#and the age difference etc. are not exactly kosher here

[stromuprisahat]

Prince Daemon had at last returned to court. Wearing a crown and styling himself King of the Narrow Sea, he appeared unannounced in the skies above King’s Landing on his dragon, circling thrice above the tourney grounds … but when at last he came to earth, he knelt before his brother and offered up his crown as a token of his love and fealty. Viserys returned the crown and kissed Daemon on both cheeks, welcoming him home, and the lords and commons sent up a thunderous cheer as the sons of Prince Baelon Targaryen were reconciled. Amongst those cheering loudest was Princess Rhaenyra, who was thrilled at the return of her favorite uncle, and begged him to stay a while. Prince Daemon did remain at King’s Landing for half a year, and even resumed his seat on the small council, but neither age nor exile had changed his nature. Daemon soon took up again with old companions from the gold cloaks and returned to the establishments along the Street of Silk where he had been such a valued patron. Though he treated Queen Alicent with all the courtesy due her station, there was no warmth between them, and men said that the prince was notably cool toward her children, especially his nephews Aegon and Aemond, whose birth had pushed him still lower in the order of succession. Princess Rhaenyra was a different matter. Daemon spent long hours in her company, enthralling her with tales of his journeys and battles. He gave her pearls and silks and books and a jade tiara said once to have belonged to the Empress of Leng, read poems to her, dined with her, hawked with her, sailed with her, entertained her by making mock of the greens at court, the “lickspittles” fawning over Queen Alicent and her children. He praised her beauty, declaring her to be the fairest maid in all the Seven Kingdoms. Uncle and niece began to fly together almost daily, racing Syrax against Caraxes to Dragonstone and back.

The Rogue Prince, or, A King’s Brother × Fire and Blood (George R. R. Martin)

... whose birth had pushed him still lower in the order of succession...

... or perhaps he just didn't like the tools his sister-in-law popped up to replace his beloved niece with? It's not like Daemon showed some kind of political amibtion ever. He's attention whore, not powerhungry conspirator.

[riversnthedesert-blog]

Some Real Talk on Hollywood and the Deep Things in Life

Well, I was originally going to slide this in as a Facebook post, but I had this sudden idea to just make it a blog post. The first of many, let’s hope! There have been so many times where I have started to comment/make a post, etc., and then I began writing a novel. But, it’s called Face “book,” so you think it’d be ok, right? Listen, I have thoughts. Don’t you? One thought here, another there, and then my mind be like, “OH! Forgot about that...and YEAH! That, too!”…and a lot of the time it’s easier to just write and get my thoughts out that way rather than speaking it. It’s a relief, man! Write ya mind. It would suffice to say there’s a lot that goes on up there. Better log it quick because as soon as I have something important...here cometh something else. Ah, feelings, the mind, expressions, inner things, brain files....

So, now that you, reader, have become acquainted with my thought processes, because you desperately needed to know...let’s get to the content.

You guys pray for Hollywood. There are some really creepy things going on behind the scenes….and creepy is an understatement, as I’d do well to keep it kosher in my description. Many things would shock you. But if one isn’t awake so to speak…or one isn’t open to hear in full, there’s confusion. If I could compare it to a puzzle: it’s like there’s all these pieces to a big puzzle. And until someone is ready to sit down and actually put it together, it’s just all these random pieces everywhere...and it’s messy and annoying. You must be willing to sit, observe the pieces, and study them because by themselves they don’t fit anywhere. And since you don’t know what to do with it, it just sits there, and never gets connected; the bigger picture never gets seen. This all might seem confusing, because you haven’t yet sat down to solve the puzzle. Let’s me just say...I don’t have 100% of the puzzle solved, but there are certain things that have been brought to light. But if we go back to the puzzle analogy, if you put together enough pieces of a particular part of the puzzle,you may not see all the details, but you see enough to maybe see, “Oh this is puzzle has a cat in it.” In the case for Hollywood, you might get to a place where you’ll say, “Oh, this puzzle has a rat.” It may seem like I am just finding something to poke at or what have you, but listen: 

The Bible says, “be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8)”  and in Ephesians 5:8-13, it says, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible--and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.”

The Bible in different places talk about knowing wisdom (of God), being discerning, and having knowledge. Jesus said in Matthew 10:16, “Behold, I send you out as sheep among wolves, therefore be wise as serpents and gentle as doves.”

With that in mind, it’s important to note that we shouldn’t be unaware of the devil’s schemes. We should know our enemy’s tactics in order to guard against it. So when we see the deception, the lies, the fake news, the idolatry, the game of distraction, and materialism and fame, the plan of the enemy to sway hearts deceitfully and subtly for his kingdom, we are prepared and not caught off guard.

[Later, hopefully, I will try to discuss this more in depth at as it relates to the Antichrist agenda that is at work in the world by globalist leaders.]

Getting to the point here:

 Pray for your favorite celebrities. God has an army, but so does the devil. God wants to recruit, but so does the the devil. One is Light, one masquerades as light, but is actually darkness. One is good, one appears good. One is true, one is the counterfeit.

Please hear me. The world’s biggest influencers are definitely a target of Satan because they have the platform to be able to change an entire culture. How does this happen? MUSIC, ART…things that grip the HEART. Things that speak to the deepest places in people, the places of pain, emptiness, woes of many kinds. Why is this such a soft spot for the human race? Why are most songs about love and pain? I mean, why is music the language that everyone understands? We’re about to get into that.

[Disclaimer: I don’t know everything, and I don’t claim to. But with evidence from the Bible (God’s word), and when hings that were once just an idea or only talked about begin blatantly flaunting themselves in plain sight, you tend to not just tuck it away hoping that what you saw wasn’t real. With that being said, here we go.]

It’s not hard to find the answer if you really wanna know (read Matthew 7:7). Our inmost being cries out for LOVE. But, hey man, why does love in this world seem to suck a lot of the time? Could it be that we’re going about it all wrong? Could it be that we’re hitting something, but haven’t quite dug it all up to actually see what it is? Love is real, ok. Love is DEEP and beautiful and poetic and all those things, but love is meant to be JOYFUL, though. Does this world see much real, raw, joyful love? Romanticism? Yes. Infatuation? You bet. Any idea how to sustain a marriage? Look at the divorce rate. What is that all about, my friends? Does anyone know what love is anymore? There are SONGS about this. People want to know, though. Their souls try out to know...WHAT THE HECK IS THIS LOVE THING THAT TAKES ME OVER AND THEN LEAVES ME BROKEN AND WASHED UP ON THE SHORE TO SHRIVEL UP AND DIE?Okay, we’re getting somewhere, but in order to go any further, we must admit: Something is wrong, perverted, amiss, broken, disturbed, frustrated...yet, we gotta have it in order to LIVE. This is crazy revelation, right? Fasten your seat belts, people, and as Samuel L. Jackson said in Jurassic Park, “Hold on to your butts!”

