Vitamins make up an important part of your nutritional wellness, but what exactly are they, and why are they important to your wellbeing? Vitamins are nutrients that your body needs in small amounts so it can work properly. More often than not, you can get all the vitamins you need by eating a healthy, balanced diet. However, there are certain times during your life in which getting all the vitamins you need from food alone isn’t a viable option. Women who are planning to get pregnant, for example need to take supplements of certain vitamins, as do pregnant women, new mothers and small children. But which vitamins do these groups of people need?
Not only is making sure you have enough of some specific vitamins during pregnancy important for your own health; it’s also vital for the development of your baby. If you take folic acid supplements, for example, you can dramatically reduce your baby’s chances of being born with a neural tube defect such as spina bifida. This is a birth defect in which your baby’s spine doesn’t form properly. Therefore, whether you are planning a pregnancy or you’re already with child, you should take a supplement containing 400 micrograms of folic acid a day until the 12th week of pregnancy. However, it’s perfectly safe to continue to take folic acid beyond the 12th week of pregnancy. Even if you don’t take folic acid before you conceive, you should still start taking it as soon as you know you are pregnant.
If you are at an increased risk of having an NTD-affected pregnancy, it’s important that you take a higher dose of 5mg of folic acid each day until your 12th week of pregnancy. You have an increased risk of having an NTD-affected pregnancy if you:
- have had a baby with an NTD
- have diabetes
- have an NTD, a family history of NTDs or if your partner has an NTD/family history
As well as taking your folic acid supplements, you should also consume the natural form of folic acid through food. This is known as folate, and is found in foods such as peas, broccoli, spinach, spring greens, granary and wholemeal breads and chickpeas. Some foods such as fortified breakfast cereals have folic acid added to them.
So that’s one important vitamin for pregnant women, but vitamin C is vital for everyone – as well as pregnant women – to attain. Vitamin C helps maintain healthy tissue in your body, but you need to consume some every day. Your body can’t store vitamin C, so you need to consume a daily supply of peppers, broccoli, oranges, kiwifruit and sweet potatoes. If you cannot attain enough vitamin C through your diet, there are supplements available. However, you should speak to your doctor before starting to take any new supplement, as he or she can tell you the safe dosage for you as an individual.
Finally, vitamin D is important as it helps your body absorb calcium, keeping your bones healthy and helping to make sure that your baby’s bones and teeth grow strong. If your baby is born with low levels of vitamin D, he or she can sometimes develop softened bones, which can lead to rickets. Taking vitamin D during pregnancy will ensure that your baby has enough stored in their body for the first few months of their life, so make sure you get as much vitamin D as you can from sunlight. The amount of time you need to spend in the sun to make enough vitamin D is different for every person and depends on things like skin type, time of day and time of year. If you cannot get enough sun on your skin, UK Health Departments recommend that all pregnant and breastfeeding women take a daily supplement that contains 10 micrograms of vitamin D.
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