I’ve taken a woman’s daily vitamin for several years. When my husband and I decided to try for a baby, I made the switch to prenatals. Up until that point, I’d given little thought to my vitamins beyond remembering to take them. I never read the ingredients, simply assuming that everything in the capsules was something I needed.
That was before I researched and wrote on health topics for my job with a natural supplement company. My work experience coupled with my impending pregnancy inspired me to one day turn over my bottle of generic prenatals and read the contents. I was horrified to find that the vitamins I took each day contained sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and red dye. SLS is basically a degreaser that is being removed from many personal care products, such as shampoo. Red #40 warrants a warning label on British foods.
Now, I realize that the true harm of these substances is questionable when you look at the science based evidence. But I didn’t want to take chances. Were those ingredients even necessary anyway? My hunch was a resounding no, and my findings corroborated my suspicion.
I began the search for a prenatal that gave me what I needed, without any sketchy extras. I ended up settling on Rainbow Light Just Once Prenatals. They are food based, vegan friendly and chock-full of vitamins and minerals, as well as probiotics and pregnancy friendly botanicals. They aren’t cheap, but still only cost about $7 a month – well worth it to me to be safe rather than sorry.
As a woman and a mother, you deserve a vitamin that supports your health. What you don’t deserve is unnecessary ingredients that may or may not be harmful. I did a little looking around the Internet, and between Amazon’s top rated women’s vitamins and some research of my own, I came up with the following list:
1. New Chapter Organics Every Woman’s One Daily
This is a whole food multivitamin (not synthetic) that your body will recognize and devour. It is vegetarian friendly, gluten free and includes an herbal blend.
2. Rainbow Light Women’s Vitamins
I still take the prenatal as I’m breastfeeding, but the entire women’s line is food based and thus relatively bioavailable.
3. MegaFood Women’s One Daily
Another organic one! It’s a whole food product with an herbal blend that is also gluten and soy free. As a perk, it can be taken with or without food. This product is targeted to support the reproductive and endocrine systems.
4. Nature’s Way Alive! Once Daily Women’s
Not only does this product have a long roster of vitamins and minerals, it also lists 25 fruits and vegetables in its whole food ingredients. The B vitamins are high potency, and the product is free of dairy, salt, sugar wheat and yeast.
5. Nature Made Multi for Her
With no artificial colors or flavors, yeast or gluten, this multivitamin is designed to support a woman’s changing needs over time.
If we can’t get everything we need from our diet, wouldn’t it be ideal if our supplements were the next best thing? Choosing a bioavailable and artificial ingredient free multi makes me feel better about my daily vitamin and my overall health.
So read those labels! If the ingredient list of your vitamin contains a few shady characters, it might just be time to make a switch.
Author Bio
Katherine E. Reilly Mitchell is an outreach assistant for Assistanceforsinglemothers.com. The site provides excellent tips for dealing with a difficult <a href=”http://assistanceforsinglemothers.com/co-parenting/” rel=”nofollow”>co parent</a>. She also maintains a personal blog at http://www.humantextuality.com