Give the body what it needs, take away what it doesn’t need, and it will heal itself.

—CHRISTA’S HEALTH PHILOSOPHY

Before we jump into prenatal vitamins and other supplements to nourish your body, we want to address stress. Studies show that stress has been found to interrupt the body’s ability to handle inflammation, leaving it susceptible to the development and progression of disease. If your body is working hard to combat inflammation and the illnesses that are wreaking havoc on you, all the supplements and food we want you to benefit from will not be able to take your body to its full potential, its full power.

After nine years of clinical practice, Christa has come to firmly believe that if you can learn to manage your stress and harness your mind’s amazing power (rather than let it wear you down), then the healing process is more rapid and more graceful. This makes stress management vitally important since this emotional sense of unease is responsible for or connected to almost all illness.¹

Clinical research studies have proven time and time again that mental stress has a real impact on your physical health—namely your thyroid, metabolism, and digestive system. When you experience stress emotionally or mentally, your blood vessels constrict and your sympathetic nervous system activates—that’s your fight-or-flight response. At the same time, stress hormones thin the mucosal lining in your intestinal tract, which weakens your immunity to foreign invaders and pathogens such as yeast, mold, bad bacteria, and parasites. You get the picture.

But since you probably don’t have the luxury of recovering from stress by having a monthlong island vacation (ahhhh… let’s go!), it’s best to learn how to change your relationship to stress so it doesn’t adversely affect the whole system.

Stress is always going to be a part of a responsible adult’s life, but by improving your relationship with it and your reaction to it, you’ll vastly improve your sense of well-being and your physical health. We want you to begin thinking about what it will take to slow down enough to make room for a baby, because you must start creating space for this little being before he or she is even the size of a pea. Rest and relax more now, invite in only nurturing, supportive relationships (ditching the ones that drain you), meditate, do yoga and movement you enjoy, not laborious exercise you feel forced to do. Enjoy more walking, more dancing, and more singing.

Following our recommendations throughout this book can help you reduce mental and emotional stress (that is often aggravated by what we choose or don’t choose to feed ourselves). Be sure to check out Chapter 11 on homeopathy (here), and maybe dig a little deeper into the topic on your own if it sparks your interest. There are simple homeopathic tools that can remove the veil of stress for a brighter and clearer state of health. Check out balancingyourhealth.com for all your remedy kit ideas.

Now… let’s jump in.

YOU NEED MORE THAN JUST A PRENATAL VITAMIN

There is so much hype about supplements these days: Which are the best ones, do we really need them, and do they really work? While it all depends on quality and your current state of health, our hard-and-fast answer to whether one needs to supplement is a resounding yes. And here’s why.

With the onset of genetically modified foods starting in the mid-1990s coupled with the low-fat craze at the same time, our food supply dramatically shifted away from whole, real food. It’s not just processed foods that are an issue, but our fruits and vegetables aren’t as nutritious as they used to be, thanks to genetic modification and low-quality soil. So much has the nutritional content of our food and soil diminished that, according to a senior researcher at the Worldwatch Institute, you have to eat three apples today to equal the nutrient content of one apple in 1940!² How do you like them apples? Yeah, we don’t either.

We are contending with unhealthy trans fats and pro-inflammatory oils like canola, cottonseed, and soy at most restaurants, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), genetically modified foods (GMOs, aka Frankenfoods), environmental toxins, and the list goes on. Not only are we eating more processed foods than ever, but the raw materials from which those processed foods are made have degraded exponentially. Sadly, this means that simply eating a well-balanced diet doesn’t necessarily ensure you’re getting all the nutrients you need. Hence the need for supplements.

Not only are we eating more processed foods than ever, but the raw materials from which those processed foods are made have degraded exponentially.

When shopping for a prenatal vitamin, we like those that are sourced from real, whole food whenever possible, though we know that nonfood-based elements are sometimes necessary for maximum absorption. We always notice we feel better and our clients fare better when taking food-based supplements. The most important consideration for any supplement is its quality. You want to keep the number of additives and excipients (aka, the litany of unpronounceable elements listed under “other ingredients”) to a minimum. In addition, many prenatal vitamins contain harmful food dyes and additives that are overlooked and overbought, so please read your labels! Specific ingredients you should actively avoid include:

• FD&C Blue #2 Lake

• FD&C Yellow #5 (Tartrazine) Lake

• FD&C Yellow #6 Lake

• Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose

• Polyethylene glycol

• Stearic acid

• Soybeans

• Maltodextrin

These unnecessary, often toxic, ingredients are in many mainstream brands. They thwart absorption and put a toxic burden on your liver and gastrointestinal system, so be sure to flip over that bottle and read the label—even if the supplement is your doctor’s recommendation.

