According to the Mayo Clinic, beyond folic acid and iron, prenatal vitamins can contain many additional key nutrients, from calcium and zinc to vitamins A to E, many of which are shown to individually potentially affect your hair for the better. Two such nutrients, biotin a water-soluble B vitamin and zinc, may actively improve your hair growth, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Moreover, zinc, along with B vitamins, also play a role in the health of your follicles. Vitamin D could also potentially help you grow new hair follicles, the Cleveland Clinic says.
And, for its part, iron, too, is crucial to the well-being and growth of your mane, because an iron deficiency aka anemia can contribute to hair loss, the Cleveland Clinic adds. Finally, omega-3 fatty acids are also thought to boost the health of both your scalp and your hair, Cleveland Clinic says. But before you speed off to the pharmacy, the potential boon of specific nutrients in prenatal vitamins to help your scalp be more budding than balding doesn't necessarily speak to their effect when packed together in a prenatal vitamin package.
Per the Mayo Clinic , claims that prenatals can promote thicker hair and stronger nails are unproven — even cautioning that high levels of these nutrients may be more harmful than helpful over long periods of time for anyone who is not trying to conceive. That rings true, as the fetus needs certain nutrients to develop.
This is where prenatal vitamins come in. For example, pregnant women typically need greater quantities of iron, folate, and calcium in their diet to support fetal development. In the past, doctors advised patients to take prenatal vitamins as soon as they found out they were pregnant. Research shows that taking prenatal vitamins earlier can reduce the risk of neural and spinal birth defects. Prenatal vitamins may even improve female fertility.
Studies show that taking nutritional supplements such as vitamins C, E, and A, folate, and zinc — all found in most prenatals — before pregnancy is associated with improved fertilization rate and shorter time to pregnancy. So, if women are advised to take prenatal vitamins before they are pregnant to support fetal health and development, should their male partner also consider their health and nutrition?
The quick answer is yes, but the ingredients are different. The point of male prenatals is to support male fertility and healthy sperm, not to support a growing fetus. There are male fertility vitamins formulated with ingredients specific to sperm production, sexual function, and a healthy hormone profile. Sperm quality issues, such as sperm DNA fragmentation , could also have a negative impact on the health of your future child.
For example, a strong correlation has been found between the development of retinoblastoma, childhood eye cancer, and DNA damage in paternal sperm. Many of the ingredients found in male prenatals or fertility supplements are antioxidants. Oxidative stress has a detrimental impact on sperm health, especially sperm genetic health.
Oxidative stress can cause sperm DNA fragmentation and, consequently, infertility. Lowering oxidative stress can be accomplished by lowering the levels of ROS in the body — perhaps by quitting smoking or reducing exposure to toxins — or by increasing antioxidant intake through diet and supplementation.
A good strategy to improve fertility includes both. Studies also show that fertilization rates increase after several weeks of supplementation with CoQ Additionally, when researchers tested the effects of CoQ10 supplementation on infertile men, they found a significant increase in sperm motility and fertilization rates. Learn more about our CoQ10 male fertility supplement here. By boosting your folate levels, you may see an increase in sperm concentration — so be on the lookout for folate or folic acid in your male prenatal vitamins.
Although folate and folic acid are often used interchangeably, they are absorbed by the body differently. Folate is the naturally occurring form of vitamin B9. Consequently, the researchers inferred that taking the right antioxidant supplements could positively affect the semen quality markers in infertile males.
Hence, it is easy to infer that the current scientific literature reveals the potential positives that prenatal supplementation can have in males with nutrient deficiencies but is still ambiguous on its effect on those on balance diets that fulfill all their antioxidants needs. So, should men take prenatal vitamins?
Our deduction from studying the available resources is that you should consider getting a nutrient test and a fertility test before plunging with both feet into the world of prenatal vitamins. If you have a deficiency that needs supplementation, taking the right prenatal vitamins can work wonders for your fertility levels and the genetic health of your baby.
However, suppose you already have a relatively balanced nutrient profile. In that case, you should consider skipping prenatal vitamins or opting for a mix that contains relatively low doses of the constituent mineral and vitamins.
The preconception period is heavily nutrient demanding, even in men. Hence, supplementation of many trace minerals and vitamins like selenium, coenzyme Q10, L-carnitine, and vitamin C can significantly improve semen parameters. However, it would be best if you observed the labels, as some prenatal vitamin mixes especially those targeted at pregnant mothers can contain considerably higher doses of certain minerals—like folic acid—that are significantly higher than the prescribed daily recommendation for adults.
While these excessive amounts of minerals and vitamins can aid the mother cope better with the intense nutrient demands of conception and pregnancy, for men, these excesses can lead to potentially harmful nutrient overdoses. With many prenatal vitamin formulas, two of the most critical minerals of concern is iron and folic acid. Many prenatal vitamin brands contain as much as 30mg of iron per pill, which is almost twice the recommended intake level of 18mg per day. In rare cases, iron overdoses can be fatal.
Hence, if you are already consuming an iron-rich diet, you should consider avoiding prenatal vitamins with these mineral levels. Another common offender is folic acid, a mineral you will find in almost every prenatal vitamin concoction.
Folic acid does wonders for women both in the conception phase and during gestation. This mineral can help to foster proper neural development of the child and help prevent several congenital disabilities. Hence, prenatal vitamins can often contain as much as mcg of folic acid, which is the recommended daily amount for women during pregnancy. However, for men, folate levels this high can cause complications. The daily recommended folate intake for adult males is only mcg, less than half what you will find in most prenatal vitamin brands.
Plus, in most cases, men with a healthy balanced diet profile are already meeting their folic acid requirements from their meals.
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