To Consume Vitamins Or Not? - Concluded

I have been thinking more about vitamins (and prenatal) and whether or not I should take them. At first, I had decided not to, wanting to stick to the goal of getting my nutrients from food. Then I got some responses and opinions to that decision which encouraged me to take vitamin supplements and discouraged getting all my nutrients from foods. I read the websites suggested and listened to the point of views. I read about how difficult it would be to consume the amount I needed every single day, especially since it can be hard to want to cook every day or eat good healthy meals every day. I also read some studies saying that synthetic folic acid from a vitamin is more easily absorbed than trying to get the right amount of folic acid through my food. Additionally, my pregnant sister was mentioning pregnancy cravings, and pointed out that it might be difficult to eat all these varied and nutritious meals. Her senses seem to be heightened and some smells or foods just make her sick to be around. I, of course, will not be able to know which foods will affect me this way until the time comes.

With all this in mind, I also read some websites where some people stated their views on vitamins – that they are supplements, not the food we eat. They are an addition, not something in place of good foods. I liked this point of view, and I felt that this was in the spirit of how I had been feeling. I felt like I was being told that all I have to do is take a vitamin and that that would make me healthy enough for the baby. I was feeling that I certainly needed good natural nutrition, from food. Also that I needed to keep up with exercising. I just didn’t think a pill would solve all problems. I believed that I could take all the vitamins I wanted, but if all I ate was junk, then I am not going to get the greatest results. So at this time, I decided to take a prenatal multivitamin in order to supplement my normally nutritious eating that I have been practicing.

I wanted an organic vitamin rather than synthetic because I do not share the belief that some scientists have that a synthetic vitamin is exactly the same as a natural vitamin. I am also a little worried about synthetic vitamins being bad for me in the long run. I don’t have proof of that, so I call it a belief of mine. I just don’t trust the synthetic vitamins. So I bought an organic multivitamin, and it was 40 dollars. I looked at the many organic vitamins at two stores, and I kept having trouble. I found a website that lists the “natural” ingredient for a vitamin and the “synthetic” ingredients for the same vitamin so that I would know by the label if the vitamins were natural or synthetic. It seemed that all of the “organic” and “natural” vitamins I was looking at all had synthetic vitamins. The best one I could find is the 40 dollar one which I bought that had almost all organic vitamins, but then a few synthetic ones. I didn’t understand why I couldn’t find a totally organic or natural one. I found a website selling organic vitamins with absolutely no synthetic ingredients, and it was only 20, plus about 6 in shipping, but when I tried to read the amounts of items, such as folic acid and calcium, the numbers just seemed off. It seemed to be giving me about a million times the amount of folic acid and only about 30 (out of 1200+) mg of calcium. So I didn’t like it that I couldn’t figure that out. These complications made me stop and think again.

I took the 40 dollar vitamins back and I got to thinking things over with Joel. I felt like I was acting out of fear now, I was worried I wouldn’t be able to get the good nutrients, worried that I wouldn’t be able to digest all the nutrients from foods right, worried that the synthetic vitamins would be bad for me, worried that I need to pay a lot of money a month on vitamins just to get a good one, but worried that I couldn’t trust what was in those vitamins, worried that the vitamins might be bad for me rather than good because I just don’t think that taking a pill solves all these problems. I mean, when I think about what I know about nutrition, all of it, together, is so important. It is so important to get the whole package from a food and from mixing foods together, not just taking vitamins from a pill. I needed the fiber, I needed to use my teeth, I needed enough protein, etc… I felt like I was being scared into buying a pill, like I need it just in case. I feel like if I take the vitamins then I am trusting that it will make me healthy, but I think that is wrong.

