If you’re here then you’ve probably Google’d about: what in prenatal vitamins makes nails grow. This article aims to clear any doubts and questions you may have about this subject and we will do our best to do so.
What Are Prenatal Vitamins?
The vitamin aisle at your local pharmacy contains a huge assortment of vitamins for different genders and ages. Prenatal vitamins are specifically geared toward women thinking about becoming pregnant or who are pregnant. The concept behind prenatal vitamins is that some of a women’s nutritional and vitamin needs increase with pregnancy.
It’s important to remember that prenatal vitamins are a supplement to a healthy diet for expectant moms.
How Are Prenatal Vitamins Different From Traditional Multivitamins?
Lots of different prenatal vitamin types are available on the market. While there’s not a specific formulation for all prenatal vitamins, you’ll likely find that prenatal vitamins contain at least these key nutrients: Calcium. This contributes to a woman’s calcium requirements but doesn’t account for all of her daily calcium needs.
This is 8 mg more than women who aren’t pregnant.
When Should I Take Prenatal Vitamins?
If you’re trying to conceive or are pregnant, your doctor will likely recommend that you take them. Women who are carrying multiples, pregnant teenagers, and pregnant women with a history of substance abuse have a higher risk of vitamin and mineral deficiencies.
Doctors often recommend that women who are breastfeeding also continue taking prenatal vitamins after delivery. That’s because half of the pregnancies in the United States aren’t planned. Women of childbearing age could also eat more folate-rich foods as an alternative to taking a supplement.
Can I Take Prenatal Vitamins If I Don’T Want To Get Pregnant?
Prenatal vitamins are specific to the needs of pregnant and breastfeeding women. They’re geared to make up the common nutritional deficiencies a pregnant woman could have. But they aren’t really intended for women (or men) who aren’t expecting or lactating.
Taking too much folic acid each day can have the adverse side effect of masking a vitamin B-12 deficiency. Excess amounts of nutrients like vitamin A taken from synthetic vitamins could be toxic to a person’s liver. For these reasons, most women should skip prenatal vitamins unless their doctors tell them otherwise.
Misconceptions about prenatal vitamins Many women claim that prenatal vitamins affect hair and nail growth. But according to the Mayo Clinic, these claims haven’t been proven. Taking prenatal vitamins for better hair or nails likely won’t bring the desired results.
They could also have adverse side effects.
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Vitamins assist in hair and nail growth. Fact: There is no scientific evidence to support that prenatal vitamins assist in hair and nail growth.
During pregnancy, the placenta functions not only as a source of oxygen and nutrition for the baby, but it also works as part of the endocrine system for the mother. It releases estrogen, a hormone that keeps hair in the growth phase for a longer duration and prevents its shedding. For nail health, the effects of pregnancy vary among women.
How Your Hair Changes During Pregnancy
Turns out, the changes to your tresses are less a perk of your prenatal vitamins and more so a side effect of the miracle of life. Progesterone levels also rise, giving way to increased sebum.
The catch: There is little scientific evidence to suggest that they actually help your hair grow faster.