Most prenatal supplements do not provide enough key nutrients

Almost no prenatal dietary supplements provide key nutrients in the doses needed for pregnant women…

Levels of vitamin A, vitamin D, folic acid, calcium, iron and omega-3 fatty acids were not in accordance with the nutritional guidelines set by the National Institutes of Health. This has significant consequences for both mother and child.

Research just published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reveals that most pregnant women are undernourished for up to six key nutrients.

The authors note:

“Most pregnant women in the United States (US) are at risk of inadequate intake of key nutrients during pregnancy from foods alone. Current dietary supplement practices reduce risk of inadequacy for only some nutrients and induce excessive intake of other nutrients.”

“Inadequate and/or excessive intake of nutrients during pregnancy is associated with adverse maternal and offspring health outcomes [[1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8]]. More than half of pregnant women in the United States (US) are at risk of inadequate intake of vitamin D, folate, and iron from foods alone, and one-third of them are at risk of inadequate intake of vitamin A and calcium [9]. Dietary supplement use is common (>70% of pregnant women), but it does not eliminate risk of inadequate intake of all nutrients and causes >25% of pregnant women to consume more than the maximum intake levels of folic acid and iron, which is likely to cause adverse health effects [9, 10].”

20,547 dietary supplements (including 421 prenatal products) evaluated

The authors estimated the doses of supplementation needed to help most pregnant women achieve the recommended intake without exceeding upper limits for key prenatal nutrients and identify supplements providing these doses by conducting 24-h dietary recalls in 2450 pregnant participants to estimated the usual intake of vitamin A, vitamin D, folate, calcium, iron, and omega-3 fatty acids from foods alone, then calculating the target doses of supplementation needed to shift 90% of participants to consume above the estimated average requirement. Only one product out of thousands fit the bill.

“The target dose for supplementation was ≥198 mcg retinol activity equivalents of total vitamin A (with ≤2063 mcg preformed retinol); 7–91 mcg vitamin D; 169–720 mcg dietary folate equivalents of folic acid; 383–943 mg calcium; 13–22 mg iron; and ≥59 mg ω-3 FAs. Out of 20,547 dietary supplements (including 421 prenatal products), 69 products (33 prenatal) contained all 6 nutrients; 7 products (2 prenatal) contained target doses for 5 nutrients. Only 1 product (not a prenatal) contained target doses for all 6 nutrients, but it currently costs ∼USD200/mo and requires 7 tablets per daily serving.”

One-size-fits-all is not the best approach anyway

The authors concluded:

“Almost no US dietary supplements provide key nutrients in the doses needed for pregnant women. Affordable and convenient products that fill the gap between food-based intake and estimated requirements of pregnancy without inducing excess intake are needed to support pregnant women and their offspring.”

Quoted in Technology Networks, lead author Dr. Katherine Sauder stated:

“Nutrition is critical for a healthy mom and a healthy baby. Too little of certain nutrients can cause preterm birth, low birth weight, birth defects and other health challenges. At the same time, too much could change how a baby’s body develops and their risk of having health problems in the future. That’s why eating a balanced diet and choosing a good prenatal vitamin is so important.”

But it stands to reason that differences in biological and biological individuality dictate that the most effective and safe approach is to select and calibrate supplements according to personal needs—which vary widely—base on objective lab measurements.