WHAT SUPPLEMENTS DO YOU NEED TO TAKE DURING PREGNANCY? {SHAKLEE & PREGNANCY}

Since focusing my life on living healthier and starting my Shaklee business I have enjoyed learning more about the nutritional needs of the body. One question that I get from women is what supplements to take while pregnant. Since I have been pregnant 3 times, I have a lot to say about this. I hope you know that you should supplement while pregnant because you are growing another person inside you and you need the extra nutrients.

I used Shaklee supplements for my most recent pregnancy because I didn't know about Shaklee or about the Shaklee alternative for my previous pregnancies - I definitely noticed a difference! During this pregnancy I was able to do many things that were difficult even when not pregnant. Over the summer I went to girl's camp with my church. We were up in the mountains where we had to climb up and down a large hill several times a day for activities and eating. I felt much more capable than two years ago when I went pregnant with Ben.

During my pregnancy I didn't have some of the issues I had with #2 and my recovery from my Shaklee pregnancy was soooo much easier than the others. I was back to cooking dinner the night I got home - not because I didn't have help, but because I felt so good I couldn't just sit around anymore (and I'm a bit of a control freak). lol. I healed much faster and never once needed pain medicine. Did I mention she was a 9 pound healthy baby?!

Also since little miss was a week late, she was a lot younger than anticipated for this year's Hemophilia walk. In fact, she was 3 days old. I felt like I could have walked, at least a mile, but my husband insisted we sit in the shade and wait for him and the boys. So I waited and when the boys got back, we played all the games and had fun all while little Cadence slept in the Moby Wrap.

Even now I notice a difference on the days I forget to take my supplements. When I forget I get stressed, grouchy, exhausted, and my milk supply suffers. I get so much done when I remember to take them first thing in the morning with my breakfast.

Shaklee has been around for almost 60 years and is the number one natural nutrition company in the USA. You can read more about the Shaklee difference here.

I am not a doctor but Shaklee has lots of doctors on board and this is what they recommend for pregnancy.

Because the nutritional needs during pregnancy and lactation are unique to this stage of a women’s life, we strongly urge all women who are pregnant or nursing to discuss the use of dietary supplements with their obstetrician.

However, along with our general recommendation to eat a healthy, well balanced diet to ensure pregnant and nursing women are meeting their nutritional needs, we also recommend a combination of Shaklee supplements that can be used as alternatives to a standard prenatal vitamin once discussed with the Obstetrician.

An excellent “Shaklee alternative” would be:

2 tablets of Vita-Lea with Iron

2 tablets of B complex for the basic prenatal nutrients, in particular folic acid to help prevent neural tube defects

For women who do not drink milk or eat the recommended number of servings of dairy foods the addition of:

2-4 tablets of OsteoMatrix can help meet needs for calcium,vitamin D and other bone health nutrients

To provide a safe and beneficial amount of omega three fatty acids (ie. DHA):

3 softgel capsules of OmegaGuard per day are recommended to support fetal brain development

It is not uncommon for some pregnant women to need additional:

1 tablet of Iron plus C can be added providing an additional 18 mg of Iron and 60 mg of Vitamin C

And lastly:

Shaklee 180 meal smoothee prepared as directed, and used as part of healthy breakfast or midday snack provides a mother and her growing fetus with an additional 270 calories, 24 grams of high quality protein and 6 grams of fiber.

Although Vitalizer is a comprehensive nutritional foundation for virtually all adults, there are some components that might not generally be considered essential in a standard prenatal nutrition program. In addition, certain nutrients such as folic acid were not included at levels intended to support a pregnant mother and her growing baby. The use of Vitalizer during pregnancy should be discussed with the Obstetrician, who may wish to suggest an addition 1-2 B Complex and Osteomatrix as stated above if approved for you.

Alex Recommends:

I recommend everything that Shaklee recommends with a few additional lifestyle products.

Shaklee 180 Energy Tea for ever more energy. I don't personally drink tea or coffee but many of my women clients do and they swear by the tea for energy. Ask your doctor to see what they say.

Get Clean Non-Toxic Cleaners and Natural Laundry Products because you should NOT be cleaning with toxic cleaners. If you haven’t switched to natural cleaners now, you should ASAP. If not for you, for your baby. This kit has everything you need to start cleaning your way to a healthier home.

Enfuselle Skin Care and Natural Hair Care because you should remove all toxins from your home including and especially your what goes on your skin. Did you know that anything you put on your skin gets absorbed into your body…where your baby is? Sick. Not for me.

Natural Daily Care like toothpaste, deodorant, lotions, etc. because I believe you should take out all toxins.

Stay tuned for my posts about postpartum care and breastfeeding nutriton.

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