So we have just come to the point of realization that someone is doing something wrong. Right? *heh*

First step. Admitting something is wrong.

But chin up fam, there’s no shame. Because the world’s just trying to do the best they can with what they’ve got. It’s like survival mode. And you know animals when they try to find their food to survive...they kill, they go crazy to get their essentials. Dog eat dog world, am I right? The CARNAL mind. Did you know humans have carnal minds, too? Yeah, it’s a thing. The carnal mind deals with the flesh (aka: how we compensate without God. Doing life without Him...either on purpose or ignorantly. Survival mode, because if I don’t fend for myself, I’m at risk of dying. Fear mode. The twisted mentality that my desire (the heart) has to be met before I am fully satisfied.

And the Bible says, “Those who are in [operating out of] the flesh cannot please God. (Romans 8:8) 

K. Well, wait a minute, that sounds rather harsh. 

Hold on, though because I’m going to explain and bring more clarity.

What is the opposite of the flesh?  You might argue, “So if the flesh is all we know...what the heck, man! Like, I have desires, don’t you? I gotta give up my happiness and all that brings me joy?”

No bruh, not exactly. See, if someone is living in the flesh, they are living in an illusion. The illusion that if they “meet their desires themselves [based on their limited power and understanding as a human being of what it is they want/need]. Living based on the flesh will keep someone in a hopeless cycle of temporary fulfillment which will lead, eventually, to a state of deprivation, disappointment, and (un)fulfillment because they are depriving themselves of the SOURCE of their life.

What’s the source, you ask? Who made you and knows what you truly desire and need; what’s at core of your heart. Who knows how it operates? Who saw your unformed body? (Please friends, I’m begging you to read Psalm 139)

Does God just want take away our desires to rob us of delight and a fun, abundant life, just because? Does He want to see us thrive? 

Men, women, young and old, children of all ages. I’d like to introduce you to my Father in Heaven who is a God of GOODNESS. He is Spirit. And the nature of his Spirit are aaalll of these

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.

God is good. Anything not good is contrary to His nature. 

Sin = not good. What is sin? Woah! Another post, for another time.

I have suffieciently dove into the deep end. There are rabbits hopping everywhere because my mind has gone down so many trails to explain this all to you. There’s more. 

*Self notes: post to be made on flesh desires and God desires.

 [Or read Romans 8]

Wrapping up our discussion with some further thoughts:

If the world doesn’t know the power and love of Jesus, they’re just trying to figure it out and compensate. We did something important earlier. We recognized we have been going about love all wrong. God wants to show us how to do it right, but He won’t force us. Instead, He lovingly leads, allows His children to live out the love they have received through Him. “We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19-21)” HA! Let me say it again. Love is not to be forced. Not saying that there isn’t sacrifice involved in love because there is, but when it’s properly received and you do it the right way, it looks like Jesus on the Cross. 

Gotta go to the Book with this. 1 Corinthians 13. Love.

*All kinds of things are stirring up in me because I know some are going to say to themselves, “well dats the Bible, that ain’t no solid truth. How can you say that’s truth, made made it!” I will explain to all my atheists friends out there one day, but not now because I literally will start writing a novel right here and now. Help, me, Lord. And like a faithful friend, He will.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. (That’s 1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

So if that’s all the characteristics of love, we can say that those are the characteristics of God, too, because 1 John 4:8 says, “God is love.”

If we are imperfect people, we love imperfectly. But wait just a second here because in 1 John 4, if we read the whole thing, it says

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.”

So if one isn’t a believer in Jesus, like hasn’t received Him as Lord and Savior, then it would be true also to say that they don’t know Love if they don’t know God.

When someone doesn’t know God, because we were made in His image and His likeness (Genesis 1:27, Gen. 9:6), we still have attributes and qualities of God. The Bible also says, “eternity was placed in the human heart, (Ecclesiastes 3:11), people can be without God but still be operating out of the qualities and attributes they were made with. I’m sure God did that intentionally to help us find our way back to “truth north” in the event that we should become lost. What I am saying friends is that people who reject Jesus at this point, choose Atheism, paganism, Gnosticism, and other forms of religion, they still have that eternity void that needs to be filled. And some further discussion on the void of eternity:

Think of eternity as an umbrella…and under the umbrella, there’s

LOVE

MEANING

PURPOSE

TRUTH

If all of these are within the concept of eternity, then all of us have the bent within us to go after them. It’s in us to find these things…because we are trying to get back to our “true north.”

But wait! Because if “true north” is God. How do we know which avenue to God is the right one?

“Oh, boy. You’ve done it now, Lex.”

[to be continued...]

[jackednephi]

Queering Christ: a post where I'm just rambling out some Thoughts

Jesus had two moms AND two dads. So we can look at this a couple of ways

Polyamorous family in which Mary had two husbands considering God got her pregnant. A mixed family like the case of divorce where kids have four parents is also a valid way to look at that. But honestly? The way the Holy Family is looked at by all of Christianity? That's totally a polyamorous relationship

Mary, like all good Jewish women, prepared from an early age to be worthy to carry the savior. From what I understand of the Jewish faith, good Jewish women still do this as they don't see (accept?) Jesus as the Christ. They live a specific way and pray to be worthy to receive the savior. Mary would have done this and, as we know from the scriptures available, this is exactly what she did. Therefore, the angelic visit of "hey you down to clown with god himself, lord over all creation?" was no surprise in that way. Pleasant, overwhelming and positive? Yes. Fearful screaming like with the shepherds? Not so much

I don't presume to understand how God himself allowed a virgin birth. We can say sex was involved but I'm just not going there. Instead, I propose something I learned of a few years ago when I was still a biology major: Christ's chromosomes were xx

So there's an actual recorded phenomenon wherein a woman can become pregnant, barring the usual method. She gives birth to a girl because of self fertilization. I forget the specific particulars but it is an actual thing that happens. It's rare and, from what I understand, will always produce someone xx rather than xy. Intersex and whatnot aside, this would mean that Christ was a trans man

We can talk about miracles all day long if we so please. Christ could have miracled himself whatever body he wanted. I'm not here to speculate on that. What I CAN speculate on is the fact that Mary was told she'd have a son. Meaning she would be told to raise him as a son. Children are pretty much interchangeable before puberty when it comes to telling gender at a glance. Hell, it used to be common practice to put all babies, regardless of gender, in little dresses

It would have been an easy thing for Mary and Joseph to raise Christ as a boy/man from a young age, teaching him carpentry. This would have likely also been safer socially because of how women were viewed in the past. Then, right around the time the couple could have explained to Jesus that no he was a girl, he would have been plenty old enough to protest and insist he was a boy. And anyway, look at those robes everyone wore