PRENATAL VITAMINS

A good prenatal vitamin doesn’t necessarily need to say prenatal. The two most important things to look for are enough folate (aim for 800 mcg or more, and note this is folate, not folic acid) and iron (18 milligrams or higher).

You can also choose a high-quality multivitamin and make sure you are eating foods rich in folate and iron—or take additional supplements of these two nutrients.

Because we want to take the guesswork out of getting healthy, here are our top four favorite choices for a prenatal vitamin ^*:

• Thorne Research’s Basic Prenatal

• Ortho Molecular’s Prenatal Complete

• New Chapter’s Perfect Prenatal

• Garden of Life’s Vitamin Code Raw Prenatal

Is there a difference between folate and folic acid? Yes, there actually is a significant difference despite the fact that these two terms are frequently used interchangeably.

Folate is a term used for water-soluble B vitamins, also called B9. Folic acid, a type of folate, is usually a synthetic compound made in a lab that doesn’t naturally come from food.

Natural folate is absorbed through your small intestine; folic acid must be processed by the liver. The problem is that the liver doesn’t contain a lot of enzymes to process folic acid. Too often, the folic acid isn’t metabolized and it circulates in the blood without a good way for it to actually be used or processed. The moral of the story: Folate is much healthier and an absolute must if you have MTHFR genetic mutations (that tricky cellular disruption we mentioned here in Chapter 2). So look for folate on your supplement label. However, if your supplement is made from food, then any folic acid listed comes from folate and you are fine. Christa recommends adding folate to your diet at least 30 days before you try to conceive.

Folic acid is a B vitamin. If a woman has enough folic acid in her body at least one month before and during pregnancy, it can help prevent major birth defects of the baby’s brain and spine.

—CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION

ADDITIONAL SUPER BOOSTING SUPPLEMENTS

There are a few necessary superstar supplements to add to the prenatal vitamin if you are going to create a super baby and feel your best. Check out the following suggestions to get your glow on.

Greens Formula

Most of our prenatal clients take a top-quality greens formula. What we like about greens formulas is that they contain multiple varieties of micronutrients to support the immune system, the nervous system, and digestive health. They are also loaded with greens that are exceptionally high in chlorophyll to oxygenate the blood and increase energy production. Many also contain good fiber and multiple separate strains of probiotics for digestive health. Finally, greens help to balance pH and to alkalize the body, an important part of the biochemistry of conception.

We generally recommend taking one to three capsules with breakfast and one to three with lunch throughout preconception, and then take one or two throughout pregnancy and during the initial three-month postpartum period. These are a few of our favorites, but there are many others:

• HealthForce’s Vitamineral Green

• Garden of Life’s Perfect Food

• Allergy Research Group’s ProGreens

Fish Oil (Omega-3 Fatty Acids, aka DHA/EPA)

Far and away, every pregnant woman needs to take fish oil to provide usable omega-3 fatty acids for the baby’s brain development and to decrease inflammation and provide proper immunity for mom. Fish oil will help make your baby smarter (more on this in Chapter 5). Our current favorite omega-3 supplement is Green Pasture’s fermented cod liver oil. We recommend it to most of our clients.

Fish oil will help make your baby smarter.

This complex provides the right amount of healthy fat balance (together, vitamin A, butter, oil, and fermented cod liver oil have a synergistic effect) and will make an incredible difference in the health of your pregnancy. Because the fish oil is fermented (the only one we know of that is), it is great for digestive health as well and easier for the body to absorb. However, if you notice bloating or gas after using fermented fish oil, switch to a non-fermented version. Other reputable brands of fish oil are Carlson’s Cod Liver Oil, New Chapter’s Wholemega, and Nordic Naturals, which can all be found in your health food store. In Chapter 5, we’ll explain ways to get usable omega-3s and vitamin A through your diet.