I have gone back to the original plan, to consume all my nutrients from foods. I believe this to be the best plan because I know I am capable of making and eating many nutritious meals in a day. I have been worried about health and nutrition for many years now, and I am good about eating healthy. I have been eating every two hours now for a while, and consuming a wonderful amount of food. It isn’t that hard to get good meals, just look at some pregnancy recipe books – they have some great stuff in there! I have just bought 2 cereals about a week ago, one is a bran cereal and the other is a mixed grains with blueberry clusters. Both of them claim that in one serving, they each contain 100% of the RDA for folic acid. The folic acid is probably synthetically added into the cereal, and so every morning for about a week, it is like I have been consuming a folic acid vitamin of 800mcg. I remember learning in my nutrition class that many cereals and breads, among other foods, have been fortified with folic acid since they discovered its role in diseases and difficulties such as the neural tube defects. So I wasn’t surprised to find that I was already consuming the same as in a vitamin at breakfast. It’s the same for many other vitamins, many foods and drinks have been enriched with all kinds of vitamins and minerals. And the more natural healthy foods already have those nutrients in them. For example, I love lentils, and I bought some the other day, along with these other beans I have never heard of called Aduki, and lentils alone have 300 something mcg’s of folic acid, so the two days I ate the soup along with the cereal, I was getting 1100mcg’s of folic acid, which is more than enough. How much of it did I digest? I don’t know, but I highly doubt that my body discarded more than half of it. And that is just in the lentils and cereal, that doesn’t count the other foods that I ate, such as the broccoli in the soup and the spinach that was in my salad. So in some sense, you can rest assured that I am taking my vitamins, since they are in some of the foods and drinks that I buy already, in addition to the healthy meals I am consuming.

And it does take up a lot of time and energy to make all these meals, but that is my goal, that is something I have felt the urge to spend my time doing. I believe that I want to cultivate and provide a nutritious lifestyle for the family I am about to start, and to encourage it with the members of my family right now. I have been gathering recipes and trying more and more to learn about what is healthy and what is not. I know that Joel’s comment was in jest regarding our “arduous journey to the foreign country of Wal-Mart,” but I do think that his underlying point remains – it isn’t that impossible to get your nutrients from food when you make that your goal.

Finding My Way

I have been feeling very distraught over the various perspectives that I have been considering and hearing from lately regarding pregnancy. I have felt confused and frustrated. Things have been feeling very difficult for me. I guess I have now had more time to think through a lot of things, and come to some decisions and realizations. I almost feel like this post is more for me than anyone else, but I decided to share it anyway. I am basically just realizing and accepting that I cannot know everything, cannot prove anything, and that I have different opinions than others do. I am accepting that and finding my way into pre-pregnancy. Finding the choices, lifestyles and decisions that make me feel like I am really doing the best I can do.

I have realized that a lot of us think differently and will, do and have made different decisions for ourselves. I respect that, and I have no doubt that everyone who has given me advice or opinions does it out of love and concern. In that sense, I am really lucky to have so many people to talk with and hear from and who are involved in my life. At the same time, I am the one who has to make my own decisions in my case, and I appreciate when others can respect my decisions too, even though they may be different. I want to say that I don’t think everyone has to make all the decisions I am making, but I am making these decisions for myself.

I am very concerned about the health and well being of myself and the baby I want to conceive, so I am certainly not making any decisions intentionally aiming to harm anyone. Since that is the case, I do appreciate all comments and thoughts from those who are concerned about the well being of myself and or the baby. That being said, it doesn’t mean that I am going to make all the decisions that others recommend. I’ll think things over, pray about things, and ultimately will come to my own decisions.

I also want to mention that pregnancy, just like life, is very mysterious and full of good and/or bad surprises. Anything could happen. And just because I take a multivitamin, do yoga or eat all the healthy foods in the world – I won’t be protected from things going wrong or complications. So in many ways, I am very excited and terrified. Mostly I try to do the best I can, and pray for the larger part that is out of my control to go well.

Adverse Health Effects of Chlorinated Pools

I mentioned in my recent “workout” post that I wanted to consider swimming as a possible pregnancy workout, for obvious reasons such as it being a no-impact activity. I also mentioned that I had briefly read something about the chlorine in swimming pools not being safe for people and not safe for pregnant women. I believe the book I read that in was called The Complete Organic Pregnancy Guide. So I decided to do a search to look up what people have to say about that.