Or just look at paintings. Aside from color differences, hair covering was slightly different as well, these were pretty unisex robes. It would be no thing for him to dress as male. Not to mention, I honestly cannot see any bulge around this woman's chest. So long as Jesus didn't have an enormous chest, he wouldn't have to miracle anything away at all

Look, even if he wasn't trans during his life, he most certainly was in the Garden of Gethsemane considering the suffering he endured there. We know he bled for not just every sin but for every possible experience we could have ever had. The pain of being rejected by queerphobic family, friends, and society. Period cramps, child birth, the pain of being told you will never have children, losing children, losing spouse(s), and so on. In those moments, even if God had performed THE miracle and Jesus wasn't a trans man, Christ knew everything all of us would ever face. Meaning, during that time if nowhere else, he was just as trans and other forms of queer as the rest if us

But the scientist in me loves to think he went his whole life as a trans man due to the self fertilization that is a thing. God created the rules of reality and we know He plays within those rules. Why would he make Mary's pregnancy any different?

This also brings up the issue of Holy Consent. Mary consented enthusiastically to carry Christ. But what of The Mother? As someone in a polyamorous arrangement, I can confidently say that all parties must consent at all times to everything, with some wiggle room. If my wife were to want to remove their birth control, all of us would have to be consulted since everyone would be coparenting. When I removed mine, all three spouses and my then girlfriend were consulted for the off chance (read: miracle) of my own pregnancy

Before any of us most immediately affected adds a new partner, we consult the other partners. It isn't a Huge Ordeal so much as a quick text of "I'm going to start dating Josh" and usually it's "hey congratulations!" There have been instances of "you already have # partners. Will you be able to handle another?" or "I'm not really comfortable with Josh because of [behavior]" in which case, things are discussed further before a decision is made

Bottom line, consent is a conversation that happens between all affected parties. Otherwise it's not healthy or polyamory but just cheating. And we know God doesn't Cheat. Which means, at some point, there was a Conversation. And not only did our Mother consent, she did so for every instance of miraculous birth, a couple of which happen in the bible itself. I can't remember names but there was this one woman who gave her son to the temple? Because she'd had a miraculous birth? Look, I know it's in there I'm just fuzzy on the specifics because I focus on (sarcasm) important stuff (sarcasm end) like kosher laws and Laban's sword. And now this rambly mess of a post

That means that Christ was the child of a polyamorous relationship, however that relationship was structured. This isn't even diving into the kings etc before Christ who had multiple wives and concubines. I mean. The tribes of Israel were the product of a multiple woman, polyamorous situation

Anyway, there's no neat conclusion or anything but I've been sitting on these thoughts for a couple of years now. Feel free to discuss

[penaltybox14]

Quickly: if you feel discussion of food and exercise tracking apps may trigger you, for whatever reason, I’ve put this behind a read more and advise skipping it over.  ‘Kay?

So, like a lot of people, I could probably stand to have more nutrition in my diet, but when medical people are like “you need to eat better” I’m like “but what does that mean?” and then they tell me things like “well you need to get more vitamin/mineral/etc” and I’m still like: “yes but how?”

My health plan, in one of its few sparks of brilliance, led me to an app/website (not run by the health plan, it’s free for download) called Good Measures.  Good Measures breaks shit waaaay the fuck down.  How the fuck down?  So down. 

For logging: You can scan foods in packages and adjust the serving, you can enter foods in manually, you can create a food item based on a template (A Sandwich, A Soup, A Salad, A Pizza, etc), or create a recipe.  It will also remember things you’ve told it before, so you can just, for example, check-box a breakfast you’ve eaten previously.

You can also add a vitamin supplement if you take one.

You can also log physical activity by searching for activities and inputting how long you did [x].  The physical activity part is, like a lot of apps, relatively clumsy for every day existence but works as best it can.

This is all great, but then what it does with the data (and the info you give it - age, gender, weight, goals) is it breaks down what you’re eating and shows you a very basic score called the ‘Good Measures Index’ that indicates how many of the assorted essential nutrients you’re getting.  It offers a breakdown of essential parts of the diet - vitamins, minerals, calories, protein, fat - and whether you’re under or over where you’ve told it you want to be.  But then, you can click on say, calcium, and ask it to tell you more.  It will say: here are some good sources of calcium that you’ve eaten before, but also, here are some specific examples of foods and how much calcium they have, and you might want to try x y or z.

If you’re not sure what to eat, you can ask it to offer you suggestions.  It will give you meal ideas (example: tuna salad sandwich with a peach for lunch), as well as options of new foods and recipes to try.  And if you hate a food it suggests?  Tell it you don’t like it, and it won’t suggest it again, and will offer different options in categories like fruit, veg, protein, dairy, etc.  It has a pretty extensive database as far as I can tell.  I believe you can set it based on different diets (vegetarian/vegan/maybe kosher/halal?) but it also seems to learn from what you tell it, and has options for at least the major food allergens.

If you’re not already into its excessively detailed, yet fairly easy to follow, charts, graphs, numbers, and suggestions, you also (and I believe this part is paid for by my health plan) have the option to talk to an honest to god dietician/nutritionist.  You can even do it by messaging if that’s more convenient.  I’ve chatted with them about my goals, what’s hard for me, any issues I have (texture, smell, kitchen functionality), my activity level, specific questions (”hey, so, what do I eat after swimming 3400m exactly?”), and The Human has been very helpful so far.  Plus The Human keeps me thinking.

Anyway, for those of you who want to track your food and activity, but have executive dysfunction or have no idea what a turnip looks like or cookbooks are just overwhelming, I recommend this app highly.

[soulfulauror]

The topic I’m bringing you today is one that I’ve grappled with for nearly as long as I’ve played Tina: Jewishness and the Wizarding World with respects to Tina.

Let me preface this that while I’m a conversion student (reform) I’m not from a Jewish family myself. Although I’ve started to practice religiously I cannot and will not call myself an authority on the matter for ethnic/secular Jewish people. As this is also a headcanon post while I will touch on minute details of my research I will not express every nuance, but I am happy to share texts and ideas.

Being a wizarding Jew: Religious or Ethnic? One of the biggest misconceptions I’ve seen in the FB fandoms in regards to the Goldstein sisters is that their relation to their Jewishness has to be religious. It does not. The Jewish people are one of the oldest people with written history, language, and culture in the world. There are people born Jewish, by Jewish law, that do not practice religiously and don’t believe in a higher being. This is the first thing I like to make a point of when writing either of the girls: They don’t have to be religious.

America in the 1920s in relations to Judaism: Like many different ethnic and religious groups there was a spike in immigration by the Jewish people in the 18th through 20th centuries. In particular, in the 19th century immigration happened due to Russian pogroms. Antisemitism was on a global level with Henry Ford in the United States writing propaganda in the early 20th century.