As a general prenatal practice, we recommend two capsules with breakfast and two with lunch, but adjust the dose to what feels best for you. And if you get the fish burps (yuck), our favorite tip is to put your fish oil in the freezer. By the time it thaws out, it will already be in your belly with no chance of upward travel.

There is not just a two- or a threefold increase, but an almost eightfold increase in absorption of omega-3s when high-quality fish oil is taken with a meal containing good fat.

In a recent study conducted by Omthera Pharmaceuticals, fish oil absorption was compared when taken with a diet high in fat and one low in fat. The results showed a whopping eightfold increase in the absorption of omega-3s when high-quality fish oil was taken with a meal containing high levels of good fat.³ This is why the high-vitamin butter blend is so magical.

There is some concern within the medical community about an overload of vitamin A and creating vitamin A toxicity. If you are well-versed in nutrition and reading our book, you might be asking the same question.

If you take a prenatal with 10,000 IU of vitamin A, use cod liver oil with 5,000 IU, and are also consuming higher-fat animal products like butter that contain vitamin A, are you at risk for having too much vitamin A?

The best way is always to test it. However, in her practice Christa has tested many clients’ vitamin A levels and has never had one come back toxic. Most of the current research points to vitamin A toxicity actually being a myth and to concerns being exaggerated.⁴

While some forms of synthetic vitamin A found in supplements can be toxic at only moderately high doses, fat-soluble vitamin A, naturally found in foods like cod liver oil, liver, and the fat from grass-fed butter, is considered safe at up to ten times the doses of vitamin A found in synthentic supplements.⁵

It’s important to note that the vitamin D found in cod liver oil and grass-fed animals protects against vitamin A toxicity, allowing one to consume much higher amounts of vitamin A before it becomes toxic.

We first learned about this from Weston A. Price, a dentist in the early twentieth century widely celebrated for his theories on the relationship between nutrition, dental health, and physical health.

He noted specific traits in the diets of healthy tribal people in Africa and Asia. According to Dr. Price, they “contained at least ten times as much vitamin A as the American diet of his day (1920s and 30s). His work revealed that vitamin A is one of several fat-soluble activators present only in animal fats and necessary for the assimilation of minerals in the diet. He noted that the foods held sacred by the peoples he studied, such as spring butter, fish eggs, and shark liver, were exceptionally rich in vitamin A.”⁶

Probiotics

Only a couple of years ago, good bacteria didn’t get enough press—only bad bacteria did. But that tide has shifted lately, thanks in part to popular yogurt commercials. Still, most people don’t quite understand how little bugs in your gut could possibly be a good thing. Fair enough.

Here is a little background: Bacteria are the oldest living organisms on earth. We have trillions of bacterial cells in and on us at any given point and they all play a really important role in our lives: They keep us alive and cover us in an invisible body armor that protects us and keeps out environmental insults. They digest our food, make our vitamins, and educate our immune system about how to keep bad microbes at bay.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, we must say this again. Digestive health is the foundation of the health of our entire bodies and our immune systems. Probiotics provide good bacteria to our digestive system, which enable us to create a strong immune system. We need good bacteria to crowd out the bad bacteria, to keep yeast in balance, to digest our food, and for regular bowel movements to eliminate toxins from the body.

If you haven’t taken probiotics (good bacteria) ever, or in a long while, start using a good, multi-strain probiotic that contains both lactobacillus and bifidobacterium strains for 90 days (dosage anywhere from 10 to 50 billion colony-forming units; start slow and cut down if you feel bloated). We like Thorne Research and Pure Encapsulations brands and suggest taking one to two either first thing in the morning or before bed, without food, to bring good flora (bacteria) and life to the intestinal tract. This will ensure better nutrient absorption and offset potential constipation as well. In a little bit we will tell you all about fermented foods so you can get the good bacteria regularly and keep your immune system rock solid.

Your Baby Needs Probiotics, Too!

There was a time when the general wisdom stated that babies were born with sterile guts and that they acquired the bacteria they needed from mom during the birthing process. Now we’ve come across research that says babies get their good bacteria from the amniotic fluid or placenta. This means you are actively building your baby’s immune system and digestive health (or potential for colic) while she is in the womb. The bacteria from the placenta will help shape your infant’s health and the bacterial makeup of her gut.⁷

We think this is very reassuring for women who will have or have had a cesarean. When it was thought that the majority of gut microbes was received by the baby when she passed through the birth canal, then missing out on this “big gulp,” as they call it, meant missing out on the benefits for future healthy gut flora. But we now know that no matter the type of delivery, a mother can provide healthy microbes for the future gut health of her infant while she is pregnant, and then again when she breast-feeds.

