What to Eat to Increase Vitamin D Levels

There are very few foods that naturally contain vitamin D, although some foods are fortified with the vitamin. Some of the best sources of food for vitamin D include¹:

• Cod liver oil
• Salmon
• Swordfish
• Tuna fish
• Orange juice fortified with vitamin D
• Dairy and plant milks fortified with vitamin D
• Sardines
• Beef liver
• Egg yolks
• Mushrooms
• Fortified cereals

Some of these foods may not sound appetizing on their own, but here are some recipe suggestions that make them more mouthwatering.

Scrambled eggs with salmon, asparagus, and goat cheese is a double dose of vitamin D. This dish is perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It’s lighter in calories but full of healthy fats and fresh vegetables.

Parmesan-mushroom risotto with peas is full of your fungi. Harvested after spending time soaking up the sun, mushrooms give you an extra powerful boost of vitamin D. The other ingredients in this recipe are hearty and creamy, so watch your calories.

These easy fruit smoothies are full of fortified milk sources. They include delicious ingredients such as peach, turmeric, beets, and cherries that make for yummy flavors and colorful layers.

How to Safely Soak Up the Sun

Did you know vitamin D is actually a hormone that requires sunlight for your body to manufacture? In fact, researchers found that pregnant women who had reasonable levels of sun exposure during their first trimester were at lower risk for preterm birth.² Reasonable sun exposure, usually 5 minutes to 10 minutes at a time and just two to three times a week, is enough for your body to make vitamin D. Just be cautious of getting too much sun, as pregnancy can make your skin extra sensitive.

How to Get Vitamin D Through Prenatal Vitamins

One of the best ways to ensure adequate vitamin D intake is through supplementation. Vitamins can help fill nutritional gaps during your pregnancy. Prenate^® prenatal vitamins are specifically formulated to meet the nutritional needs of pregnant women or women thinking about becoming pregnant. Talk with your doctor about whether a Prenate^® prescription may be right for you.

Prenate^® Vitamin Family
This post is brought to you by the Prenate^® Vitamin Family, a line of prescription prenatal supplements designed to enhance preconception, prenatal, and postpartum nutrition in women. Talk with your doctor about how taking a daily prescription prenatal or postnatal vitamin could help support a healthy pregnancy and postpartum wellness.

The post How to Get Enough Vitamin D During Pregnancy appeared first on Prenate Vitamin Family.

How Calcium Benefits Women During Pregnancy

Your body takes calcium away from you and passes it to your developing baby, which is why getting enough of this mineral is vital to help prevent bone loss during pregnancy. The good news is that your body knows how to step up and protect your bones, especially when you eat the right things.

How Much Calcium Does Your Body Need?

Your body does not produce calcium, which means you need to include it in your diet. Most pregnant women require about 1,000 milligrams of calcium a day. You should try to get at least four servings of calcium-rich foods daily.¹

Calcium-Rich Foods

Some of the best sources of calcium are found in dairy products, including:²

1. Plain low-fat yogurt
2. Part-skim mozzarella
3. Cheddar cheese
4. Skim milk
5. Calcium-fortified soymilk
6. 2 percent milk
7. Low-fat buttermilk
8. Cottage cheese

Non-dairy Calcium Options

Not everyone can tolerate dairy, so here are some non-dairy options that provide significant sources of calcium.

• Calcium-fortified orange juice
• Canned sardines with bones
• Tofu
• Salmon
• Cereals that are calcium-fortified
• Kale
• Bok choy

Filling in Nutritional Gaps with Prenatal Vitamins

Sometimes moms-to-be need a little extra help getting the recommended daily amount of calcium. A prenatal vitamin that contains calcium when combined with a calcium-rich diet can usually give you and baby everything you need. But not all prenatal vitamins are created the same.

Prenate offers a family of calcium-rich prenatal vitamins including:

• Prenate^® Enhance
• Prenate^® Restore
• Prenate Chewable^®
• Prenate Mini^®
• Prenate DHA^®
• Prenate Elite^®
• Prenate Essential^®

Ask your doctor if a Prenate^® Vitamin is right for you.

