Today my guest blogger is Danielle Wollmann and she is talking about pre-conception nutrition!
As moms or even moms-to-be, we all want the best for our babies. We want them to grow healthily, be strong and we want to provide the best environment possible for them as they grow. A big part of this is proper nutrition.
We are all aware that we need to eat well during pregnancy to ensure baby gets all the proper nutrients it needs to grow and thrive while in utero. But did you know that you should start preparing your body and paying attention to nutrition long before you actually conceive? Ensuring your body is well prepared nutritionally before conception will have great benefits for baby, but also your own health and mental well-being. During pregnancy and even while nursing many nutritional needs grow, and if those needs aren’t being met the body will send reserves to baby, leaving mom in a depleted state that can negatively impact health in many ways. Post-partum mental health is a serious and growing issue that affects many moms. Increasing certain nutrients and ensuring good digestion during pregnancy can go a long way in preventing these issues. While there are many components that contrite to post partum mental health issues, not one single factor can be pinpointed as a cause. However, we do know nutrition is a very important piece of the puzzle and should always be considered.
Now that you know you should be taking nutrition very seriously before conception, you may be asking which foods or nutrients are important for you to include in your diet or supplementation routine? Also, when should you start thinking about making these changes?
I would say a good 6 months of nutrition preparation before conception is ideal.
What Nutrients to include and where to find them:
In this post I will focus mainly on the fat soluble vitamins and explain why I think they are important to focus on while you prepare your body for conception.
Fat-Soluble Vitamins: (A, D, E, K).
One of the reasons these vitamins are so important during preconception is because they can be stored by the body. Unlike water soluble vitamins that are either used or excreted, fat soluble vitamins can be stored for use when needed at a later time. This is important, as the nutritional needs increase during pregnancy and stores may be depleted. Fat soluble vitamins play very important roles in the development of baby and many babies are being born already depleted of these vitamins, such as vitamin K and D. It is so common that many hospitals give a vitamin K shot and recommend giving vitamin D drops as soon as baby is born. Ensuring that you are intaking enough of these fat soluble vitamins can help prevent baby from being deficient in infancy.
What roles do these fat soluble vitamins play in fetal development?
Here are just a few:
Vitamin A: Is important for the development of baby’s nervous system, eyes, spinal cord, dental arches and thyroid. A deficiency of vitamin A in pregnancy can affect the sensitive developing central nervous system. Deficiency during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of preterm labour and maternal anaemia.
Vitamin D: Maternal deficiency determines infant deficiency. This is a big problem, seeing as the majority of people are already deficient in vitamin D. For this reason, it is especially important for those looking to conceive to ensure they are getting sufficient amounts. The role of vitamin D during pregnancy is to develop and support the immune system, as well as healthy cell division and bone development. Fetuses developed in conditions of vitamin D depletion have showed increased risk to infection and auto-immune diseases later in life. Vitamin D deficiency has also showed an increase in preeclampsia, higher risk of c-section and impaired fetal growth.
Vitamin E: Plays an important role in the early development of the nervous system, eyes and head. Sufficient vitamin E improves circulation in the mother, which can ensure plenty of oxygen getting to baby and a healthy womb environment. Studies show that children who had a higher concentration of vitamin E at birth had enhanced cognitive abilities as they grew into childhood and adolescence.
Vitamin K: Vitamin K plays an important role in healthy blood clotting, but it also is important for developing healthy cartilage around the nose and face. Cartilage that can continue to grow in a normal non-calcified state. A deficiency in vitamin K during fetal development can cause premature calcification of this cartilage and cause some stunting of the growth of the face. Many dentists today report treating children with faces too narrow to fit all their teeth, along with narrow sinus cavities and palates. Sufficient Vitamin K during pregnancy can help ensure a nice broad jaw and pallet to allow for healthier, straighter teeth.
My recommendation is to increase food sources of these vitamins rather than supplement, as over-supplementation of some these fat soluble vitamins can lead to toxicity. The exception to this is Vitamin D, which should be supplemented in the winter months.
Here are the best food sources for each of the above mentioned nutrients that should be increased while preparing for pregnancy:
Vitamin A:
Vitamin A is found in 2 forms:
1.) Retinol (or vitamin A1 )
2.) Carotenes (or provitamin A)
Women preparing for pregnancy should be looking to consume foods with both sources.
Sources of Retinol:
- Beef and chicken livers
- Salmon
- Tuna
- Goat cheese
- Butter
Sources of Carotene:
- Sweet Potatoes
- Winter squash
- Kale ( cooked)
- Carrots
- Red bell peppers
- Spinach
Vitamin D:
- Fresh Fatty fish such as Herring, salmon, sardines, mackerel and bluefish.
- Eggs
- Organ meats, such as liver.
- Sunlight in summer is the best source of Vitamin D. At least 15-30 mins on exposed skin each day. In the winter it will be necessary to supplement. Around 5000 IU is needed for the average adult.
Vitamin E:
- Sunflower seeds
- Almonds
- Peanuts
- Salmon
- Avocado
- Red bell pepper
- Mango
- Hazelnuts
Vitamin K:
- Kale
- Spianch
- Natto ( fermented soy product)
- Brussels sprouts
- Beef liver
- pork chops
- Green beans
- Swiss chard
- cheese (gouda, brie, edam)
- prunes
- kiwi
Vitamin K is also found in 2 forms, Vitamin K1 is found in vegetable sources and should be taken with some fat as it is a fat soluble vitamin. K2 is found in animal sources, and also abundant in fermented foods. Some K2 is also formed by the good gut bacteria we have in our gut. Another important reason to take care of that gut microbiome!
Healthy Fats:
Since the nutrients discussed above are fat soluble, it is important to also make sure you are getting plenty of healthy fats in your diet. These foods include:
- olive oil
- coconut oil
- grass-fed butter
- grass-fed meats
- avocados
- egg yolks
- nuts and seeds
- full fat dairy ( if dairy is tolerated well)
Now that we know some of the important nutrients we should be getting while preparing for pregnancy, let’s talk about the foods we should be avoiding.
- Packaged and Processed foods: Many contain refined flours and sugar, which are not only empty calories, but anti-nutrients, meaning they actually rob essential vitamins and minerals which are precious when our bodies are growing a tiny human. We need all the nutrition we can get, and eating refined food will just add to deficiency.
- Non-organic fruits and vegetables: Fruits and vegetables sprayed with chemicals contain estrogenic compounds which can cause hormonal imbalances . These hormone imbalances can make conception difficult and can impact the fetus once pregnant. The chemicals sprayed on some produce also contain heavy metals, such as cadmium. The best nutrition will come from local, vine ripened and in season produce. Of course in the winter months, this will be difficult to find, so do the best you can when you can!
Eating a diet full of whole foods in their natural form and avoiding packaged and processed food is the best way to ensure a good variety of nutrients and develop good nutrient stores for pregnancy.
If you would like help creating a meal plan to suit your needs and to help prepare for the best start for your child as you prepare to conceive, feel free to contact me and we can create a personalized plan that works for you.