The 19th century also saw the introduction of a new form of Jewish movement in Baltimore, the Reform movement. Jewishness on a religious level within the United States was broadening. There were “modern” Jewish plays on Broadway. The introduction of the reform movement was considered a revitalization by some and in other ways, it was pulling away from a traditional Jewish identity in a time where being Jewish was dangerous and on a global scale unwanted by peers. This only heightened post WWI where the Jewish people were considered the “problem” and we know what happens from there.

New York in the 1920s had one of the largest Jewish populations on the planet and today still holds the second largest (after Israel). Different census says that the Jewish population at the time was anywhere between 30-50% of the population and reached a high in the 20s*. This means the wizarding population of New York would have, subsequently, had a large Jewish population and their own cultural identity.

Religion and witchcraft. This is a topic that I consider on all types of levels-- For a strict, orthodox Jewish person the idea of witchcraft would be considered against the Torah. For Conservative and Reform Judaism it might change a bit. But even for Orthodox Jews for the wizarding world it might be considered “an exception”. For this I’d like to direct you to a fanfiction about an orthodox Anthony Goldstein: here who explains the concept far better than I can.  The idea essentially is that if not doing something (practicing/learning sorcery) will become a danger to others is it strictly wrong. And in this case, we know that magic can act explosively if not handled properly and, if repressed, results in an Obscurial.

Jewishness also has pagan roots and it’s own mysticism in Kabbalah. Early temple era practices involved ritual sacrifice (largely of animals that eventually got written out). I haven’t done enough research into Kabbalah itself to want to firmly say anything on it but a quick definition is, “ Practical Kabbalah in historical Judaism, is a branch of the Jewish mystical tradition that concerns the use of magic. ...  “ Sukkot is, in a sense, still one of the most pagan-like traditions held.

So what does this mean for Tina and how does she handle her Jewishness? Well, not that we got the highlights of what I consider about her identity itself down let’s discuss Tina’s history itself:

Regardless of what debates may come up I will always write Tina as ethnically and religiously Jewish. Full stop. However, I also consider the effect that having lost her parents would have here. For my version of Tina I write as if her parents died somewhere in between her being 8 to 9-years-old. By this age she has a more firm grip on how her parents treated their own identities and it’s part of the cultural values she grew up in.

However,  that was over fifteen years ago and for 9 of those years she would have been in most of my verses an orphanage (and I have reasons for that and I’ll write a headcanon on that one day). And when she wasn’t she was at Ilvermorny which, instead of collaborating cultural identities seems to be like England and no-maj America more Christain based. I’d like to think in a perfect worl children would be excused for religious holidays to practice, but given how religion is non-existent in this world it’s doubtful. So she went to a secular boarding school where Christmas, Easter, etc would have been the major holidays.

Still with me? Cool. So now that we’ve gotten all of the bits and pieces together that I’ve considered for Tina the fun part comes in:

I write Tina as culturally Jewish, led by Jewish morals and ideals, without a belief in g-d.

 By the time her parents died Tina’s morals would have been formed and these are the things I have written into her character. Without dwelling on it long I’ll lift some titles from one of my favorite works Jewish Wisdom by Rabbi Joshua Telushkin on this. “When to Give, What to Give, How to Give,” “Helping the Helpless,” “The Obligation to criticize, How to do So, and When to Remain Silent,”  “Listen to her voice,” “Either friends or death,” “A Person is Liable by his Actions”.

These are just some of the passages in this work that I feel plays into Tina’s character and I try to subtly put in. Because I do feel like that I shouldn’t have to constantly say she is Jewish for her to be Jewish-- Action speaks just as loudly as words and that’s what, to me, fits Tina best. So when I write her I consider how the Torah and Talmud would work and this Jewish morality, not necessarily adhering to mitzvahs (though she does to many, but she doesn’t live by them).

Saying she doesn’t feel religiously Jewish, however, doesn’t mean I don’t feel like she does nothing either. The interesting thing about Judaism is that you are allowed to grapple with it and come at your own terms. It’s that reason that it’s completely possible for wizarding Jews to be religious too-- Because it’s all about finding your own identity with g-d.

Tina’s had a difficult life, though. She lost her parents at a young age, she’s seen cold nights with no food, struggled to be successful and it’s always been something she had to do on her own. It’s not necessarily that she doesn’t believe in g-d she’s just come to terms with h him in her own way-- And this way is more of a spiritual reflection than anything.

She does believe in the holiness of Yom Kippur, for example. It’s the one time of year that I write she asks for off and insists on. Any other holiday she’ll work if she has to, but this is the one time she pressed for because it’s a period of reflection for her-- She’ll work through the week leading up after Rosh Hashanah but she earnestly takes the time Yom Kippur gives to understand herself, come to terms with what she did during the year, and it’s also a time she pays respect to her parents.

Tina’s Jewish identity for me is directly connected to the loss of her parents. After they pass away she has no reason to go to shul anymore, no reason for prayer, other than daughterly obligation. Again, she lived in an over-crowded era where kids like her would have been extremely lucky to eat properly. She’d have no reason to believe in those circumstances, but se still tried.

 Every year without fail Tina lights a candle on Yom Kippur. She’d save up whatever nickles she could find when she was little. And now on the anniversaries of their deaths she visits their gravestones and places a rock. When she was old enough to give Queenie anything on Chanukkah she’d present her a single present, not much and it took too long to get the money for it--

--But for Tina she’s a woman who holds onto those memories and moments with her parents. She lives in her mother’s old apartment, wears their old clothes, keeps a locket that I personally write as her mothers. Holding onto these small moments is like holding onto a piece of them.

Tina is also a bit of a scholar as seen with her various books and I don’t feel that ends on the magical spectrum. She does earnestly want to know about the background she comes from, so she’s read the Torah and she reads scholastic works. And occasionally if she’s off at the time she walks to the nearest shul on Shabbat mornings.

Her Jewishness is a part of her and it’s something she grapples with. A younger her was angry at the concept of g-d allowing her parents to die, an older her understands that some things happen and it’s how you deal with them, the strength that pulls you through that happens. That there are no guarantees and what you can do is by acting with just and moral decisions. And that’s exactly how she lives.

Kosher is something I waffle on and this goes back to the remarks of “Hot dog, again? ...Not a very wholesome lunch.” Which I and many others do think is supposed to go back to that, but again I think it’s much more complicated-- Technically eating pork/non-kosher/what not is allowed if there’s nothing else to eat and you’ll starve otherwise. So I think as a child, before her parents died, Tina ate kosher-- But after they died it became eating whatever came by. That included pork or dairy products or whatever was there. 