Prenate^® Vitamin Family
This post is brought to you by the Prenate^® Vitamin Family, a line of prescription prenatal supplements designed to enhance preconception, prenatal, and postpartum nutrition in women. Talk with your doctor about how taking a daily prescription prenatal or postnatal vitamin could help support a healthy pregnancy and postpartum wellness.

The post The Importance of Calcium During Pregnancy appeared first on Prenate Vitamin Family.

Benefits of Postpartum Exercise

Exercise does a body good when recovering after childbirth. It strengthens and tones abdominal muscles, boosts energy, can help prevent postpartum depression, relieves stress, supports better sleep habits, and helps you lose the extra weight gained during pregnancy. Of course, starting an exercise routine post-delivery depends on your individual circumstances. Your OB/GYN or healthcare professional can help determine when and what exercise routine is best for you.

Low Impact Exercises After Pregnancy

Once you get the green light from your doctor to start your postpartum fitness routine, here are some low-risk exercises to try:

Walking
Walking is one of the easiest ways to get back into a fitness routine after giving birth. You can start with a gentle stroll and work your way up to a brisk power walk. It’s also something you can do with baby.

Yoga
Postpartum yoga offers new moms many benefits, including increased calmness, decreased anxiety and depression, reduced moodiness, increased energy, and lower blood pressure. Yoga also can help strengthen the pelvic floor, hips, and over-stretched abdominal muscles.

Light weight training
It’s recommended to ease back into a weight training routine by starting over as a beginner with lower weights, sets, and reps and working your way up each week.

Increase Postpartum Nutrients with Prenatal Vitamins

As your body assimilates to postpartum, you may not have enough nutrients stored in your body for your recovery. Many important nutrients were transferred to your baby through the umbilical cord during pregnancy. If you breastfeed, your baby receives these nutrients through breast milk. To help provide your body and your baby with the nutrients needed to get you both through the postpartum hump, consider adding a prenatal vitamin such as Prenate^®.

Prenate^® Vitamin Family
This post is brought to you by the Prenate^® Vitamin Family, a line of prescription prenatal supplements designed to enhance preconception, prenatal, and postpartum nutrition in women. Talk with your doctor about how taking a daily prescription prenatal or postnatal vitamin could help support a healthy pregnancy and postpartum wellness.

The post Jump-Start Your Fitness Routine with These Postpartum Exercises appeared first on Prenate Vitamin Family.

How Pregnancy Affects the Heart

During pregnancy, as your body is working hard to nourish your developing baby, your body’s heart and circulatory systems are stressed. Blood volumes expand by 30% to 50%, heart rate increases, and blood sugar levels spike.²

Delivery is also a workout for your heart. Each time you push, your blood flow and blood pressure change quickly. In fact, it can take several weeks after delivery for your heart to return to pre-pregnancy functioning.

Women who are pregnant and have pre-existing heart conditions are at a greater risk of complications. But with preventative measures, you can help increase your chances of safely delivering healthy babies.

Strengthen Your Heart

Focusing on your heart health before and during pregnancy can help you avoid complications that could threaten your own or your baby’s life. Taking good care of yourself is the best way to take care of your baby. Here are some ways to improve your heart health:

• Exercise regularly
• Get plenty of rest
• Reduce stress
• Manage anxiety
• Monitor your weight gain
• Eat a heart-healthy diet
• Avoid smoking, alcohol, caffeine, and illegal drugs

Get the Right Nutrients

There are some key heart-healthy nutrients that can help you reduce your risk of heart-related complications during pregnancy, including:

• Omega-3 fatty acids/DHA (fish, walnuts, leafy greens)
• Fiber (whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts)
• Monounsaturated fat (avocados, nuts, seeds, peanut butter)
• Folate (citrus fruit, dark leafy greens, grains, beans)
• Potassium (bananas, potatoes, tomatoes)

Prenate^® Vitamin Family
This post is brought to you by the Prenate^® Vitamin Family, a line of prescription prenatal supplements designed to enhance preconception, prenatal, and postpartum nutrition in women. Talk with your doctor about how taking a daily prescription prenatal or postnatal vitamin could help support a healthy pregnancy and postpartum wellness.

