More Effective Alternatives to Prenatal Vitamins

Diet and Nutrition
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My wife is expecting, and started taking a prenatal vitamin. Pretty sure it’s just whichever one looked the most legit at Target. Around the same time, I was looking through old T-Nation articles, and came across several about the questionable effectiveness of multivitamins. This led to me looking at what was offered at the store, which made me then look at prenatal vitamins. I didn’t know for sure what the difference was, and it looks like prenatal vitamins mostly contain larger doses of things more specific to women, like folic acid and iron.

Anyway, all the articles I’ve ever seen on here talked about how the mishmash of vitamins and minerals don’t work well together. Here’s the dosages from the #1 prenatal vitamin (according to some doctors):

Prenatal Vitamin Nutrional Info
Prenatal Vitamin Nutrional Info510×882 201 KB

It’s got iron and zinc, and A, E and K, but here, it says

It’s also got magnesium and calcium, but here, it says

I was surprised to see that this prenatal had more DHA than EPA. The same company’s standalone fish oil has about 3x more EPA than DHA. I know Biotest’s fish oil has more DPA and they talk about how good it is for men, but is there some reason why another company would use that ratio specifically for pregnant women but not the general population?

Anyway, so as is expected, it seems like even the “best” prenatals probably aren’t that effective. Or at least not as much as one would hope. Is it just easier/cheaper to sell something as all-in-1 than listing 10 different products?

I’m generally a believer that you should get as much of your nutrients from food as possible, but obviously in this day and age that’s not always easy, when you look at the quality of our food and how it’s raised (both plants and animals). And pregnant/nursing women in particular would probably benefit from the added boost as much as anyone else. So, in T-Nation’s opinion, what’s a better combination/timing of supplementation for pregnant/nursing women?

TL;DR Prenatal vitamins, like multivitamins, contain lots of vitamins and minerals that may counteract with each other. What are good alternatives to the all-in-1 supplementation plan for pregnant/nursing women?

@Chris_Shugart - here’s that new question I mentioned last time. As usual, any thoughts are appreciated. @QuadQueen - as a woman and nutrition-whiz, do you have any thoughts? When looking at old posts on here, I saw @Bronwen_Blunt had posted some interesting things about nutrition and pregnancy, but I don’t know if you are active on here anymore. Thanks all.

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DHA plays a critical role during pregnancy since it’s a key structural component of the brain, retina, and nervous system, making it essential for fetal development, especially in the third trimester when brain growth accelerates. Studies suggest that adequate DHA intake during pregnancy supports cognitive and visual development in the baby, and it may also reduce the risk of preterm birth. EPA has its benefits too, but DHA shines.

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So why do so many companies put so much more EPA in their fish oil? Is it cheaper or something? Pretty much everything I read talks about how great DHA is but everyone puts such a small amount of it in their stuff.

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Fish naturally have more EPA than DHA. It’s cheaper to leave it that way than to ramp up the DHA, as Biotest does with Flameout. Better fish oil, slightly higher cost.

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Gotcha, thanks.

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Animal proteins and animal fats… especially the L Carnitine content. fatty fish too

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Tried some sardines the other day… fed them to my cats

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I could never make sardines a regular thing. Tried it a few times.

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I actually like them… when I give them to my cats

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Sardines are fantastic. About the only issue I have is other people not liking it when I eat them. Been trying to find some anchovies packed in water, but no dice on that sadly.

I’d give a shout out to some beef liver for vitamins as well.

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This might make me unpopular here, but for women who are planning to become pregnant and/or who are pregnant or nursing, I’m always going to recommend a prenatal. Although there are nutrients that compete for absorption in every multi and even just when we eat, getting the DHA, folic acid and adequate vitamins and minerals before, during and after pregnancy is super important for both the health of the baby and the mother. In this case, I tend to not overthink it, consider the prenatal an insurance policy. Make sure diet is healthy and focused on nutrient dense choices too, the vitamin isn’t there to take the place of sound nutrition, it’s just some extra to help support increased needs. I don’t specialize in working with pregnant/nursing women though, so if you don’t agree or want a different answer, I’d suggest finding an RD that specializes in the area.

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Taking folic acid in pregnancy is thought to help prevent neural tube defects and one other main reasons that women are recommended these, in pregnancy. I don’t think there’s anything that anyone on a lifting forum could say on this matter, that would take over the advice of my wife’s OB/GYN.

Congratulations, BTW.

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Not unpopular at all! I don’t have a problem with prenatals, and figured they were better than nothing, I just wondered if there was an…“optimal” (man, I hate that word) way to get those nutrients.

No, not really looking for a specific answer, just wanted to hear thoughts from others who likely know more than I do. As usual, I appreciate what you offered up.

And I am now further convinced of the importance of DHA! I checked her label and fish oil was about the only thing it didn’t contain. So we’ll either switch brands or add in some Flameout.

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I got offered to go on a buffalo hunt last weekend but I was out of town. Some buffalo liver would be pretty freakin’ anabolic.

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