Hi there,
I have been taking prenatals for over four years now. I switched to a multi between the time I stopped nursing my eldest and the next pregnancy (3 months), and then I was back on them again for the second pregnancy and the 18 months of nursing that followed. Our youngest is four months and again, I was on them during the pregnancy and am now nursing him. I take the Solgar brand which says pregnant and nursing women should take four a day for maximum benefit. I never take four....usually two or three. But I recently read that prenatals can have too much folate and other things...and then my friend whose husband does cancer research said that her husband told her folate is responsible for the pathways that turn cancer genes on and off....or something like that.
So, what are your thoughts? Do you take your prenatals faithfully, do you cut back when nursing or stop them altogether?
I've always heard that the best vitamin any woman can take at any point in her life is pre-natal, regardless of whether she is pregnant or trying to get pregnant.
I think anything in high doses can cause cancer. If I ate too much pizza, I'm sure someone would find that it causes cancer. You know what I mean?
I think you're fine.
For a moment, I want to share with you something that is a bit unrelated, but you post triggered something for me. On last night's news (nightly news with Brian Williams), they talked about immunotherapy, which is a wonderful new treatment for cancer. They use your own immune system/cells to treat cancer, and it has worked! Just wanted to share.
Okay, on to your question. I have no idea if there is a correlation between too much folate and cancer, however, I know it doesn't matter how many vitamins you take if your vitamins are water soluble vitamins, because the excess (whatever you body does not need) gets eliminated in your urine. Are your pre-natal vitamins water soluable?
Better option - EAT your vitamins! I eat two eggs a day (either organic, or vegeterian fed, cage free with no hormones), and make myself a yummy veggie powder smoothie every day. My smoothie: 1.5 cups of milk, one cup of blueberries (Costco sells a big bag of frozen organic blueberries), a scoop of my green veggie powder (that I buy at my health food store), 1 TBSP cocoa powder (it has a lot of antioxidants), 2 TBSP ground flax seed, and some raw honey. With my 2 eggs and my smoothie every day, I do not need to take vitamins. Eggs are considered to be "natures vitamin," and I also get all the vitamins I need in my veggie powder smoothie. If you eat eggs and a smoothie (like mine) every day, you may not need to take a prenatal vitamin. And I didn't even get to dinner - what about a salad with organic kale (kale is the healthiest type of lettuce for you - even better than spinach, I hear) and a lean meat/protein? It's always better to eat your vitamins, so you may want to look into this alternative. Best wishes!
It seems like everything in our world "causes" cancer any more...
I would continue to take the vitamins while nursing.
I have taken a prenatal vitamins as my regular multivitamin for about 10 years or so. When I got pregnant, I added a DHA supplement and continued both through nursing. Upon recommendation from my doctor, I continued the DHA supplement as a regular thing since my diet is low in omega-3s due to allergies. That's been a regular in my routine for 5 years. I take both once daily as per the labels.
You shouldn't cut back on your prenatals while nursing because you and your baby still need those vital nutrients. If you have any doubts, talk to your pediatrician.
If it was that easy to figure out what leads to cancer I'm sure the world would be cancer free by now. Really talk to your child's ped and use his/her opinion as guidance as you decide what's best for your child.
My doctor actually recommended prenatal vitamins, even though I'm done having kids. He said that the prenatal ones have vitamins that help your nails and hair! He also said that unless it's a fat-soluble vitamin (like Vitamin A), it's pretty much impossible to overdose on it. Your body takes what it needs, and gets rid of the rest. Also - and I found this interesting/surprising, he said that the gummy type vitamins are actually the best type because they are fully digestible. The larger pill-type vitamins are actually not as beneficial, he said, because whatever is left undissolved after the first 15 minutes makes its way out of your body - so you get less benefit.
Anyhow, so according to my doctor, gummy prenatals are the way to go.
There is a lot of discussion about vitamins. I used to buy over the counter...then I realized what was really in most of them and I made the decision to stop.
Pre-natal vitamins made me ill with both pregnancy...queasy actually, my doctor forced me to take them. Too bad I didn't know then what I know now.
There are some amazing all natural, totally soluble and absorb-able vitamins on the market. I will PM you a link to my favourite. I have been on them for over 8 years and I have experienced everything from healthier nails and hair to better joint function. And they are less expensive than many I have found in the stores!
B.