As an adult she does try to eat kosher for the most part, but she also eats at a matter of convenience. Hot Dogs could be kosher, but stand ones are unlikely so she probably justifies it by she needs to eat and she doesn’t know (and Waterston has saidt hat Tina gets so stressed out/works so much that she forgets to eat). There’s also some Jewish people who eat kosher in the home by don’t outside of it simply because of the idea they don’t actually know if a place is entirely kosher (since strict Judaism calls for such foods to not even be cooked on the same utensils).

The last and final element I consider is the fact that Tina is a woman who has high morals, strong loyalty, and a constant work-ethic. What this means is that although I feel she asks for at least one holiday off a year she doesn’t stress the others-- Her spirituality is more important and she can’t justify taking many off. Especially not during the High Holidays in the fall when you’re not /technically/ supposed to work for a month. She simply can’t afford that and I’ve read a few articles where even on Shabbat if it’s a greater loss to you (ie: money/food/etc) it can be justified and since her Jewishness is more spiritual than religious...

Well. Tina is a practising Jew, within the confines of the life she’s been given. She is very culturally Jewish and knows Yiddish and Hebew passably enough, Yiddish more so. She’s even a scholarly Jew, wanting to learn what she can even if it’s not necessarily something she makes part of her identity. Tina is very proud of being Jewish and holds it close to her heart as part of her parents. She’s just not a Jewish person who has quite come to concepts with her own idea of g-d or if one exists for her.

I would go on but this is already long and I think this covers quite a bit of information without going into my feelings on Tina versus period-antisemitism.

Thanks for coming this far if you have!

[jewishangus]

(I'm not even sure if this is the place to ask, sorry if this is a weird question haha) I'm a fanfiction writer and now that angus has been confirmed jewish I don't want to ignore that part of him in my future works. But I know literally nothing about what it means to be jewish. As a jewish fanfiction writer yourself, do you have any advice about how I could respectfully write a jewish angus?

no its a great question!!!! dont worry about asking - if anything, im super glad you’re looking to create good representation!! (and humbled that you’re here asking me? fuck)

tl;dr: being respectful really just means putting thought into your character, and treating judaism like you would any other facet of someone’s personality. most of the time, it won’t be that prominent! but if you don’t think about it, you’re going to end up writing it badly.

under the readmore, however: how to approach thinking about judaism and working it into a character.

ok first of all, if you’re not jewish and know nothing about judaism, there’s a couple of things you should get.

first: ethnicity is key.i’ll leave you to do the googling on the terms - the key to all good representation is research - but if youre european/american, you most likely adhere to a denomination (which, for the numerical majority of jews, is either orthodox, conservative, or reform), if you’re from the middle east/north africa/actual real africa/far east, or live in israel now, you’re likely not to. 

second: surprisingly, politics dont matter. tradition, however, does.you can be liberal and orthodox and conservative and reform, even though orthodox judaism is the more traditional/patriarchal in nature of the two denominations. but you’ve probably heard of if not seen fiddler on the roof - its incredibly hard to stray against what you’ve been raised when youre jewish, mostly because most of your jewish identity comes from your parents and your history! a lot of people do, especially on the political front. but even if people differ from their parents politically, they might not do so jewishly.

third: jews are a nation as well as a religion.jewish culture exists (though it’s different for people of different ethnicities), a jewish language exists, a jewish history exists (even though schools suck at teaching all of it), and jewish national sovereignty also exists and is important - hence, israel. at the same time, a jewish biblical canon exists, and jewish books of law exist, and those two have to coexist together. for some jews, both are equally important. some prioritize one over the other, and do so in different ways.

last: stereotypes are…. actually kind of important.jews love to argue. true. jewish overbearing moms exist. also true. jews control all the money in the world? actually, we joke about that a lot, but sadly that isn’t true. however, for a nation with only ~15 million people, you’ll find us in a lot of high places; we’ll attribute that mostly to our brains, though.when you’re writing stereotypes, think about them. every jewish person thinks about them differently and treats them differently. people who grew up in more of a jewish bubble tend to be more comfortable with them than those who arent.whatever you do, though, dont avoid them like the plague. a lot of them are true, and cute, and a lot of them are something id love to see in fic! as an example, take a line from one of my wips: “So, deep down, Davenport knew it wasn’t a coincidence that when he collected the seven, they all turned out to be Jewish. It’s the Jew-dar, Merle jokes sometimes, or the “you were looking for smart people, what’d you expect?” that Taako said once, but their captain’s more serious than that. He thinks it’s destiny.”

there’s two different stereotypes in there: jews are smart, and the jew-dar, which is more a pun off of the gay-dar than anything. and yet, they’re used light-heartedly, for a laugh that doesn’t poke fun! kind of in the same way angus was confirmed to be jewish.

ok, now that that’s done with, a disclaimer that i implied heavily in the last bit but is very worthy to say outright:

every jew is different! 

when you’re writing a jewish character, this is the most important thing to keep in mind. a person can’t be just jewish, they’re jewish and [insert race/ethnicity] and [insert gender] and [insert age] and [insert socio-economic status] and [insert sexuality] and i can just go on and on and on, because even the men in black hats in nyc’s diamond district have a story and other facets of their personality.

so the key to write a jewish character is not to throw everything else in the garbage - in fact do exactly the opposite. decide everything else first, and then use that to reverse-engineer their judaism.now, this is true even for people who see judaism as their salient identity, like me! even if judaism is the most important thing in their lives, it’s that along with everything else that builds character.

let’s try it with angus, shall we?

okay, so who is angus?

-he’s a boy-he’s 11-he is, for whatever reason, mostly disconnected from his birth family-he loves to learn - an academic at heart-he’s fancy - his birth family was probably rich, or at least he knows his manners.

and if you wanna do some world-building you can - how do jews in faerun deal with magic/other gods/the astral plane/etc? thats a whole other post, but it’s interesting to think about in regards to angus’s psyche.

okay, let’s do this:

we don’t know angus’s race. if he’s white, what denomination does he slide into, if any? if he’s black, he’s either ethiopian or his family converted at some point in his history or he’s an extremely rare character. either way, his generation is probably like. one of the first to integrate into modern judaism. what’s that like? 

he’s a kid. his judaism is going to change over time! how serious is he about it now? is it a source of fun for him, a source of serious learning, or a mix of both? does he make sure to follow the laws, clearing his dorm of bread on passover or fasting on yom kippur or keeping shabbat/kosher, or does he just light candles for hanukkah and eat dairy on midsummer?

where is his family, and why would they have left him? the days of ditching your kid in fear of him growing up bad have been behind us for millennia. if his family is shitty or dead, where’s the extensive community that usually backs up kids of his character? does he still have a network? does he go back and visit?

he found a new family in the bureau and the ipre - are they jewish? do they support him or just leave him be?