Probiotics and Antibiotics

Given the fact that bacteria serve us so well, antibiotics almost take on a sinister meaning—against our protective shield. Of course, antibiotics have an important place in our world and have saved many lives. We like that. What we aren’t so fond of is that in their crusade to kill all things bad in your system, they also kill a lot of good things, throwing your body out of balance. Antibiotics penetrate the GI mucosa, our first line of immune defense in protecting the intestinal lining from enteric toxins and pathogenic microorganisms—bad things that the body can normally wrap up in mucus and transport out.

Overuse of antibiotics can lead to leaky gut syndrome or intestinal permeability and malabsorption of nutrients.

Because antibiotics indiscriminately kill both the good and the bad bacteria and compromise the immune system, if you need to take them it is essential that you repopulate your tummy with good bacteria. Whenever you take antibiotics, you must concurrently take a high-quality multi-strain probiotic (that should contain the strain saccharomyces boulardii, which eats up yeast). It should be taken four hours after each dose of antibiotics. We recommend the Pure Encapsulations and Ortho Molecular brands.

Next, focus on boosting your immune system to help it repair itself. Try medicinal mushrooms like maitake and lion’s mane for about three weeks, while also using marshmallow root and slippery elm to repair the intestinal mucosa. You can find these mushrooms online, at some farmers’ markets, and at most Japanese markets. Our favorite supplement brands are Mushroom Matrix and Host Defense.

Vitamin D

A University of Pittsburgh study in the Journal of Nutrition shows that a common problem in pregnancy is a vitamin D deficiency, even among pregnant women taking prenatal supplements.⁸ Vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy can increase an infant’s risk for developing type 1 diabetes, asthma, and even schizophrenia. It is a crucial fat-soluble vitamin for mineral absorption, emotional well-being, strong immunity, strong bones and teeth, and healthy birth weight.

Yet 80 percent of the clients Christa tests are low in vitamin D—and we live in sunny Southern California! Check your vitamin D levels and supplement appropriately because your new baby will take from you 400 IU of the vitamin per day—whether or not you have extra to spare.

We routinely suggest taking 2,000 to 4,000 IU a day (have your doctor check your blood levels of vitamin D before you choose a dosage, because you might need less or more, and check your prenatal vitamin as it may fulfill your D needs already). Healthy vitamin D levels also dramatically reduce the risk of gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and high blood pressure. You will also feel happier, calmer, and more balanced.

Our favorite brands are D3 Serum by Premier Research Labs (one drop equals 1,000 IU of vitamin D), Thorne’s liquid vitamin D with K2, and Carlson Labs D3. If you prefer to get your vitamin D from your food, then you’re going to love the delicious suggestions we give you in the next chapter.

Maca is an adaptogenic root from high in the Andes Mountains that has been used for more than two millennia to promote fertility in both men and women. It is also amazingly helpful with stress adaptation.⁹ It nourishes the entire endocrine system because it supports the body’s own production of hormones by supporting the master glands in the brain to correct hormonal imbalance at its source, therefore affecting estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone. By addressing hormonal balance in the brain first, you give the body a chance to make and correct hormones the way it wants to, versus “forcing” a hormonal directive on your body by taking hormones. If you have been feeling exhausted, imbalanced, or your periods are not regular, consider using maca to safely achieve hormonal balance.

Ideally, we prefer to use maca in preconception only to build and balance the hormones for two to three months and then to taper off for pregnancy. Not enough studies have been done on taking maca during pregnancy, and while the general natural health consensus is that it is fine to consume during pregnancy, we like to err on the side of caution and have you only take it during the preconception period.

Using the right type of maca is very important. It is found in thirteen different colors, known as phenotypes, and research recently discovered that each color has different genetic material and specific medicinal qualities, all of which are quite different from each other. Yellow maca is the only phenotype implicated in female fertility. And while yellow maca also shows modest effects for sperm production in men, black maca is the real hero for men’s fertility because of how well it supports sperm production and motility. Our favorite women’s yellow maca is Femmenessence Pro and our favorite male black maca is from RevolutionPRO; both can be found online or in many Whole Foods Markets nationwide.