The first article I read said this in summary:

“Chlorine byproducts found in swimming pools are linked to higher incidences of asthma, lung damage, stillbirths, miscarriages and bladder cancer, according to credible research conducted in the U.S., Canada, Norway, Australia and Belgium.

One researcher noted that 10-year-old children spending an average of 1.8 hours per week in an indoor swimming pool environment suffered lung damage she would expect to see in an adult smoker. For conscientious swimming pools managers, the question this raises is are there viable alternatives to chlorine? Ozone and ultraviolet are the two most commonly cited technologies.

Dr. John Marshall, of the Pure Water Association, an American consumer group campaigning for safer drinking water, states: "It shows we should be paying more attention to the chemicals we put in our drinking water and we should be looking for other alternatives to chlorination. A number of safe, non-toxic options exist, such as treating water with ozone gas or ultra violet light."”

http://swimming.about.com/od/allergyandasthma/a/cl_pool_problem_3.htm

I have many fond memories of swimming in pools, and my whole family and I enjoyed swimming almost every day in the summers during my childhood. As a matter of fact I am about to go on a family vacation in May and I definitely intend on swimming in the pool and enjoying the hot tub.

But I guess that is just the problem. I certainly know what it is like to hear people say that something is bad for me, but because I have “done it all my life” then I am not worried. I mean, I guess I want to say that since I have swam so much in my life I don’t really feel worried or like it is dangerous. So it is tempting to just blow it off, like “yeah right, people think everything is unhealthy for you!” But do people think everything is unhealthy for you? And how do I know that it isn’t unhealthy for me? It seems to be that the biggest reason I don’t like accepting that it is unhealthy is just because then I couldn’t swim anymore. But why shouldn’t I up the standards in my life a little better than that?

I am not sure if I will never swim in a chlorinated pool again, but I did wonder if it was safe since it is so unsafe to drink chlorinated water. I know that my body can absorb the water even without me drinking it. And I certainly do feel irritated eyes and dry skin and hair when I swim. But I am interested in the alternatives that were mentioned on the website. And swimming in a lake and an ocean is still ok. Plus, I haven’t swam in a pool in a while, so I don’t spend a lot of time around pools anyways. So I guess I will never buy a pool (not like I will probably have the money to anyways) and I will not choose to swim in a pool on a regular (daily) basis. And if I did have enough money for a pool, I would look into alternative ways to keep it clean.

I cant help but to wonder what my life is going to look like even in a year, because at the rate I am going, with all this new health information, I can tell my life is in for some big changes. As usual, if you have any comments or thoughts about this subject, let me know. Thanks.

Could Dairy Products Be Bad For Us?

I have been currently looking into sources of calcium. I came across a few websites that were stating some radical and interesting things. They discussed the idea that milk (and dairy products in general) aren't good for you. It even went so far to say that the milk products do the opposite of what we are told they do. That milk aids in causing osteoporosis rather than preventing it, and also that it contributes/causes all kinds of other terrible things. I drink milk, and always thought it was good for you, but I do try to be open-minded and open to change. So I am taking time now to consider this idea and to hear these people out.

One thing I found interesting was the fact that we milk drinkers are in the minority out of all the people on earth. And that humans – the few humans who do drink milk – are the only species to drink milk after infancy. Which means only a few of us, like Americans, drink milk that is from another species and we drink it after being an infant. I guess I always thought everyone drank milk. But now that I think of it, I guess I didn’t think that Native American and Asians drank milk. Wow, to imagine a life without dairy products is pretty different.

Now that that interesting thought has kind of sunk in, I recall that for a fairly long period of time (at least 5 years) I didn’t like milk because it kind of upset my stomach, so I only used it for cereals, and never drank it. So I guess it is possible to go without milk. Especially since there are other milks, such as soy milk, rice milk, almond milk and others. What about all the other dairy products, I wondered? I found a recipe for soy butter, so I guess that can take care of the butter. But what about cheese? Dairy products seem to be so much in my life, I am not sure what it would look like to cut them out completely.