he is a boy genius, in most understandings of the term. does he speak hebrew? know torah trope or prayer or jewish law? or is he more of a jewish history buff? or does he like secular subjects better, struggling over yet appreciating the old text yet turning his attention to something else? judaism seriously endorses academia - is that where he got his love for it from?

if he’s fancy, is he traditional? does he wear tzizit under his clothes or was his family not that jewish when they got rich?

the answers to all of these questions are going to create the kind of jew you want angus to be!

and yet - 

you can incorporate all of this character-building into angus and end up writing him the same way as you have this whole time - it all depends on the scene you’re writing him in.

your angus could be the same except he interrupts to ask a question about a religion/custom that’s different than his own. he could be the same except fixing the tzizit under his clothes is a fidget of his. you know what? his judaism is probably only going to come up in little snippets anyway - he could be asking taako which ones are the meat forks and which are the dairy ones, or magnus could play keep-away with his kippah, or lucretia could find him in his room studying torah. or maybe it comes up in conversation? maybe someone calls him a genius and he blushes and says he kinda struggles with his hebrew homework sometimes, and then the conversation moves on as if he hadn’t mentioned judaism at all.

so what do these questions answer, exactly? whether those snippets, those pieces of judaism that work his way into his daily life, are even there to begin with. 

does it come up in conversation? does he spend his free time studying torah? does he wear a kippah or tzizit? does he care about meat and dairy forks? does he end up going on an extreme teen adventure and ask a bunch of questions or is he worried about merle preaching? 

those are up to you, and those decisions are what im working to educate on in this post.

anyways, that’s about all i got! if you wanna find out more about judaism, feel free to ask - i was trying to avoid giving you a crash course on my religion and more focusing on how to incorporate it into a character, but if the former was what you were looking for, hit me up and ill write another 1500 words for you!

hope i could help, and happy writing!

[crystalgordontx]

The Top 5 Prenatal Vitamin Supplements of 2017

Women who are pregnant have an important role of fulfilling the nutritional needs of their baby and themselves at the same time.

Depending on the diet of the mother, this is not always an easy thing to do.

(For the best general women’s multivitamins, click here)

Prenatal vitamins help ensure proper nutrition for the mother and the baby throughout the duration of a pregnancy.

So how do prenatal vitamin supplements work and are they really worth it?

We’ll cover this, along with the benefits and possible side effects of taking a prenatal vitamin.

Before we get there, we’ve ranked the best prenatal vitamins of 2017, according to price, product quality, and customer reviews.

So what’s the best prenatal vitamin supplement on the market?

1- VitaBalance Pregnancy Plus

Lowest price we found

VitaBalance offers one of the most well-rounded prenatal vitamin supplements the market has ever seen, with an emphasis on the three most important prenatal vitamin components: zinc, calcium, and folic acid.

Here’s exactly what’s in Pregnancy Plus:

How did VitaBalance come up with their prenatal vitamin formula?

Well, a lot of research has been conducted on what essential vitamins and minerals are involved during a pregnancy.

Calcium, zinc, and folic acid have all been recognized as crucial prenatal vitamin components.

Popular health encyclopedia WebMD states that “Women who are pregnant or might become pregnant take folic acid to prevent miscarriage and ‘neural tube defects,’ birth defects such as spina bifida that occur when the fetus’s spine and back do not close during development.”

Folic acid has even been brought up on The DR. OZ Show:

“While it is especially important for women of childbearing age, folic acid is critical for your health at any stage of your life, whether you are a man or a woman.”

What are people saying about Pregnancy Plus?

Here’s one recent review:

“I am just so relieved to know that I’m using a product that is trusted by so many other soon to be moms. It’s not easy knowing what advice to take on board when there is so much out there but with Pregnancy Plus I feel I’ve made the right choice.” – Jenny G.

Not only do they have stellar reviews, they’re one of the more affordable prenatal vitamin supplements on the market, too.

This supplement is manufactured in an FDA approved facility with GMP certifications.

Take 2 capsules per day (one in the middle of the day, one in the evening), 60 capsules in the bottle.

Buy Pregnancy Plus Online

—

2- Rainbow Light Prenatal One

Lowest price on Amazon

Rainbow Light is a leading brand founded in the multivitamin space (they have products in both the top men’s and women’s multivitamin rankings) but their prenatal vitamin might be their most impressive vitamin supplement yet.

The ingredients in the Prenatal One blend are sourced from superfood extracts that promote a baby’s development and support a mother’s energy and nutrition.

In particular, this prenatal supplement contains 30 milligrams of non-constipating iron to support metabolism and red blood cell production, 400 IU of vitamin D2 to promote healthy bones and teeth, plus 100 milligrams of vitamin C and 4,000 IU of vitamin A to support skin, eye, and immune system health.

Prenatal One contains plant-source enzymes plus 25 million probiotics to enhance digestion without an upset stomach.

It’s also a vegan and vegetarian-approved supplement, meaning no animal products or artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, preservatives, or other additives and 100% free of gluten, soy, dairy, nuts, shellfish, and yeast.

Serving size: 1 tablet, 150 tablets in the bottle.

Buy Prenatal One on Amazon

—

3- MegaFood Baby & Me 2

Lowest price on Amazon

MegaFood’s Baby & Me 2 is one of the more expensive prenatal vitamin supplements on the market, but supposedly you get premium quality.

Here’s what the people at MegaFood have to say about their prenatal vitamin product:

“MegaFood takes pride in knowing we deliver the promise of farm fresh foods to you in everything we make. It’s not easy, but we believe farm fresh whole foods are the best way to deliver authentic nourishment and not just vitamins and minerals alone. And that’s the difference between feeling good and feeling really good.

Feeling good and trusting what you are putting into your body is of even greater importance as you go through pregnancy. We have included a comprehensive list of ingredients tailored to meet the changing needs of your body and your growing baby, and you can rest assured knowing that our formula is certified gluten-free, dairy free, soy free, vegetarian safe, kosher, and Non-GMO.”

Farm fresh foods is an interesting concept, definitely not something you see offered by other leading prenatal vitamin products.

Here are the ingredients contained in Baby & Me 2: vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D3, vitamin E, vitamin K1/K2, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, niacin, vitamin B6, biotin, pantothenic acid, iron, iodine, zinc, selenium, copper, manganese, chromium, molybdenum, potassium, choline, silica, stearic acid, and plant cellulose.

Take 2 tablets daily, 120 tablets in the bottle.

Buy Baby & Me 2 on Amazon

—

4- NatureMade Prenatal Multi + DHA

Lowest price on Amazon

NatureMade is another big name in the health supplement space. Their prenatal vitamin supplement contains traditional prenatal ingredients (calcium, zinc, folic acid, etc.) along with 200 mg of the essential omega-3 fatty acid, DHA.

