“All Pregnant Mothers, Beware:” Gynecologist Exposes a Hidden Concern About America’s Best Selling Prenatal Vitamin

 

 

A pregnant woman knows – there is nothing more important than getting enough nutrients for both her and her baby. When going to a doctor, a gynecologist or a family physician will always recommend prenatal vitamins in hopes of providing just that.

But is your gynecologist recommending the right types of vitamins? Most best selling vitamins are not made from top quality ingredients. And the merits of synthetic vitamins like One-a-Day in comparison with whole foods or whole food based vitamins have been hotly debated for quite awhile.

As Dr. Christian Bogner, obstetrician-gynecologist from Michigan, exposes on his Facebook page, many prenatal vitamins are made from myriad questionable ingredients — things that children and even adult’s bodies have a hard time processing, to say nothing of the potential toll taken on infants.

Dr. Bogner found most of the prenatal vitamins contain GMO soy and/or corn, and are being tested for glyphosate toxicity. Just the look of these vitamins is unnatural:

 

One of the Most Popular Prenatal Vitamins – Full of Questionable Ingredients

Many of the vitamin choices recommended by doctors are made by pharmaceutical companies like Bayer and other companies that are heavily involved in the pesticides, synthetic medicine and GMO trades.

These types of vitamins are the most common at doctors’ offices because that’s what the pharmaceutical representatives provide to doctors.

One of the most popular One-a-Day vitamins is Prenatal 1 by Bayer.

Let’s take a look at the ingredient list:

Calcium Carbonate, Microcrystalline Cellulose, Magnesium Oxide, Ferrous Fumarate, Ascorbic Acid, Dl-Alpha-Tocopheryl Acetate; less than 2% of: Beta-Carotene, Biotin, Cholecalciferol, Croscarmellose Sodium, Cupric Oxide, Cyanocobalamin, D-Calcium Pantothenate, FD&C Red #40 Dye, FD&C Red #40 Lake, FD&C Yellow #6 Lake, Folic Acid, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Niacinamide, Polyethylene Glycol, Polysorbate 80, Potassium Iodide, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Silicon Dioxide, Stearic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate, Titanium Dioxide (Color), Vitamin A Acetate, Zinc Oxide.

Ingredients of the capsule: Marine Lipid Concentrate, Gelatin, Water, Glycerin, Ethylcellulose; Less than 2% of: Medium Chain Triglycerides, Oleic Acid, Sodium Alginate, Stearic Acid.

First of all, there are three artificial food dyes (FD&C Red #40 Dye, FD&C Red #40 Lake, FD&C Yellow #6 Lake), which are absolutely unnecessary. Does it matter which color a capsule looks like when you are going to swallow it in two seconds?

There are no benefits, yet the price our bodies pay could be high. Dyes are linked to a host of health issues. Red #40 is one of the worst ones and is associated with cancer risk, because it contain compounds benzene and 4-aminobiphenyl. All food dyes affect children the most and contribute to hyperactivity, irritability, allergies, aggressiveness, and learning impairment.

There has been very little research done on how the dyes affect adults. There is even less research on pregnant women and how the dyes might affect their hormones and fetal development. However, the research we do have does not paint a pretty picture.

When tested on pregnant rats, researchers found that artificial colorings lead to learning and memory problems. One documented case-study reports a 15-year-old pregnant girl going into anaphylactic shock from Yellow #6, one of the dyes that is the most commonly related to allergies.

All current research shows that these dyes should not be used in food or vitamins and are best to be avoided completely.

Synthetic Vitamins May Be a Problem

Next, we see that prenatal vitamins manufactured by pharmaceutical companies are full of synthetic vitamins. To no one’s surprise, there is nothing natural about them.

“Aren’t all vitamins the same?” some might ask.

Our bodies do not absorb synthetic vitamins the same way, because they are made with chemicals and because they are separated from other micro-nutrients. In nature, each vitamin is a complex combination of trace minerals and enzymes; synthetic vitamins are lacking that. The human body then tries to replenish what’s missing and depletes already existing nutrients in this process, according to the Organic Consumers Association.

Prenatal vitamin products can also contain many potentially toxic filler ingredients.

Toxic Additives in Vitamins to Avoid 

These are just some of the few concerning ingredients in vitamins in general, and all of these are found in Bayer’s prenatal vitamins:

Stearic Acid, Silicon Dioxide, Polyethylene Glycol, Croscarmellose Sodium and Microcrystalline Cellulose are potential neurotoxins.

Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose is a cellulose polymer that is used as a gluten and gelatin alternative. It can be disruptive to digestive and endocrine health.

Polysorbate 80 is a synthetic compound found in food, cosmetics, and drugs. Animal tests linked it to increased risk of cancer and adverse reproductive effects. One study linked it to infertility in mice, another to anaphylactic shock in pregnant women.

Titanium Dioxide is a useless filler in vitamins. It’s also a potential carcinogen and can lead to immune dysfunction in the body with too much use for some people.

There is also a warning on the vitamin box that it contains soy, which is most likely to be GMO.

Between artificial dyes, synthetic vitamins, and toxic additives, prenatal vitamins made by pharmaceutical companies are best to be avoided.  Of course, these chemicals are in small doses. But when there’s a developing fetus that is receiving them, why risk it when there are better options?

Are Prenatal Vitamins Necessary? Better Ones to Buy

When looking at the prenatal vitamins debate, medical opinions are all over the board: from absolutely necessary, to useless and even potentially harmful (when synthetic).

Looking at the big picture, it is not that pregnant women need to take vitamins, it is that they need to make sure that they are not low on any vitamins or minerals required for them and their baby to be healthy.

Because everyone has a different diet and absorbs nutrients differently, this is where is could be beneficial to talk to a naturopathic doctor and get tested for nutritional deficiencies.

When there is a nutritional deficiency based on a test, your doctor’s diagnosis, or you already know you are not getting enough of something, it is almost always best to try to get this nutrient from high quality preferably organic food, or juicing. When that is not possible, there are food-sourced prenatal vitamins, which are natural. MegaFood makes a prenatal and postnatal vitamin called “Baby & Me 2.”

Their ingredients are gluten, dairy and soy-free, vegetarian, non-GMO, and are derived from carrots, oranges, brown rice, cabbage, and broccoli. The only ingredient (other than the gluten) that might not agree with everyone is Saccharomyces cerevisiae – yeast used for brewing and baking. It has a lot of nutritional properties but for some people may trigger a digestive upset. For over 72% of people who rated it 5-stars, this does not seem to be a problem.

If you’d like to avoid the yeast, you can look into prenatal multivitamins by the Garden of Life*. Their organic vitamins are sourced from curry leaf, hummingbird tree leaf, guava, amla berry, sea kelp, holy basil, annatto, lemon, moringa, apple, beet, broccoli, carrot, tomato, spinach, strawberry, tart cherry, blackberry, green bell pepper, Brussels sprouts, blueberry, garlic, green onion, raspberry, parsley, cauliflower, red cabbage, kale, cucumber, celery, and asparagus.

If you cannot get enough vitamins form food, these two companies above are packed with good ingredients, and contain none of the bad ones. You can sleep easy knowing you are doing both you and your baby good.

Beware of synthetic vitamins and food dyes:

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*Editor’s note (February 2020): It should be noted that Garden of Life is now owned by Nestle, a well known pro-GMO corporation. If you do choose to buy from them, be aware of what you are supporting. Also, this article is for informational purposes only and contain affiliate links for the organic vitamins. Consult a doctor before changing your pre-natal routine. See our full disclaimer here.

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