However, I still have more researching to do. I was reading about milk being bad for me, I don’t know about cheeses. Do cheeses have antibiotics and hormones in them? Does it have all the problems milk has? If not, then I could much more easily see living a life without milk in general. Mainly because I have been convinced that organic milk is better for me, and organic milk is expensive. But then again, I haven’t checked the price for soy milk, so I am not sure if it is expensive. But then I found this machine called the Soy Milk Maker, and I am going to try to get that to make my own soy milk for cheap. It’s a lot cheaper than buying a cow, which I once considered.

Perhaps if I just cut milk, but still include cheeses, but up my wheat, fiber, healthy oils and vegetables then things will be ok.

One reason I didn’t want to consider giving up milk was because I felt like I needed more protein. In one of the websites, it mentioned that a tribe of people in South America get very little protein and calcium and they don’t have any or many cases of osteoporosis, however, Eskimos were said to consume the highest amount of protein and calcium and they have the highest prevalence of osteoporosis. It called into question whether I needed all that protein I thought I needed before. It seems I keep reading claims about incomplete proteins and how I will get so little protein if I don’t eat meat sources – all which I agreed with since I am not vegetarian – but now I am starting to question my so called knowledge. How do I know how much protein is good for me anyways? I have heard that too much protein can just convert to fat anyways. And now to add to that that it might hinder me from building or retaining bone strength. I can try to find more information and read more books about protein amounts. But I guess I could also just find out for myself with my own body. I used to think I needed somewhere around 60-70 grams of protein, but maybe I can live off of 30-45 grams. That amount wouldn’t be hard to get from non-dairy sources. I haven’t yet checked into what protein amount is recommended for pregnant women.

I just found these ideas interesting. I will paste the main links I was reading below if you are interested in reading them too. If you have any thought, opinions or ideas on the subject then let me know.

http://www.notmilk.com/kradjian.html

http://www.soystache.com/calcium.htm

http://www.peta.org/mc/factsheet_display.asp?ID=98

Pre-Pregnancy Workout & Nutrition Plan

Pre-Pregnancy Workout Plan

*Lift Weights – every two days, about 30-45 minutes long, target muscles: biceps, triceps, upper & lower back, shoulders, chest.

*To avoid strain – replace ab crunches with holding a position. For example, holding yoga positions.

*Cardio – walk or rollerblade 5 times a week.

*Stretch every morning.

Pre-Pregnancy Nutrition Plan

*Consume all nutrients (including vitamins) naturally.

*Avoid supplements, antibiotics, and medications.

*Begin trying to cut out all foods that contain hydrogenated oils.

*Begin using non-bleached products (sugar and wheat)

*Begin consuming more good fats and oils (ex: omega-3)

*Begin consuming more calcium and folic acid through foods

*(I won’t begin trying to consume more iron until I do get pregnant, because I know that you can have too much iron.)

(These plans are for me. This isn’t what I am saying everyone should do, but if you want to do any of them, then great. I am just sharing my lifestyle and choices with you.)

Can I Get All The Nutrients I Need Without Supplements?

I keep hearing these three main things that all pregnant women have to get: folic acid, calcium and iron. The way most people meet these requirements is usually by taking a (prenatal) multivitamin, or those just those three specific vitamins. I don’t want to take vitamins because I have been learning a lot about how the stuff in the vitamins aren’t really natural, they aren’t the real vitamin. Instead they are a synthetic vitamin.

Here is an example that I heard from a friend. She said that there have been studies published about how vitamin A can be bad for your baby and cause deformities. Pregnant women are advised not to consume too much or extra vitamin A. However, that was from a study where the pregnant women were taking vitamin A from a supplement, which was a synthetic vitamin not a natural one. The synthetic ones are supposed to mimic the real vitamins, but the problem is that there is a lot science hasn’t figured out yet. Science doesn’t know exactly how our bodies work, exactly what is involved with digestion and exactly what makes up a vitamin. So the women who consumed extra doses of the synthetic vitamin ended up having some deformities, so they wanted to advise against too much vitamin A consumption while pregnant. However, it is said that people in other countries eat foods really high in vitamin A, essentially getting 2 or 3 or more times the amount of vitamin A that we get, and they don’t have any birth defects from the vitamin A. But this is due to the fact that they are consuming natural vitamin A, not a synthetic vitamin.

