Minerals + Pregnancy
If you are wanting to get pregnant, currently pregnant, or just had a baby- this is for you!
After an overwhelming vote through my instagram, let’s talk minerals and why you should care about them especially if you’re wanting to become pregnant!
Why are minerals even necessary for pregnancy?
In order to build strong muscle and bone, control bodily fluid inside and outside the cell, hold a healthy pregnancy, or turn food into energy, we need to have a healthy mineral balance! Minerals literally dictate hormones, immune system function, detoxification, digestion, energy production, and nervous system function. They help to regulate our body processes like promoting healthy thyroid function, healthy adrenal function, enterohepatic circulation (liver detoxification), fighting an infection, wound healing, hormone regulation, and so much more. How are women able to conceive? Through healthy endocrine function via ovulation that is primarily fueled by healthy mineral levels.
Your first level minerals are calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium and what I look at first when diving into optimal health status (whether wanting to become pregnant or not). In terms of pregnancy I would also want to look at selenium, zinc, copper, and iron as these play a vital role in fetal development. So let’s walk through each mineral and why its important:
Calcium- Aids in functions of bone tissue, enzymatic regulation, blood coagulation, protein synthesis, synthesis and degradation of DNA, etc. A deficiency in calcium in the mother could result in premature birth, pre-eclampsia, low birth weight, or restriction of intrauterine growth
Another thing to note about calcium, 99% is housed in the bones and teeth so when calcium levels in the tissue are >170 this is a problem. When calcium starts depositing around cells and organs instead of bones and teeth, it is considered a calcium shell. Clinically this makes a person feel closed off, disconnected, apathetic, anxious, brain fog, callused, nonemotional, you may suffer with arthritis, copper toxicity, poor dental health, etc. THIS IS WORTH TESTING FOR! This is often the missing piece to a lot of peoples health issues.
Magnesium- Regulates thousands of cellular processes throughout the entire body ie bone remodeling, glucose metabolism, mitochondrial oxidative metabolism, etc. Deficiency while pregnant can result in insulin resistance in mother and baby, pre mature birth, severe pre-eclampsia, restricted fetal growth.
Sodium- Regulates blood pressure and heart rate, maintains fluid balance and pH, influences cell permeability. Going into pregnancy, it is important that your sodium levels are balanced- not too high and not too low.
Potassium- Works alongside sodium! Sodium and potassium work together via a pump in order to filter waste products, reabsorb glucose, reabsorb amino acids, and regulate electrolyte levels to maintain pH in the body. This is important because your first level minerals highly indicate your metabolic health.
Selenium- Promotes healthy thyroid function, dictates immune function, antioxidant activity. Deficiency of selenium while pregnant could result in glucose intolerance, mental and motor delay, oxidative stress in mother and baby, problems in the neural tube, premature birth, miscarriage.
Zinc- Aids in cognitive development, maintains brain function, located in bones and skeletal muscle (should not see high levels in tissue). Deficiency while pregnant could result in complications at birth, neurological deficits in newborn, premature birth.
Copper- Humans need copper for hemoglobin synthesis, neurotransmitter activity, immune system integrity, cardiovascular health, synthesis of collagen and elastin, iron utilization, anti fungal/mold/bacteria, etc. However, when someone is copper toxic, there is a build up of stored bio-unavailable copper in the body that can cause physical and mental dysfunction. THIS CAN ALSO IMPACT A BABY. Copper can be passed from the mother to the baby in utero through the placenta. Copper toxicity is definitely worth looking into especially if you have ever been on hormonal birth control, copper IUD, have been/are vegetarian (low zinc, high copper diet), use copper cookware, have had gallbladder surgery (struggle with bile production) or do not use a water filter daily.
Iodine- Production of thyroid hormones, brain development. Conditions seen with iodine deficiency: estrogen dominance, endometriosis, fibroids, ovarian cysts, breast cancer, hypo/hyperthyroid, thyroid cancer, grave’s disease. Without optimal iodine levels this could impact the neural development, fetal thyroid, and association with autism, hyperactivity, and attention deficit.
What I Would Do For Pregnancy Prep:
-Run an HTMA!- seems like a no brainer at this point
-Run sex and steroidal hormones
-Run a GI MAP
These are foundational tests that will give you insight to where your body is at and how well it’s functioning. These are the exact tests I would run not only for pregnancy prep but also optimal health.
-Back off caffeine
-Cut alcohol completely
-GF, DF, and cut processed food/sugar
-Switch to low impact workouts like pilates, stretching, light weight training, barre, pvolve
-Incorporate more of a low-tox lifestyle
-Track your cycle via an app or device, I use the Flo app!
There is so much that goes into having a baby, so look at this post as a starting point! This is how you care about your baby! Caring about your individual health IS caring about the health of your baby and it starts ASAP! I am so happy I started this journey a few years ago cause ya girl had A LOT going on and needed time to detox.
This is such a joyous time for you and your partner! Soak in every moment!
xx, Steph
Resources:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7730771/#:~:text=Copper%2C%20zinc%2C%20selenium%2C%20and,and%20vitamin%20D%20%5B14%5D.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8360883/#:~:text=A%20magnesium%20deficiency%20status%20during,in%20situations%20of%20maternal%20stress.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537088/