The post Important Nutrients for Heart Health appeared first on Prenate Vitamin Family.

Benefits of Leafy Greens While Pregnant

A, B, C, E, and K. That’s the alphabet soup of vitamins found in leafy greens. Plus, you’ll find high levels of fiber, iron, magnesium, potassium, and calcium. From salad greens, mustard greens, kale, and spinach, to broccoli and bok choy, these leafy vegetables are packed with what expectant moms and their babies need. Dark greens also supply a significant amount of folate, a B vitamin that promotes heart health and helps protect against some kinds of birth defects.¹

Other benefits of eating vegetables during pregnancy include their role in supporting:

• Healthy weight gain for mom
• Just-right blood pressure
• Reduced risk of developing anemia
• Healthy birth weight for baby

Tasty Leafy Green Recipes

Most women should eat 2.5 cups to 3 cups of vegetables each day.² If you aren’t a fan of leafy green superfoods, how can you make sure you eat the recommended amounts? By making them delicious, of course! Here are some tasty recipe ideas to make sure you get more leafy greens in your diet.

Spinach-Orzo Salad with Chickpeas combines lots of textures and flavors and hot and cold temperatures to help you forget that you’re eating spinach!

A Kale and Quinoa Salad is a satisfying meal or a perfect side dish packed with vitamins from the kale and healthy-but-hearty protein from the quinoa.

If salads aren’t your thing, try a nice cup of Swiss Chard Bean Soup packed full of leafy greens and Great Northern beans for fiber.

Love smoothies? They’re a great way to disguise vegetables! This Ginger Kale Smoothie recipe is the perfect breakfast for on-the-go (or a daytime pick-me-up). It is a healthy blend of fresh torn kale, spices, and juices.

Looking for something a little heartier for dinner? Try this Weeknight Ravioli Lasagna loaded with fresh spinach and part-skim mozzarella.

When You Can’t Always Eat Right

There is no substitute for eating healthy during pregnancy to get the extra vitamins and minerals that your body – and your baby – need. But life happens, and you can’t always make the best food choices. That’s where prenatal vitamins can help fill in the gaps.

Prenatal vitamins are readily available over the counter or by prescription, but they are not all created equal. Talk with your doctor about your body’s specific needs to make sure you maintain the right amount of nutrients in your diet to support a healthy pregnancy. You can also take this interactive quiz to help you find your perfect Prenate Vitamin!

Prenate^® Vitamin Family
This post is brought to you by the Prenate^® Vitamin Family, a line of prescription prenatal supplements designed to enhance preconception, prenatal, and postpartum nutrition in women. Talk with your doctor about how taking a daily prescription prenatal or postnatal vitamin could help support a healthy pregnancy and postpartum wellness.

The post How to Incorporate Leafy Greens into a Pregnancy Diet appeared first on Prenate Vitamin Family.

Causes of Frequent Urination During Pregnancy

Thanks to the increased levels of the pregnancy hormone HCG and progesterone, the blood flow to your kidneys increases during pregnancy, causing you to visit the bathroom more frequently. While you might start seeing this common symptom as early as the first couple of weeks after conception, most women experience the urgency to urinate starting at week 10. That’s when the uterus begins putting pressure on the bladder.¹

Symptoms of Frequent Urination

Frequent urination can be one of the first signs of pregnancy, and the urgency can increase during the first trimester. In addition to the frequency, leakage – also called stress urinary incontinence (SUI) – can occur during certain events, including²:

• sneezing
• coughing
• laughing
• exercising
• lifting
• walking

How to Manage Frequent Urination

Want to gain control over your frequent flow? Here are some suggestions.