I don’t trust vitamins anymore. And I am and am not the “preachy” type about living my lifestyle. All I can say is that it is so important for people to get the vitamins they need. Ever aspect of the human body and of our living has to do with what we eat. I took a nutrition class and learned all about how many diseases, problems and defects we have been able to aid by fortifying all cereals and various other foods with more B vitamins. B vitamins, probably specifically folic acid, have so much to do with pregnancy. So I think it is probably better for people to take a vitamin than to just eat all the fast food and junk food today and go without a vitamin. But for my life, I realize for me that the best thing to do is to change my entire lifestyle. It is a challenge to get all the vitamins you need, every day, by food alone – with no supplements. I am still trying to figure it all out. It takes time, skill, knowledge and patience to be able to look up all the stuff, go to the grocery store often and cook every meal. I couldn’t have done it with the lifestyle I had while in graduate school. I think if I were to have kids and a career, then I wouldn’t be able to find the time to provide for myself and family the nutrition they need. There simply wouldn’t have been enough time. But I don’t want to settle for being “practical”, to get vitamins in a pill that might be bad for me just because I feel like I don’t have time to do what is best for me. For me, I decided to make time for that. I feel like I am reordering my values. I believe that if I do that, then my life will fall into better order.

I keep having mixed feelings. On the one hand, I understand how it is hard for people to change their lifestyle, and I understand why they choose how they do. But I also feel like we have to be responsible for our lives. And it seems so obvious to me that it doesn’t take much to figure out how unhealthy we are living now. I am not a radical person, or at least I never considered myself to be. I guess I think of myself as a cautious explorer. I don’t feel like I am in a camp, I am not a radical naturalist, and I don’t feel like people who eat fast food deserve to die. I do wish that more people would change their lifestyles, though. Because I am starting to see health problems in people I love that I believe could be prevented by various do-able lifestyle changes.

Since I have a few months, I have time to work up to getting all my vitamins by foods only. If I don’t get all the prenatal amounts today, its ok. I will work on coming up with some kind of a pre-natal nutrition plan. My main focus will be trying to get all the nutrients I need from food sources only. I think it is possible. And I have a feeling that when I find out what foods I need to eat, I will probably discover that it is easier than people think. I am guessing that it is lack of knowing what we need to eat that primarily prevents us from being healthy. It's hard to figure it all out.

Be on the lookout for my upcoming post about the pre-natal nutrition plan. I hope to be able to write examples of complete meals for the day that will meet all the daily requirements. Until then, I will post a short summary of my goals or plans for working out and for eating healthy right now.

Pregnancy Workout

Since I am in the position where I know that I want to begin trying to get pregnant in July, then I have about 3 months to prepare my body for it. I have two opinions about “preparing my body for pregnancy.” On the one hand, I know that everyone says there are things you need to do and not to, consume and not consume, and so on, but I wonder, isn’t that what we always need for ourselves too? I mean, I want to prepare for being pregnant, but I also think that the things I am supposed to do to prepare for being pregnant, I should already be doing anyways. Regardless, I am trying to put a list together of how to change my lifestyle. I am going to discuss exercising.

