Thanks for this! I started supplementing while breastfeeding my first baby. We had a postnatal down syndrome diagnosis for her so my first postpartum months were mostly spent crying and researching everything down syndrome/ development related. I thought I was on top of all the breast feeding and pregnancy supplements so the choline research surprised me and I've taken it all the way through my second pregnancy and breastfeeding year. It's nice to have a well researched reminder I'm onto a good thing! It's also now just another great insight that having my daughter has given me :)
I loved this! I learned about the importance of choline in pregnancy after reading Hormone Intelligence by Aviva Romm. I have been eating eggs for breakfast ever since!!
I’ve always enjoyed eggs but the moment I became pregnant they and red meat were all I wanted. Eggs have by far been my biggest craving throughout pregnancy. Fascinating how our bodies tell us what we need.
I’ve been enjoying my high egg diet during my pregnancy :) But I’ve avoided liver due to various recommendations I’ve seen. Feels like I’m missing out though! Maybe I’ll look into the issue a bit more.
I didn’t eat liver during my most recent pregnancy, but I did eat half a dozen eggs every morning!
I’ve heard about the concern about excess Vitamin A from consuming liver, but the recommendation I’ve heard also is to just take it every couple days rather than every day.
Yes that lines up with what I've seen. Crazy that the NHS says to avoid it altogether. Yet another example of public health agencies not trusting women to do anything in moderation.
Due to the high vitamin A content. For instance, the NHS recommends to entirely avoid liver and liver products since “Liver and liver products have lots of vitamin A in them. This can be harmful to an unborn baby.”
Interesting. I am always suspicious of public health advice that goes against our evolutionary diet, but it does appear that excessive vitamin A can harm a fetus. But checking the amounts versus toxic levels, you'd have to be eating a full serving of liver almost every single day (or at least every other day) in order to be in the harmful range. Our ancestors didn't get a whole liver to themselves once day. So that makes sense. I think it's extreme to make pregnant woman avoid it altogether though! By doing so we are missing out on choline, omega 3s, vitamin D, and so many other super critical nutrients that support pregnancy and breastfeeding! Of course, those can also be obtained from other sources, but few have such high concentrations of all these nutrients in one place. I say this as someone who hates liver, but the science suggests it was part of a healthy human diet for millions of years.
My friend and I were both struggling with exhaustion after the birth of our first babies (more than anticipated). We both get tested and both had choline deficiencies! It was absolutely caused by pregnancy/nursing. Eat your eggs!
Thanks for this! I started supplementing while breastfeeding my first baby. We had a postnatal down syndrome diagnosis for her so my first postpartum months were mostly spent crying and researching everything down syndrome/ development related. I thought I was on top of all the breast feeding and pregnancy supplements so the choline research surprised me and I've taken it all the way through my second pregnancy and breastfeeding year. It's nice to have a well researched reminder I'm onto a good thing! It's also now just another great insight that having my daughter has given me :)
I loved this! I learned about the importance of choline in pregnancy after reading Hormone Intelligence by Aviva Romm. I have been eating eggs for breakfast ever since!!
Cool! Yeah I follow her.
I’ve always enjoyed eggs but the moment I became pregnant they and red meat were all I wanted. Eggs have by far been my biggest craving throughout pregnancy. Fascinating how our bodies tell us what we need.
Thank you for sharing!
So interesting! Our bodies are amazing.
I’ve been enjoying my high egg diet during my pregnancy :) But I’ve avoided liver due to various recommendations I’ve seen. Feels like I’m missing out though! Maybe I’ll look into the issue a bit more.
I didn’t eat liver during my most recent pregnancy, but I did eat half a dozen eggs every morning!
I’ve heard about the concern about excess Vitamin A from consuming liver, but the recommendation I’ve heard also is to just take it every couple days rather than every day.
Yes that lines up with what I've seen. Crazy that the NHS says to avoid it altogether. Yet another example of public health agencies not trusting women to do anything in moderation.
Why have you been told to avoid it? I’m curious. Haven’t heard that yet.
Due to the high vitamin A content. For instance, the NHS recommends to entirely avoid liver and liver products since “Liver and liver products have lots of vitamin A in them. This can be harmful to an unborn baby.”
Interesting. I am always suspicious of public health advice that goes against our evolutionary diet, but it does appear that excessive vitamin A can harm a fetus. But checking the amounts versus toxic levels, you'd have to be eating a full serving of liver almost every single day (or at least every other day) in order to be in the harmful range. Our ancestors didn't get a whole liver to themselves once day. So that makes sense. I think it's extreme to make pregnant woman avoid it altogether though! By doing so we are missing out on choline, omega 3s, vitamin D, and so many other super critical nutrients that support pregnancy and breastfeeding! Of course, those can also be obtained from other sources, but few have such high concentrations of all these nutrients in one place. I say this as someone who hates liver, but the science suggests it was part of a healthy human diet for millions of years.
I’ve been told the same because of vitamin A in liver! Definitely seems like a contentious topic in prenatal nutrition guidelines.
Please use this link if you are interested in trying Needed’s choline! https://thisisneeded.com/products/prenatal-choline?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=creator&utm_campaign=elena_bridgers
My friend and I were both struggling with exhaustion after the birth of our first babies (more than anticipated). We both get tested and both had choline deficiencies! It was absolutely caused by pregnancy/nursing. Eat your eggs!