Practice Kegel exercises. These exercises can strengthen the muscles of the pelvis and urethra and support the bladder. Kegel exercises are performed by first relaxing the abdomen, chest, thighs, and bottom. Next, contract the pelvic floor and hold for 5 seconds to 10 seconds. Relax the muscles for 5 to 10 seconds, then repeat the exercises 10 times.

Empty your bladder completely. Each time you go to the bathroom, lean forward as you urinate.

Cut back on fluids before bed. This will keep you from getting up in the middle of the night.

Avoid caffeine. Caffeine is a diuretic, and it will cause you to have to urinate more frequently.

While it may be tempting to skimp on fluids during the day to help reduce trips to the bathroom, don’t! Staying hydrated during pregnancy is extremely important. You should drink eight to 12 cups of water a day.³

Prenate^® Vitamin Family
This post is brought to you by the Prenate^® Vitamin Family, a line of prescription prenatal supplements designed to enhance preconception, prenatal, and postpartum nutrition in women. Talk with your doctor about how taking a daily prescription prenatal or postnatal vitamin could help support a healthy pregnancy and postpartum wellness.

The post Frequent Urination During Pregnancy and What You Can Do About It appeared first on Prenate Vitamin Family.

How a Mammogram Works

A mammogram is a low-dose X-ray picture of the breast. They can show abnormal areas in the breast. Although mammograms do not prove that an abnormal area is cancer, doctors can use the images to decide whether or not more testing is needed.

Because the X-rays don’t go through tissue easily, a technician will place your breast between two plates that compress or flatten it to spread the breast tissue apart for a better picture.

Why 40 is the Magic Number for Mammograms?

There are several reasons, but most significantly, annual mammography starting at age 40 results in the greatest mortality reduction, the most lives saved, and the most years of life gained, according to the American College of Radiology and the Society of Breast Imaging.²

Here are some other reasons:

• Breast cancer incidence increases substantially around age 40.
• One in six breast cancers occurs in women aged 40 to 49.
• 40% of all the years of life saved by mammography are among women in their 40s.

Benefits of an Annual Mammography at 40

Can save your life. As we’ve already learned, the earlier breast cancer is detected, the less risk a person has of dying from the disease. There is a misconception that you don’t need to get routine mammograms if you don’t have anyone in your family who has had breast cancer. The fact is, 75% of women who are diagnosed with breast cancer do not have a family history of the disease.³ But if you have a strong family history of breast or ovarian cancer, it’s recommended that you start having annual mammograms beginning around age 30.⁴

Can save your breasts. When breast cancer is caught early with mammography, localized cancers can be removed, which means many more women being treated for breast cancer are able to keep their breasts.

Takes little time. Mammograms are typically a 20-minute procedure, and discomfort is minimal for most women. You can do it on your lunch hour!

Choose your type. Not all breasts are created equal, and there are different types of mammogram technology, including traditional, digital, and 3D mammograms, to get the best quality image for each woman’s situation. For instance, some women have dense breasts that are better suited to a digital or 3D mammogram, which allow doctors to enlarge image areas to look at specific places more closely.

As powerful as mammograms are, they can still miss tissues that aren’t visible. Be sure to perform breast self-exams at least once a month to familiarize yourself with how your breasts normally look and feel.

Prenate^® Vitamin Family
This post is brought to you by the Prenate^® Vitamin Family, a line of prescription prenatal supplements designed to enhance preconception, prenatal, and postpartum nutrition in women. Talk with your doctor about how taking a daily prescription prenatal or postnatal vitamin could help support a healthy pregnancy and postpartum wellness.

The post The Importance of Mammograms appeared first on Prenate Vitamin Family.

