calcium &vitamin c....

counterGOPI · #1 01-21-2005, 07:53 PM

hey there! i jsut found out im 3 weeks pregnant! my husband and i are very happy.i ve been vegan for 10 years now so im not nervous about cravings or anything like that, ithink ive been vegan long enough to not crave anything 'bad'. i have a question about calcium though. i found an awesome vegan prenatal vitamin im taking from veganessentials.com, i highly recommend it,BUT it says you need to take a seperate calcium pill with it.... how much calcium are you supossed to have whe n pregnant?also i heard somehwere that youre not supossed to have vitamin c while pregnant?! is this true?
thanXXX so much for your help,ill be on here A LOT now!
<3 bhaktin nicole

vegma · #2 01-22-2005, 05:34 AM

Vitamin C is good for everyone, particularly if its obtained through foods high in vit c! There are different schools of thought on the calcium. I believe the USA recommends a much higher intake than the World Health Organization, probably because the general population here consumes so much animal protein (which causes the body to excrete calcium). As for your vitamins, the calcium would cause the iron not to be absorbed, so if you do take a calcium supplement, take it a few hours before or after a meal. Plus those calcium are pills are HUGE!

BTW, congratulations!!!

Christa · #3 01-22-2005, 08:42 AM

The only thing that I have heard about not taking vitamin C when pg was in The Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year . It basically said that extremely high dosages of vitamin C in supplement form could cause a miscarraige & that some women use it to induce a miscarraige if they are not wanting to be pg. To be safe, I would avoid taking tons of vitamin C, but the amount in a prenatal vitamin should not be that high. Food sources should also be just fine. I think that you have to take tons to create a problem.

xmysticprincessx · #4 01-22-2005, 12:28 PM

i think it was about vitamin c that i heard that it can be bad if you take too much in supplement form, but excess is fine in food form.
congrats on being pregnant! and good luck!

Ronni · #5 01-27-2005, 09:42 AM

Congratulations! With the calcium, I think the way it goes is, since the baby is growing at such a quick rate, it needs lots of calcium. If you don't get enough, the baby will still get the calcium but it will come from what your body has stored through the years. I may be wrong though, so don't quote me. I just remember reading something like that from when I was pregnant 4 years ago. Anyway, if you're concerned and want a calcium supplement, I would go with this new kind that vegan essential has now. It's a big box with mixed fruit flavors and it's kind of like taffy. I got some a few days ago, as I'm trying to get pregnant, and they're really good. Check with your doctor though, if you're not sure.

As for the vitamin C, I'm not sure. I used to take vitamin C pills that were 500mg, and I'm pretty sure I took them during my pregnancy. To be on the safe side though, I probably wouldn't want to take that much. Since you're a vegan and you're already taking prenatal vitamins, you probably don't need anymore than that.

Good luck!

Ronni

celtic-womble · #6 01-28-2005, 07:22 PM

You need both in pregnancy. According to What to Expect you need1200mg of calcium and it says a vitamin should contain 80mg Vitamin C, can't remember how much you need total. If you don't want to take a pill supplement try eating some foods fortified with calcium. I'm not sure of the source of the calcium but I know Trader Joes calcium fortified OJ doesn't have nasty D3 like so many others. I just bought some today because I don't think I'm getting enough calcium. Incidentally the Very Blue juice from Trader Joes also has 100% of folic acid for pre-preg requirements so it's a decent little supplement, I've been drinking it for breakfast the past few days. Can you tell my prenatals have been making me gag?

beth · #7 02-01-2005, 04:58 AM

Congratulations! Are you taking Freeda One-A-Days? That's what I'm taking. I also take calcium soft chews for the extra calcium. I haven't heard anything about the vitamin C, but I'm sure if you get it from foods then it will be fine.

Leonie · #8 02-04-2005, 02:20 AM

I'm pregnant and I use the freeda prenatal vitamins with extra calcium, they are great vitamins! I really recommend them!
And as far as I know, every prenatal multivitamin has vit. C, so I guess it should be ok.

counterGOPI · #9 02-07-2005, 08:01 PM

thanks for the info! i looked at vegan essentials at the calciumchews, one review said they were not for pregnant/lactating women..do you think they are still safe? i need to do something, im not getting any calcium right now except from my OJ. thanks so much!

Quote:

Originally posted by Ronni
Congratulations! With the calcium, I think the way it goes is, since the baby is growing at such a quick rate, it needs lots of calcium. If you don't get enough, the baby will still get the calcium but it will come from what your body has stored through the years. I may be wrong though, so don't quote me. I just remember reading something like that from when I was pregnant 4 years ago. Anyway, if you're concerned and want a calcium supplement, I would go with this new kind that vegan essential has now. It's a big box with mixed fruit flavors and it's kind of like taffy. I got some a few days ago, as I'm trying to get pregnant, and they're really good. Check with your doctor though, if you're not sure.

As for the vitamin C, I'm not sure. I used to take vitamin C pills that were 500mg, and I'm pretty sure I took them during my pregnancy. To be on the safe side though, I probably wouldn't want to take that much. Since you're a vegan and you're already taking prenatal vitamins, you probably don't need anymore than that.

Good luck!

Ronni

counterGOPI · #10 02-07-2005, 08:03 PM

thank you everyone for your input! this board is amazing and just what i needed!! im trying to force down my prenatals but i gag each time so im struggling here but ill get through it

nicole

Ronni · #11 02-08-2005, 11:21 AM

Personally, I feel that the company that makes these calcium chews probably put that warning on the label for legal reasons. I got on their website ( www.nutritionnow.com ) to look up the calcium and at the bottom of the page is a disclaimer in bold print. It's probably safe, but just to be certain, I would check with your doctor. Or, take half a chew a day (one whole chew is 500mg calcium, which from what I know, is alot) instead.

Hope that helps!

Ronni

counterGOPI · #12 02-08-2005, 05:41 PM

thanks again!!!!!

Quote:

Originally posted by Ronni
Personally, I feel that the company that makes these calcium chews probably put that warning on the label for legal reasons. I got on their website ( www.nutritionnow.com ) to look up the calcium and at the bottom of the page is a disclaimer in bold print. It's probably safe, but just to be certain, I would check with your doctor. Or, take half a chew a day (one whole chew is 500mg calcium, which from what I know, is alot) instead.

Hope that helps!

Ronni

Alicia · #13 02-21-2005, 02:17 PM

Congratulations! I'm still waiting to see how far along we are....ug.

I'm taking CirtaCal for calcium, and a multivitiam. The cost of pre-natal vits is enough to make me puke! I'm going to take the vits I'm taking now into my midwife and hopefully she'll say they'll do.

I don't think I got enough calcium with my first child (and I was a carnivor) and my wisdom teeth bascially rotted and fell apart as they came in. It was VERY painfull. With my second, ( a strict veggie from conception) my teeth are fine. I hear it's super important for woman to get as much calcium as possible becasue after a certain age, our bodies no longer retain it??? Also, if you eat too much protien, that will strip the calcium from your system. Talk about a balancing act!

Best of luck with your pregnancy! BTW how many kiddos do you have and are the boys/girls? We have two boys so everyone is already assuming this one is a girl. Hmm...don't know what I'd do with a little princess.........

Alicia

counterGOPI · #14 02-21-2005, 05:04 PM

thank you!!congrats to you as well!! we just found out im due sept 27th yay! we just had our 1st ultra sound it was amazing. this is our 1st child and i just feel that it is a boy.we are sooo excited!!