Optimal Prenatal Capsules FAQ'sUpdated 12 hours ago

Why do you have 200 mcg of selenium in Optimal Prenatal?

Optimal Prenatal is designed for those seeking additional support.*

Infertility, recurrent miscarriage, and pregnancy complications are all too common. Women who have experienced these may choose to support their healthy pregnancy with Optimal Prenatal.*

They choose Optimal Prenatal due to the increased amount of essential vitamins and minerals.

Low levels of selenium can be associated with infertility, recurrent miscarriages and pregnancy complications.

"The Recommended Dietary Intake of selenium for pregnant women is 60 mg/day[6] and most interventional studies make use of daily doses of up to 200 μg selenium in its elemental form (selenomethionine).[14–17] Supplemental doses up to 200  μg of the mineral should not cause adverse effects, even if temporarily exceeded, since the selenium upper tolerable intake (UL) for this group is established as 400 μg (5.1 μmol) selenium/day."

If you'd like a typical RDA amount of selenium as you're a healthy woman without any history of pregnancy complications, consider Prenatal Essentials.

Prenatal Essentials uses 50 mcg of selenium per serving. We use slightly less than the RDA in Prenatal Essentials as healthy women have a healthy diet and lifestyle. They obtain sufficient selenium from food in addition to the prenatal supplement.

* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6370178

Could you provide information regarding the safety of milk thistle during pregnancy? 

The amount of milk thistle in this product is very low and considered safe.  

Here is the safety of it in humans and pregnancy:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31069872/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24555302/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0161813X20300309 

I have heard that high dose folate and B12 during pregnancy contributes to babies being born on the spectrum. Thoughts? 

A paper was published associating mothers with higher blood levels of folate and b12 are having babies on the spectrum. Here are Dr. Lynch’s thoughts on the matter: 

Association does not equal causation. 

The researchers compared a number of variables between offspring who were typical and on the spectrum. 

Other key factors that are worth mentioning: 

• Women with children on the spectrum:
  • 3 years older on average (28 vs 31)
  • BMI was 2 points higher (26 vs 28)
  • Gestational diabetes was a third higher (6% vs 9%)
  • Diabetes type II was double the frequency (4% vs 8%)
  • Preterm < 34 weeks delivery was more than double the frequency (9% vs 19%)
• Supplementation was self-reported. There is always variation in this as some women may say they were taking their prenatals 5x/week but they may have only taken it 2x/week and vice versa.
• High folate and high B12 levels aren't specific. They do not mention if it was folic acid, methylfolate or folinic acid. High doses of folic acid are definitely problematic. Do not use folic acid during pregnancy. Use folinic acid and methylfolate. If you cannot tolerate methylfolate, use folinic acid.
• The researchers failed to evaluate oxidative stress markers. High oxidative stress is associated with reduced methylation function. Reduced methylation function leads to higher B12 and folate levels.
• No dietary evaluations were done for either group. We have no idea what mothers were, or were not, eating.
• We don't know what medications either group was taking. SSRI's taken by pregnant women are a known trigger for increasing risk offspring on the spectrum. Tylenol during pregnancy is also a risk factor.
• We don't know anything about vaccinations or illnesses during pregnancy in either group.

Likely, these women were using inferior forms of folate and B12.† 

Action Steps: 

1. Supplementation with active forms of folate, namely folinic acid and methylfolate, are highly recommended during pregnancy. Do not use folic acid.†
2. Supplementation with active forms of B12, namely methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin, are highly recommended during pregnancy. Do not use cyanocobalamin.†
3. Learn more about Folic acid and Pregnancy. Watch Dr. Lynch’s presentation on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnVRv0zGsF

Both folate and vitamin B12 are water soluble. Excess amounts are efficiently eliminated via the urine.† 

Source: 

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ppe.12414 

I read that choline bitartrate does not cross the blood brain barrier. Is it effective and safe during pregnancy? 

Choline bitartrate is used to raise choline blood levels. During pregnancy, we are not trying to increase brain levels of choline. We want to deliver the choline to the mother and her developing child. 

Choline is a methyl donor used a lot by the mother, and baby, during pregnancy.  

99% of pregnant women are choline deficient. 

Sufficient choline levels ensure that methylation during fetal development is working properly, healthy homocysteine levels are maintained, and that normal brain development and cell membrane formation are supported.† 

Research shows that pregnant women who supplement with choline are supporting healthy pregnancies. 

TMAO levels may be increased in some individuals but it's not likely. The benefit of choline supplementation far outweighs the potential increase in TMAO.† 

"We detected potential TMA-producing communities in fecal samples from all animals tested, demonstrating that this functional group is omnipresent in the gut across Mammalia. However, those bacteria occupy only a small niche as their abundance was low in all samples (mean cumulative relative abundance of ≤1.2% of total community), except for cntA which was detected at high concentrations in a few samples. In humans, a similar abundance pattern was previously observed." 

TMAO is produced by an unhealthy microbiome. If a pregnant woman has an unhealthy microbiome, she should be working to improve it. Consider ProBiota HistaminX during pregnancy to support a healthy microbiome.† 

Sources: 

https://faseb.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1096/fj.202101217R 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6964529/ 

Why does Optimal Prenatal contain such a high amount of Vitamin A in the retinol form?

The body naturally converts the plant-derived beta carotene into the active retinol form of vitamin A via the BC01 enzyme. However, a significant amount of the population has a polymorphism in the BCO1 gene which greatly reduces the ability to convert beta carotene to retinol vitamin A. Thus, a significant amount of the population may be vitamin A deficient if only ingesting beta carotene. 

Optimal Prenatal contains approximately 750 mcg retinyl palmitate (retinol) and approximately 750 mcg beta-carotene. The beta carotene does not contribute towards the upper limit of vitamin A, rather, it is considered a "provitamin" because it can be converted into vitamin A within the body. High amounts of retinol have been reported as potential factors in pregnancy issues or birth defects, however not beta carotene. Therefore this product does not exceed the established safe daily doses of vitamin A. 

The tolerable upper limits for retinol vitamin A intake, according to the Food and Nutrition Board, are as follows: 

Vitamin A is an essential nutrient, especially during pregnancy and nursing. As with all supplements, we recommend that you consult with your doctor to determine whether this product will be appropriate for your individual needs. You should also take into account preformed vitamin A sources in your other supplements and in your diet when determining whether the dose of this product will work for you. You can also choose to take less than a full dose if you would rather take less vitamin A. 

†These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.