Using a Multivitamin While Preparing for Conception and Maintaining Hormone Balance

Multivitamin for Conception and Hormone Balance?

When you are trying to get pregnant or trying to maintain hormone balance in general, we are hearing from many different sources that is it a good idea to begin using a prenatal multivitamin before you get pregnant.  The same is being said for maintaining hormone balance outside of conception.  There are now studies backing this advice.  Multivitamins serve as a type of “back up” plan to our diets.  While eating a healthy diet is of utmost importance it is always good to include a whole food prenatal for pregnancy and a whole food multivitamin in who general.

“A study from Harvard Medical school involving 18,000 has shown that taking a multivitamin, particularly, folic acid, can improve chances of pregnancy.”

That study followed nurses who have hoped to get pregnant for an eight year period.  Women who took their multivitamin six times a week were 40% less likely to fail to ovulate than women who took none.

The Importance of Nutrients for Fertility, Pregnancy and Hormone Balance

Nutrition plays a big role in having healthy fertility and experiencing a healthy pregnancy.  Nutritional deficiencies have been linked to ovulation issues hormonal imbalances poor egg health, low sperm count and so much more.  We are literally what we eat.  Every cell in our bodies that makes up our organs, creates hormones and enzymes that make us function is created by the food we eat and the nutrients we take in.  If this is being compromised due to poor diet or poor digestion, the side effects could affect fertility and hormone balance.

Did you know that there are specific nutrients like folic acid that are needed by the young fetus before you can even detect pregnancy, and a deficiency in this nutrient could cause serious birth defects?  Another example is iron – iron deficiency and low levels of iron in the blood has bee linked to lack of ovulation.

So, nutrition does play a big role in our health, fertility and hormone balance.  Taking a whole food multivitamin daily can help to fill the gaps where diets may be falling short.

Do You Need a Multivitamin?

Multivitamin Checklist

Ask yourself these questions-check all that apply to you

Do you skip one meal or more a day?

Do you have a food allergy or intolerance?

Do you have dark circles under your eyes?

Are you under a lot of stress at home or at work on a regular basis?

Do you eat a lot of processed foods?

Do you eat at least 2 servings of fruit a day?

Do you eat at least 3 servings of vegetables a day?

Do you get sick often?

During your menses do you have dark blood, cramps or blood clots?

Do you get enough sleep?

Do you eat at least one dark leafy green a day?

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Important Nutrients for Fertility and Hormone Balance

Vitamin D:  Vitamin D is needed to help the body create sex hormones which in turn affects ovulation and hormonal balance.  Yale University School of Medicine conducted a study of 67 infertile women.  It was discovered that  mere 7% had normal Vitamin D levels.

Vitamin E:  Vitamin E has been shown in studies to improve sperm health and motility in men.  Studies have shown a diet deficient in Vitamin E to be the cause of infertility in rats.  The meaning of the name for vitamin E ‘Tocopherol’ literally means to bear young.  Vitamin E is also an important antioxidant to help sperm and egg DNA integrity.

Vitamin C:  Vitamin C improves hormone levels and increases fertility in women with luteal phase defect.  As for men, vitamin C has been shown to improve sperm quality and protect sperm from DNA damage; helping to reduce the chance of miscarriage and chromosomal problems.  Vitamin C also appears to keep sperm from clumping together, making them more motile.  “A study published in Fertility and Sterility, states that vitamin C improves hormone levels and increases fertility in women with luteal phase defect.”

Vitamin B6:  Vitamin B6 may be used as a hormone regulator.  It also helps to regulate blood sugars, alleviates PMS and may be used in relieving symptoms of morning sickness.  B6 has also been shown to help with Luteal Phase Defect.

Vitamin B12:  Vitamin B12 has been shown to improve sperm quality and production.  It also may help to boost the endometrium lining in egg fertilization decreasing chances of miscarriage.  Some studies have found that a deficiency of B12 may increase the chances of irregular ovulation and in severe cases, stop ovulation altogether.

Folic Acid:  Folic Acid is perhaps one of the best known vitamins necessary for pregnancy.  This vitamin helps prevent neural tube defects as well as congenital heart defects, cleft lips, limp defects, and urinary tract anomalies in developing fetuses.  Deficiency in folic acid may increase risk of going into preterm delivery, infant low birth weight ad fetal growth retardation.  Deficiency may also increase the homocysteine level in the blood which can lead to spontaneous abortion and pregnancy complications, such as placental abruption and pre-eclampsia.

Iron:  Iron studies have shown that women who do not get sufficient amounts of iron may suffer anovulation (lack of ovulation) and possibly poor egg health, which can inhibit pregnancy at a rate 60% higher than those with sufficient iron stores in their blood.  “In a study women who were having ovulation problems, 40% became fertile after supplementing with iron.”

Selenium:  Selenium – An antioxidant that helps to protect the eggs and sperm from free radicals.  Free radicals can cause chromosomal damage which is known to be a cause of miscarriages and birth defects.  Selenium is also necessary for the production of sperm.  In studies men with low sperm counts have also been found to have low levels of selenium.

Zinc:  In women, zinc works with more than 300 different enzymes in the body to keep things working well.  Without it, your cells cannot divide properly; your estrogen and progesterone levels can get out of balance and your reproduction system may not  be fully functioning; and therefore, your hormones.  Low levels of zinc have been directly linked to miscarriage in the early stages of a pregnancy according to the Centers for Disease Control’s Assisted Reproductive Technology Report.

What to Look for in a Multivitamin

If you are going to take the time and spend the money on using a multivitamin, you should make sure you are getting the best you can.  There is a big difference between quality of different multivitamins and the body’s ability to breakdown, assimilate and utilize the nutrients.  The best type of prenatal and multivitamin is one that is made from whole foods.  This will be easier for your body to breakdown and use since it is closer to food than synthesized vitamins.

So, bag those cheap, low-cost bottles of multivitamins you might find at the wholesale clubs pharmacies or grocery stores and stick to a whole food multivitamin for your prenatal and every day vitamin for the best results for yourself.

Also, make sure that the multivitamin you choose contains the essential nutrients mentioned above for your fertility and hormone balance.

So, you  can see how nutrition impacts your fertility and in the same ways those deficiencies contribute to hormonal imbalances.  I’ve spent many hours researching and trying different vitamins.  Watch the video below to see why I use and have my clients use these  vitamins.  There is also a pdf that you can download and view with more information on the vitamins.  I hope you have discovered some new information about multivitamins and can make choices that are right for you for preserving your fertility and hormone balance.

Here is the PDF that goes along with the video.

If you would like to order the vitamins, you can at my.doterra.com/womenshealth.

I would be happy to review with you your needs and guide you in making the right choice for you.