technically healthy, but not entirely balanced (think greek yoghurt with granola for breakfast. And lunch. And maybe even dinner on the same day. Doh). Multi-vitamins give me the reassurance that I'm doing something, even if it's not 100%, to fill some of the 'holes' in the nutrient spectrum.

Having said that, where these vitamins supplements were derived from - whether 'whole-food sourced' or produced synthetically in a lab - was not my greatest concern. One of my secondary school science teachers once said, 'a vitamin is at the end of the day an organic compound, and it doesn't matter where it's from. It's made up of elements that by definition cannot be broken down into anything else.' Whether it's right or wrong, it made sense to me and stuck with me for all of my adulthood. So when I went on the hunt for prenatals, I immediately went for the cheapest option (thanks, iHerb) with an adequate variety and supply of folic acid/B vitamins. After all - they're all still in business, and they're supposed to be supplements, not the source of my fertility. You take one or two pills daily, and that should be good enough to 'supplement' my attempts at babymaking, right? Who needs a 'whole food' derived vitamin that's twice the price, with a bit of marketing?

Turns out, my first bit of research online opened up a Pandora's box of advice and theories. Things like a single pill vs two pills with additional DHA, omega-3s. One pill a day or three times a day for 'slow-release.' Choline, cholate. CoQ10, or 'active' CoQ10. Folic acid or folate. With magnesium. Without magnesium. With prebiotic and probiotic. The options available were endless.

So I did what any sensible person would do - I went to see a doctor for advice. And after reviewing my age (not in my 20s), my stress levels (high), and blood test (hormones mostly normal), I got the following assignment (please note, this is personal and specifically tailored to me by my doc, and is definitely not medical advice for anyone else. Go see your own doctor and get your own advice, people!):

• Keep taking your prenatals (no specific advice on brand)

• Add 400mg of folic acid - the one we all know about.

• Add 50mg of ubiquinol (a type of 'active' CoQ10) - which apparently supports egg quality.

Does my prenatals include folic acid? Yes it does. Should I be worried I'm taking too much? No idea. Doctor's advice....

As I did more research on the side - it was incredible how important supplements were for a lot of people. For example, folic acid is especially important because if you don't have enough, you run the risk of neural tube defects in your baby - which is a severe birth defect of the brain and spine. And neural tube defects develop super early on, before most people even know they're pregnant. Bloody hell. So. moral of the story for me was, take folic acid in the months before you start trying to get pregnant. I hadn't gotten the memo, so I started taking them right away.

Separately, I started experimenting with different baseline prenatal supplements. I bought a 'One A Day' pack of daily dual pills from iHerb. I went to Belgium on holiday and picked up a 'Vinalac' + DHA/EPA from Medi-markt (also dual pills). At the suggestion of a friend I also tried 'MegaFood Baby & Me 2' from Amazon. I googled 'best prenatal vitamins of 2024' and saw 'Nature Made' Prenatals on top of the list from whattoexpect (this treasure trove of a website was super insightful for me btw). It came down to personal preference in the end - texture, the from experience of the bottle/blister pack. My favourites - Vinalac and MegaFood. Why? Vinalac has a tablet and a softgel set, and the tablet is a lovely, grainy, baby blue. The MegaFood is a tablet, and also grainy, albeit muddy (looks like someone mashed some hay together). It may be the placebo effect - but I felt that I was taking something healthy - sort of like when you purchase the matt cereal box, rather than the shiny plasticy boxes ya know? The MegaFood also made me feel significantly more energised - though again, it may be that I was eating exceptionally healthy during the time of taking those. Who knows. But it's enough for me to try a second bottle again!

It's not lost on me that MegaFood also contains 'real food like broccoli, carrots and oranges.' So maybe, a learning is that there is a difference in how vitamins are sourced, or at least rounded off with real food.

So my takeaway is - eat healthy, take supplements that have some support from real food if you feel the difference. At the end of the day, I figured, I'm just trying to get that one baby - so why not spend that extra bit of money if I can, and if it makes me feel good about it?

But I remain committed to variety - so my plan is to go trial a few more before I 'settle' on a consistent re-purchase. Stay tuned!