Nutrition for every stage of pregnancy
Back in the West—at Zita West, in fact—the brand’s founder underlines not only the greater preparedness among women to take supplements for fertility, but also their apparently greater willingness than men to understand this link – and act on it. “Amazingly, considering 50% of fertility issues are male-related, it’s still hard to get men to take fertility supplements,” she reports.
Apart from the shift—already mentioned—from folic acid to folate, the basic formulation for this supplement has otherwise stayed largely the same since the range first launched, West explains.
When it comes to pregnancy, it is arguable that the quality of food supplements is never more important than during this period. Medlin at City Dietitians reports that, surprisingly perhaps, the overall quality and—more specifically—the nutrient bioavailability of pre-natal products can still vary enormously. “In my opinion, there should be some sort of ‘traffic light’ system,” she argues.
One new and important trend is the tailoring of supplements for the different stages of pregnancy, typically in terms of the first, second and third trimester. “That means, for instance, you can provide more fish oils and omega-3 fats in general for the baby in the period when her brain is developing,” Medlin says.
West's brand includes targeted supplements for each trimester, as well as one for the post-natal period. “There are only small differences,” she admits. “But they’re important for each stage of the baby’s development in the womb. For example, Vital Essence 2 focuses on skeletal development with extra vitamin D, calcium and magnesium. Vital Essence 3 is all about building on energy for labour with more iron.”
In fact, this mineral features heavily either side of birth, as Medlin confirms. “In the post-natal period it’s extremely important for mothers to replace their iron stores, especially if there was a lot of blood-loss at the birth,” she explains.
She is happy to discuss the role of food supplements through every stage of a woman’s life journey without reference to the role of her own profession—until she reaches post-pregnancy. “If an expectant mother is trying to achieve a vegan pregnancy, she should seek advice from professional dietitians, otherwise, the calcium may be leached from her own bones, and the baby won’t have enough omega-3 to meet her needs.”
Across different health areas and ingredients, the current surge in interest in veganism has raised some interesting challenges for the supplements sector. West explains that her brand recently converted the majority of its products to being vegan-friendly. “All of them were vegetarian, apart from Vital DHA, which is fish oil,” she says. “It was finding the right capsule that was difficult, but we have a plant-based one now, rather than anything using lanolin. Although this isn’t an ‘animal product’, as it’s extracted from sheep’s wool, many vegans prefer not to use it.”
Currently, she adds, the brand cannot change its Vitamin D Spray to vegan-friendly, because that uses lanolin, too.
Meanwhile, Medlin is not alone in her concern about post-natal omega-3 levels. The science around omega-3 fatty acids may not be new, but their relevance to pregnancy and the post-natal period has become increasingly better-understood by women, according to West. It should come as no surprise that the brand’s Vital DHA is its top-selling product.
“DHA is less well-known for fertility, but in fact is just as important for egg health,” she says. “It’s always been a key nutrient for me—as key as folate.”
In terms of post-natal supplementation, the mix of nutrients is fairly well-established, says West, and innovation in her brand has come mostly in the areas of vegan-suitability and improved bio-availability, in particular for vitamin B6, calcium, magnesium and chromium. “We’ve added choline, too—an essential nutrient necessary for the development of healthy cell membranes, as well as a broader and more effective range of valuable antioxidants to help support the immune system,” she says.
Later in life, bone support becomes more important, and there is no lack of good-quality supplements available in this area, says Medlin. The temptation to ditch dairy at this more mature age should be treated with caution, even if the same nominal amount of calcium is provided by plant-based alternatives. “It’s not necessarily bioavailable,” she explains. “It’s to do with the complex of nutrients in dairy, including vitamin K and magnesium.”