Possible Challenges

Women in this demographic are more likely to make healthier, informed, and responsible lifestyle choices compared with younger generations. But there are still some risks to be aware of for women who become pregnant at or after age 35. They include:

Infertility. By age 30, fertility begins to decline, and it becomes more rapid once women reach their mid-30s. This is due to a decrease in the number of healthy eggs women have as they age. By age 45, fertility is declined so much that the statistical chance of conceiving naturally is fairly unlikely for most women.¹

Abnormal Chromosomes. The risk of having a baby with a chromosome abnormality such as Down syndrome is small, but the risk does increase to 1 in 400 births after age 35.²

Miscarriage. The risk of miscarriage increases gradually with age as well, from 8.9% for women ages 20 to 24 to 74.7% for women who are 45 and over.³

Making Healthy Choices

As we age, that finicky metabolism starts to wane, making weight gain, diabetes, thyroid disease, or hypertension riskier for us all. These conditions also can make conception and pregnancy more difficult. But sticking to a healthy lifestyle goes a long way in supporting a healthy pregnancy at any age. Here are some tips to remember before you conceive and during pregnancy:

• Get a preconception checkup to help identify any health conditions that may affect your pregnancy.
• Treat any conditions that your doctor may find.
• Take prenatal vitamins.
• Eat healthy foods with lots of fruits and vegetables.
• Exercise regularly.
• Don’t smoke, take drugs, or consume alcohol.
• Reduce stress.
• Go to all your prenatal care checkups.
• Keep up with treatments for any condition your doctor may have found.
• Gain the right amount of weight.
• Continue to stay active.

The right time to have a baby is different for every woman. If you’re 35 or older and thinking about a family, now is the time to commit to a healthy lifestyle.

Prenatal Vitamins Can Help

Prenate^® Enhance is an excellent prenatal vitamin option to help meet vitamin D and DHA requirements and is designed specifically for women of advanced maternal age. It has advanced forms of these ingredients, which are more efficient for your body to use and will help ensure you and your baby get the full benefits of taking a prenatal vitamin supplement.^4-5 One of the biggest benefits of Prenate^® Enhance is that it can provide the extra supplementation that diet alone may not provide. Talk to your doctor to find out if Prenate^® Enhance is right for you.

Prenate® Vitamin Family
This post is brought to you by the Prenate® Vitamin Family, a line of prescription prenatal supplements designed to enhance preconception, prenatal, and postpartum nutrition in women. Talk with your doctor about how taking a daily prescription prenatal or postnatal vitamin could help support a healthy pregnancy and postpartum wellness.

The post How to Support Pregnancy at Age 35 and Beyond appeared first on Prenate Vitamin Family.

Water

Staying hydrated is a must if you’re a breastfeeding mom. If you get too little liquid, your milk production can slow down. There is no better way to get the liquid your body needs than drinking water. Experts recommend drinking about 128 ounces, or 16 eight-ounce glasses, each day.

Protein

A steady supply of milk requires lots of protein-rich foods. It’s so essential, in fact, that new mamas should make sure to add 25 grams of protein to their daily intake while breastfeeding. Here are some yummy ways to get it:

• Meat, fish, and chicken
• Eggs
• Cheese and yogurt
• Nuts
• Legumes

Iron

During pregnancy, your body used up much of its iron supply. While you are breastfeeding, it’s recommended you get 9 milligrams of iron each day. Here are some iron-rich foods that can help you get there.

• Red meat, chicken, and fish
• Leafy green veggies
• Legumes
• Nuts and dried fruit
• Whole grain breads and cereals

Calcium

Getting the right amount of calcium is crucial to you as a new mom to meet the increased demands on your body. The lack of calcium now can weaken your bones later. The recommended daily allowance while nursing is 1,300 milligrams. You can find calcium in:

• Milk
• Yogurt
• Hard cheeses
• Calcium-fortified orange juice
• Calcium-fortified tofu

Vitamin C

As a nursing mom, you need even more vitamin C than you did while pregnant. Experts recommend getting 120 milligrams per day. These foods are great sources of vitamin C:

• Citrus fruits
• Broccoli
• Cantaloupe
• Potatoes
• Bell peppers
• Tomato
• Cauliflower

Folate and Folic Acid

While nursing, you can easily deplete your supply of folate. You can get this essential B vitamin naturally in a wide variety of foods, including:

• Spinach, asparagus, brussels sprouts, avocados, and broccoli
• Beans, peas, chickpeas, peanuts, and kidney beans
• Breakfast cereals, white rice, enriched spaghetti, and white bread
• Oranges, orange juice, bananas, and cantaloupe
• Beef, halibut, crab, and chicken

Vitamins

Sometimes breastfeeding moms need extra help getting the essential vitamins and minerals their bodies need. A good multivitamin can help fill the gaps with much-needed nutrients. Prenate^® Restore is an option for helping moms replenish nutrients lost during breastfeeding. Learn more about Prenate^® Restore here.