I am trying to choose a workout plan for my pregnancy. I enjoy lifting weights and had been doing that consistently for the past few months, but I was lifting weights more like guys do. By that, I mean that I was straining myself, building up, always working towards lifting more weight. I have always enjoyed building my muscles, and I wish I could lift 25 pounds with my biceps easily again (nothing really heavy, but a pretty good weight for a girl my size). But I always feel strained, and I don’t think I want to exercise like that when pregnant. So if I wanted to stick with lifting weights, should I do what seems recommended for women? That is a focus on toning more than building. I imagine that I would lift lighter weights, but use them longer. For example, instead of 2 or 3 sets of 10-12 of a heavy weight, I would lift like 5 or 10 pounds (very light) and do maybe 4 or 5 sets of 10. Or maybe just keep doing whatever motion I was doing until I felt tired or a burn. Its not so much a strain, but it strengthens. I feel like it lengthens the muscles rather than makes them bulky. So I guess I could switch to that kind of weight lifting.

But other than that, I am not sure what other workout to do. I usually like to lift weights and to do some kind of cardio. I wanted to swim, but then I got worried about the chlorine. In the first place, it bothers my hair, eyes and skin and it makes me shower more often than I want to (because I like to do cardio for at least 5 days a week). I also read about how chlorine isn’t that good for you, so that could be true. I haven’t heard enough to make me not want to swim in a pool again, but I also don’t think I want to be in a pool that much since it does irritate me. If anyone knows about why chlorine in a pool might be bad for you, then let me know.

So I might just choose going for a walk for my cardio. Usually I do something a little more involved, such as rollerblading. I would prefer to rollerblade, and I think I could for a while, but I get worried about having a fall. But it will probably primarily have to do with where I live that will determine the cardio I eventually stick with. If I live by a nice rollerblading trail, then I will choose that. And if I don’t live by anything too great, then I will just walk. But if anyone has any other ideas for a good workout for pregnant women, let me know.

One thing I hear a lot about is Yoga, but I haven’t really done it. Maybe I could try to find a place and try it out.

My Story and Purpose

During the past year, I have started to make some rather weighty changes in my lifestyle. I had joined a PhD program in psychology and was on my way to becoming a therapist. However, I began to realize that I was feeling carried away in a fast torrent that controlled the direction of my life. I tried to not think about it, and just keep on going down the stream. That is, until I really looked hard at the path my life seemed to be on. I saw not being able to have time for the things I loved, such as painting, knitting and being with my family. I saw a stressful, fast-paced 6 years ahead of me in graduate school. I saw the stress never letting up as I joined an internship, wrote and defended my dissertation, and went onto the post-doc training and finally upon starting my own practice where I would have to fight with insurance companies or get paid barely enough to contribute to my family. I saw no good time to have children. I saw no possibility of breastfeeding and homeschooling. I saw no time to read up on nutrition and no time to cook. I saw not having a child until I was about 35. I saw becoming estranged from the only I would have time to have. I saw a life that would be unfulfilling. I would have money, and a career – but I wouldn’t have the life I long to have.

After seeing what I imagined my life was in for, I made a decision to stop right there. I quit, right in mid-semester. I felt like I would be carried away if I didn’t stop now. The life I now see is the life I want, and the life that I have now made possible for myself and my future husband. I see that I am getting married in July. I see us having as many kids as we possibly can – twelve would be great! I see reading about nutrition and having time to cook wonderful, whole and nutritious meals for my entire family. I see living a healthy lifestyle, with little stress. I see going for many walks. I see growing a garden. I see having a healthy birth, with the assistance of a midwife. I see homeschooling my children. I see so many possibilities open to me now. This is how I want to live, and this is now my life and journey. This is the path I am on.

Now I have time to write and think, which is why I chose to create this blog. I am spending the next few months really preparing for being a wife, being more healthy, and being a mother. I have been doing a lot of research lately on various, but related, topics regarding nutrition, health, medicine, pregnancy, raising children, giving birth, etc… I aim to post often my reflections, thoughts and findings. I have begun to realize how hard it is to come across good sources of information. I have also realized how difficult it can be to make important decisions, such as how to give birth, if I should get maternity insurance, if I should take pre-natal vitamins, etc… I am hoping that this blog will be a place where I can express my thoughts and ideas clearly. I hope that others can read what I write and find the information and thoughts useful in making their own decisions. I also look forward to getting comments, opinions, news, ideas and feedback from others so that we can mutually grow from each other.