The serving size is only one softgel per day, which is nice compared to other leading brands that require you take 2-3 capsules per day. Also one of the more affordable prenatal vitamin supplements for the quantity of servings in the bottle (90).

Here are the ingredients: gelatin, soybean oil, glycerin, water, soy lecithin, yellow beeswax, resin, ascorbyl palmitate, niacin, vitamin B6, folic acid, vitamin B12, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D3, vitamin E, and calcium (as calcium carbonate).

It is important to note that this supplement contains wheat. However, there are no artificial flavors, preservatives, or yeast. All colors have been derived from natural sources – no synthetic dyes.

1 softgel per serving, 90 softgels in the bottle.

Buy Prenatal Multi + DHA on Amazon

—

5- Garden of Life Vitamin Code RAW Prenatal

Lowest price on Amazon

One of the highest priced prenatal vitamins on the market, Garden of Life’s Vitamin Code RAW Prenatal is a whole-food multi-nutrient formula, specifically formulated to meet the unique needs of women during pre-conception, pregnancy, and lactation, by providing the nourishment to support both Mom and her developing baby.

This particular supplement is RAW – meaning no high heat, synthetic binders, fillers, artificial flavors, sweeteners, colors or additives commonly used in tablets.

The ingredients in this prenatal vitamin are blended in a base of 23 fruits and vegetables together with food cofactors for exceptional nutritional value.

Non-GMO Project Verified; Also 100% gluten and dairy free.

Take 1 capsule 3 times daily – 60 servings per bottle.

Buy RAW Prenatal on Amazon

—

What are prenatal vitamins and how do they work?

All pregnant women deserve the best health since they are taking care of two people at once.

Prenatal vitamin supplements are there to help mothers and their babies stay on top of their nutrition throughout the entire pregnancy duration.

It is important that women who are pregnant have the proper vitamins and minerals to keep the baby inside their womb healthy, while maintaining adequate health themselves throughout the entire pregnancy. 

Folic acid, iron and calcium are three of the most important vitamins that women who are pregnant or plan to become pregnant need to keep themselves and their baby healthy.

Folic acid helps prevent the possible risk of neural tube defects, or NTDs.

NTDs are one of the serious birth defects of the brain and spinal cord. The neural tube is actually part of the embryo from which the baby’s brain and spine develops. This defect will most likely occur in the early stages of development.

Women who take folic acid at the very early stages of their pregnancy or before conception are reported to reduce their baby’s risk of neural tube defects by as much as 70% (1). 

The specific amount that you need may be instructed by your doctor, but it can be anywhere from 400 micrograms to 800 micrograms.

Iron, on the other hand, is highly needed during the first 6 months of pregnancy.

It is used to produce hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that carry oxygen to different organs and tissues throughout the body.

Women who are pregnant need to produce extra blood for their babies as well, so there’s a good chance you could use the help of an iron supplement.

The suggested iron intake increases by 50% as soon as a women becomes pregnant. Generally, this means an increase from 18 mg / day to 27 mg / day (2).

Deficiency in iron might also result in a premature birth or a low birth weight. Although this is very easy to treat with the help of an iron supplement, it is still highly recommended that women who are pregnant are aware of the issue.

Calcium is a third crucial ingredient for pregnant women. Obviously calcium is something needed by everyone, but it actually plays a crucial role in the pregnancy process for both the mother and the baby.

For babies:

Helps develop stronger bones and teeth

Helps healthy heart, nerve and muscle growth

Helps develop normal heartbeat rhythm

For pregnant women:

Lessens the possible risk of hypertension

Helps avoid Preeclampsia

It is recommended that women who are 19 and older and pregnant consume over 1,000 mg of calcium every day. For pregnant women 18 and younger, 1,300 mg of calcium intake is recommended (3).

The best way to tell if you need a prenatal vitamin or not is to simply ask your doctor on your next visit (more than likely, your doctor will be on top of this already and now you’re here to narrow down the best prenatal vitamin on the market).

What are the benefits of prenatal vitamins?

There are more than enough benefits of taking prenatal vitamin supplements, which is why they are highly recommended for anyone who is pregnant.

In pregnancy, everything should be considered with a close eye, just to ensure safety and healthiness for both the mother and baby.

The benefits of prenatal vitamins supplements are, but not limited to:

reducing the possible risk of birth defects

lessen the chances of premature birth

giving new born babies higher chances of maintaining normal weight

help pregnant women maintain better health throughout the pregnancy

These benefits are definitely something that any pregnant women would probably wish to achieve during their pregnancy (4).

The help of prenatal vitamin supplements will boost overall being and especially the well being of the baby inside the womb.

If you are currently taking any other medications, make sure you check with your doctor before combining any new supplements.

What are the side effects of prenatal vitamins?

There aren’t many known side effects of prenatal vitamins, as long as the supplement is taken as directed.

These side effects have been reported for prenatal vitamin supplements, and you should consult your doctor if symptoms persist:

constipation

darkened or green stools

diarrhea

nausea

upset stomach

vomiting

It is recommended that you take a prenatal vitamin supplement with 8 oz of water and avoid taking the supplement with dairy products, as this will not make the supplement work as well.

If you take any type of anti-acids, refrain from taking them within two hours of taking your prenatal supplement (5).

Recap

All-in-all, it is a very good idea for a pregnant women to consider taking a prenatal vitamin.

Not only are you increasing your baby’s chance for healthy survival, a prenatal vitamin allows you to keep your own health in check throughout crucial development processes.

Don’t stress too much about which prenatal vitamin brand to choose. We’ve done the research to narrow down the best five prenatal vitamin products on the market, ranked at the top of the page.

Happy baby makin’!

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The post The Top 5 Prenatal Vitamin Supplements of 2017 appeared first on Health Ranks.

from Health Ranks https://healthranks.org/prenatal-vitamins/

[healthranks]

The Top 5 Prenatal Vitamin Supplements of 2017

Women who are pregnant have an important role of fulfilling the nutritional needs of their baby and themselves at the same time.

Depending on the diet of the mother, this is not always an easy thing to do.

(For the best general women’s multivitamins, click here)

Prenatal vitamins help ensure proper nutrition for the mother and the baby throughout the duration of a pregnancy.

So how do prenatal vitamin supplements work and are they really worth it?

We’ll cover this, along with the benefits and possible side effects of taking a prenatal vitamin.

Before we get there, we’ve ranked the best prenatal vitamins of 2017, according to price, product quality, and customer reviews.

So what’s the best prenatal vitamin supplement on the market?

1- VitaBalance Pregnancy Plus

Lowest price we found

VitaBalance offers one of the most well-rounded prenatal vitamin supplements the market has ever seen, with an emphasis on the three most important prenatal vitamin components: zinc, calcium, and folic acid.