Prenate^® Vitamin Family
This post is brought to you by the Prenate^® Vitamin Family, a line of prescription prenatal supplements designed to enhance preconception, prenatal, and postpartum nutrition in women. Talk with your doctor about how taking a daily prescription prenatal or postnatal vitamin could help support a healthy pregnancy and postpartum wellness.

The post The Importance of Proper Nutrition While Breastfeeding appeared first on Prenate Vitamin Family.

Foods You Can’t Go Wrong With

When baby first starts eating solids, typically between 4 months old and 6 months old, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)¹, soft textures are important. Start with a single grain (non-rice) cereal that’s fortified with iron. Mix 4 teaspoons to 5 teaspoons of breast milk or formula to 1 teaspoon of single-grain cereal. Pureed vegetables and fruits such as carrots, peas, and applesauce and pureed meats and poultry are also great first foods for infants in this age group. As baby progresses with chewing and motor skills, introduce single-ingredient finger foods that are soft and easy to pick up, such as avocado slices.

Ingredients to Avoid

On-going investigations and reports from Consumer Reports and the federal government² found that many popular baby food products contain surprisingly high amounts of dangerous heavy metals – including arsenic, cadmium, and lead – that can endanger infant neurological development and long-term brain function. They recommend limiting baby’s intake of these highest-risk foods:

• Rice
• Sweet potatoes
• Apple juice
• Grape juice

In addition to the above recommendations, parents should try to avoid these additives:

• BPA and phthalates, which are often found in plastic and squeezable baby food packaging. These chemicals may leach from the plastic into the food. Look for products labeled “BPA-free” or “phthalate-free.”
• Synthetic artificial food coloring. Look for foods that use natural food coloring from fruit and vegetable extracts.
• Nitrates and nitrites. Both occur naturally in some vegetables, but there is little to no risk of nitrate poisoning from commercially prepared infant foods in the United States. However, homemade infant foods prepared with well water can be a high risk for nitrate poisoning.³

Watch for Signs of Food Allergies

The rule for delaying the introduction of eggs, dairy, soy, peanuts, and fish in baby’s diet for fear of developing allergies to those foods is a thing of the past. According to the AAP, there is no evidence to suggest that a delay will prevent food allergies.⁴

Because food allergies are a real concern when switching babies to solid foods, moms want to take extra precautions when introducing new foods and to be on the lookout for signs of an allergic reaction, such as hives, breathing difficulties, and swelling, that can happen within minutes to a few hours after eating. Delayed allergic reactions such as eczema, diarrhea, and constipation can also occur. Moms should wait two to four days between introducing new foods, which should make it easier to pinpoint which food triggered an allergic reaction. Also, keeping a food journal can help quickly identify food patterns.

Store Bought Versus Homemade

Preparing your own delicious and nutritious baby meals from scratch is another option. You have more control over the ingredients, plus it can be less expensive. Purees are relatively easy to make with a few fresh or frozen ingredients and a blender or food processor. You can also use a spoon and fork to mash bananas, peas, or avocados!

Prenate^® Vitamin Family
This post is brought to you by the Prenate^® Vitamin Family, a line of prescription prenatal supplements designed to enhance preconception, prenatal, and postpartum nutrition in women. Talk with your doctor about how taking a daily prescription prenatal or postnatal vitamin could help support a healthy pregnancy and postpartum wellness.

The post Baby Food: The Good, The Bad, and The Homemade appeared first on Prenate Vitamin Family.