Visit our supplements section for more complete information.

I am often asked what is best to take while pregnant?  

This is what I took during my pregnancies and while nursing.   I started 6 months before we were ready to conceive and I chose companies that supply easily absorbable high quality supplements, So that my body can absorb what it needs with out doing extra work of breaking down and converting into usable compounds.

  Fish Oil & Why?

Pregnant or Nursing Mothers

 It's irrefutable now that for the fetus brain to develop properly, it needs a great deal of the omega 3's, DHA and EPA.

If you are a pregnant mother, you should strongly consider using a molecularly distilled fish oil supplement (metagenics) so your fetus's brain has the best chance of developing properly. Of course, speak with a doctor first.

If you are a nursing mother, you should also be taking an omega 3 supplement or eating enough omega 3 foods because they are an essential fatty acid. Essential means our bodies need it but cannot manufacture them on its own. Which simply means we absolutely must get them from our diets.

The omega 3 you obtain in your diet is passed along to your baby when you breastfeed. Even if you are no longer breastfeeding, you should be careful to take in enough omega 3 fat for your own health. If you have young children, adequate levels of omega 3 intake are associated with less attention deficit and hyperactivity and higher IQ's.

 Why can't I just take flaxseed oil?

Flaxseed oil has been shown to benefit health in several areas, and is an important source of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), another omega-3 essential fatty acid that is the "parent" for EPA and DHA. While ALA can be converted in the body to EPA and DHA, this process is relatively slow and unreliable in humans—and typically yields only minimal amounts of either EPA or DHA. To achieve similar amounts of EPA and DHA as found in supplements from marine sources (that have already converted ALA to EPA and DHA), an exponentially larger amount of plant-derived ALA would have to be consumed. ALA, EPA, and DHA have each demonstrated unique health support applications. Therefore, substituting flaxseed oil where concentrated EPA or DHA is recommended may not produce expected clinical outcomes.

How much Fish Oil should be taken?

ISSFAL (the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids) has established the following recommended minimum dosage chart:

Infants (1-18 months):
0-15 lbs: 32 mg/lb EPA+DHA

Children (1.5-15 yrs):
15 mg/lb EPA+DHA

Adults (15-115 yrs):
500 mg EPA+DHA

(with a minimum of 220 mg EPA and 220 mg DHA)

Pregnant and Lactating Women:
300 mg DHA daily