Shakeology and a Prenatal Vitamin?

Hey folks,

The ***** here is that I am NOT a medical professional and you should ALWAYS talk to your doctor. So *********** ;-)

Just wanted to share the information I am using to make my decisions about what vitamins to take with baby #2 on the way.  I've had some questions about the nutritional value of Shakeology and how doubling up on some vitamins can be dangerous for the baby.

First, let me say that I have had both my OB in Dallas and here in Tulsa look through all of this before I starting drinking it (while nursing Cohen) and continued drinking it (during this pregnancy).  We have collectively decided that this has huge benefits in consuming my nutrition this way instead of in a pill.

So, here are the ingredients in my Vegan Chocolate Shakeology.  It didn't tell me a lot though. I wanted to know specifically how much of each vitamin was in there, and the percentage recommended for an average person.

 Which led me to this little graphic.  Its bad quality because I scanned it and had to crop and then re-upload, so my apologies! However, this is the nutritional breakdown of my Shakeology, with the % Daily Value included.

Next, I compared this with a multi-prenatal vitamin, like the one I took daily with Cohen.  I won't bore you with all the math and comparisons, but here are a few:

1. Shakeology has 100% of Vitamin A and the prenatal did not.

2. Shakeology has 50% of Vitamin E and the prenatal had 25%.

3. Shakeology has 4 different kinds of Vitamin B and the prenatal has 50% of B12 only.

4. Shakeology DID NOT HAVE specifically B12 or DHA.

5. Shakeology only has 20% of iron and the prenatal has 150%

6. Shakeology has 50% of folic acid, but not the recommended 100% for nursing and pregnant women.

So, I needed to supplement my Shakeology with four things: B12, Iron, DHA and Folic acid....

Luckily, Nature Made makes a folic acid plus DHA supplement so that bumped those numbers up.

All I needed to confirm was iron and B12 with my doctor.  I don't have any pre-existing conditions such as anemia, and between Shakeology and my diet we didn't feel the feel to supplement with either of these. ****** that is a decision every mom should make with their dr. ******I eat meat and foods that contain these vitamins on a daily basis.  I have also never had issues with low iron (but those of you that know, also know that those supplements are Gah-ROSS!). 

So there you have it.. The perfect drink for me and baby...and the family...and for you, too.  Because you absorb more nutrition from food than from a dried up, heat damaged pill anyway  ;-)

Bottoms up for Baby!