We also like these brands because it’s not just what you consume, but what you absorb that adds value to your health, and this maca is gelatinized for easier digestion and increased bioavailability whereas most maca is raw and harder to digest. The way this maca is processed does not involve excess heat, which maintains potency and efficacy.

How It Works

In women, maca works by modulating or balancing estrogen in the body. When estrogen levels are too high or too low, women may have difficulty getting pregnant or carrying to term. Excess estrogen levels also cause progesterone levels to plummet, making a healthy pregnancy difficult. Maca can help bring progesterone levels back into balance, particularly in postpartum when they typically drop.

You may be familiar with the term royal jelly from the labels of popular natural body products or if you are into nutrition and health. What it isn’t: fruit compote made for heads of state. What it is: the result of nurse worker bees chewing pollen and mixing it with secretions from glands in their mouths. This special mixture is the queen bee’s sole source of nutrition and the primary factor, many believe, in her incredible longevity and fertility. Queen bees live 50 times longer than regular bees (five to six years versus thirty to forty-five days) and produce approximately 250,000 eggs in one season, making as many as 200 eggs a day in peak season.

That’s some powerful jelly. Its magic appears to lie in its energetic and nutritive content of:

• Twenty-nine amino acids, eight of which are essential to humans

• Vitamins A, C, D, and F

• B-complex

• Trace minerals, calcium, and iron

• Natural hormones

• Acetylcholine (needed to transmit nerve messages from cell to cell)

• Decanoic acid (which possesses natural antibiotic abilities)

• Gamma globulin and adenylic nucleotides (for fighting infections and stimulating the immune system)

• Lipids and fatty acids

• Proteins

• Nucleic acids RNA and DNA

A six-month randomized placebo-controlled, double-blind trial of the hormonal effects of royal jelly conducted in 2007 in Japan was archived in the US National Library of Medicine in 2012.¹⁰ The study, done with 61 healthy volunteers, discovered that regular consumption of high-quality royal jelly may help balance hormones by mimicking human estrogen, giving a needed boost to those who run low. It also reported that royal jelly accelerates the conversion of DHEA to other hormones. DHEA is what is called a precursor hormone. The body uses it to make other key hormones that it needs like estrogen, as mentioned, but also testosterone and progesterone. Precursor hormones help the body choose for itself what hormones it needs to make.

The study also showed potential benefits in increasing the size of uterine cells (in rats), so the implications are exciting for women who have weak uterine muscles or thin uterine lining, which can happen during long-term hormonal birth control use.

Because it is a natural substance, royal jelly is typically tolerated well by most people, including young children (though it’s not appropriate for infants one year or younger), the elderly, and those recovering from illness. Of course, if you are allergic to bees or honey, this won’t be the superfood for you. In addition, some warnings extend to pregnant women whose family members or whose partner’s (or donor’s) family members have a history of allergies. When it comes to you and your baby, we always err on the side of safety.

A final note of responsible consumption: Only use the highest-quality products from reputable sources. You may have heard news reports about the decline of honeybees thanks to pollution’s effect on colony collapse. Our environment and food supply greatly depends on these little guys living a healthy life, so be sure to choose products from organic, free-range, biodynamic farming and beekeeping practices whenever possible.

Supplementation is one of the keys to optimal health for both you and your baby. Admittedly, it may feel odd to incorporate everything into your daily routine at first. Once you feel what it’s like to become truly nourished from the inside out, you’ll understand why we are advocates for supplementation—and how taking care of yourself is as important as taking care of your baby after he or she arrives.

CHAPTER THREE

Perfecting Preconception

The holistic mama’s guide to the best nutritional supplements

YOU NEED MORE THAN JUST A PRENATAL VITAMIN

PRENATAL VITAMINS

Folate versus Folic Acid

ADDITIONAL SUPER BOOSTING SUPPLEMENTS

Greens Formula

Fish Oil (Omega-3 Fatty Acids, aka DHA/EPA)

Vitamin A: How Much Is Too Much?

Probiotics

Your Baby Needs Probiotics, Too!

Probiotics and Antibiotics

Vitamin D

Maca Root: Peruvian Secret to Fertility

Royal Jelly: Fertility Superfood

Mama Story: Erin, age 33, and Jon, age 38