Here’s exactly what’s in Pregnancy Plus:

How did VitaBalance come up with their prenatal vitamin formula?

Well, a lot of research has been conducted on what essential vitamins and minerals are involved during a pregnancy.

Calcium, zinc, and folic acid have all been recognized as crucial prenatal vitamin components.

Popular health encyclopedia WebMD states that “Women who are pregnant or might become pregnant take folic acid to prevent miscarriage and ‘neural tube defects,’ birth defects such as spina bifida that occur when the fetus’s spine and back do not close during development.”

Folic acid has even been brought up on The DR. OZ Show:

“While it is especially important for women of childbearing age, folic acid is critical for your health at any stage of your life, whether you are a man or a woman.”

What are people saying about Pregnancy Plus?

Here’s one recent review:

“I am just so relieved to know that I’m using a product that is trusted by so many other soon to be moms. It’s not easy knowing what advice to take on board when there is so much out there but with Pregnancy Plus I feel I’ve made the right choice.” – Jenny G.

Not only do they have stellar reviews, they’re one of the more affordable prenatal vitamin supplements on the market, too.

This supplement is manufactured in an FDA approved facility with GMP certifications.

Take 2 capsules per day (one in the middle of the day, one in the evening), 60 capsules in the bottle.

Buy Pregnancy Plus Online

—

2- Rainbow Light Prenatal One

Lowest price on Amazon

Rainbow Light is a leading brand founded in the multivitamin space (they have products in both the top men’s and women’s multivitamin rankings) but their prenatal vitamin might be their most impressive vitamin supplement yet.

The ingredients in the Prenatal One blend are sourced from superfood extracts that promote a baby’s development and support a mother’s energy and nutrition.

In particular, this prenatal supplement contains 30 milligrams of non-constipating iron to support metabolism and red blood cell production, 400 IU of vitamin D2 to promote healthy bones and teeth, plus 100 milligrams of vitamin C and 4,000 IU of vitamin A to support skin, eye, and immune system health.

Prenatal One contains plant-source enzymes plus 25 million probiotics to enhance digestion without an upset stomach.

It’s also a vegan and vegetarian-approved supplement, meaning no animal products or artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, preservatives, or other additives and 100% free of gluten, soy, dairy, nuts, shellfish, and yeast.

Serving size: 1 tablet, 150 tablets in the bottle.

Buy Prenatal One on Amazon

—

3- MegaFood Baby & Me 2

Lowest price on Amazon

MegaFood’s Baby & Me 2 is one of the more expensive prenatal vitamin supplements on the market, but supposedly you get premium quality.

Here’s what the people at MegaFood have to say about their prenatal vitamin product:

“MegaFood takes pride in knowing we deliver the promise of farm fresh foods to you in everything we make. It’s not easy, but we believe farm fresh whole foods are the best way to deliver authentic nourishment and not just vitamins and minerals alone. And that’s the difference between feeling good and feeling really good.

Feeling good and trusting what you are putting into your body is of even greater importance as you go through pregnancy. We have included a comprehensive list of ingredients tailored to meet the changing needs of your body and your growing baby, and you can rest assured knowing that our formula is certified gluten-free, dairy free, soy free, vegetarian safe, kosher, and Non-GMO.”

Farm fresh foods is an interesting concept, definitely not something you see offered by other leading prenatal vitamin products.

Here are the ingredients contained in Baby & Me 2: vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D3, vitamin E, vitamin K1/K2, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, niacin, vitamin B6, biotin, pantothenic acid, iron, iodine, zinc, selenium, copper, manganese, chromium, molybdenum, potassium, choline, silica, stearic acid, and plant cellulose.

Take 2 tablets daily, 120 tablets in the bottle.

Buy Baby & Me 2 on Amazon

—

4- NatureMade Prenatal Multi + DHA

Lowest price on Amazon

NatureMade is another big name in the health supplement space. Their prenatal vitamin supplement contains traditional prenatal ingredients (calcium, zinc, folic acid, etc.) along with 200 mg of the essential omega-3 fatty acid, DHA.

The serving size is only one softgel per day, which is nice compared to other leading brands that require you take 2-3 capsules per day. Also one of the more affordable prenatal vitamin supplements for the quantity of servings in the bottle (90).

Here are the ingredients: gelatin, soybean oil, glycerin, water, soy lecithin, yellow beeswax, resin, ascorbyl palmitate, niacin, vitamin B6, folic acid, vitamin B12, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D3, vitamin E, and calcium (as calcium carbonate).

It is important to note that this supplement contains wheat. However, there are no artificial flavors, preservatives, or yeast. All colors have been derived from natural sources – no synthetic dyes.

1 softgel per serving, 90 softgels in the bottle.

Buy Prenatal Multi + DHA on Amazon

—

5- Garden of Life Vitamin Code RAW Prenatal

Lowest price on Amazon

One of the highest priced prenatal vitamins on the market, Garden of Life’s Vitamin Code RAW Prenatal is a whole-food multi-nutrient formula, specifically formulated to meet the unique needs of women during pre-conception, pregnancy, and lactation, by providing the nourishment to support both Mom and her developing baby.

This particular supplement is RAW – meaning no high heat, synthetic binders, fillers, artificial flavors, sweeteners, colors or additives commonly used in tablets.

The ingredients in this prenatal vitamin are blended in a base of 23 fruits and vegetables together with food cofactors for exceptional nutritional value.

Non-GMO Project Verified; Also 100% gluten and dairy free.

Take 1 capsule 3 times daily – 60 servings per bottle.

Buy RAW Prenatal on Amazon

—

What are prenatal vitamins and how do they work?

All pregnant women deserve the best health since they are taking care of two people at once.

Prenatal vitamin supplements are there to help mothers and their babies stay on top of their nutrition throughout the entire pregnancy duration.

It is important that women who are pregnant have the proper vitamins and minerals to keep the baby inside their womb healthy, while maintaining adequate health themselves throughout the entire pregnancy. 

Folic acid, iron and calcium are three of the most important vitamins that women who are pregnant or plan to become pregnant need to keep themselves and their baby healthy.

Folic acid helps prevent the possible risk of neural tube defects, or NTDs.

NTDs are one of the serious birth defects of the brain and spinal cord. The neural tube is actually part of the embryo from which the baby’s brain and spine develops. This defect will most likely occur in the early stages of development.

Women who take folic acid at the very early stages of their pregnancy or before conception are reported to reduce their baby’s risk of neural tube defects by as much as 70% (1). 

The specific amount that you need may be instructed by your doctor, but it can be anywhere from 400 micrograms to 800 micrograms.

Iron, on the other hand, is highly needed during the first 6 months of pregnancy.

It is used to produce hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that carry oxygen to different organs and tissues throughout the body.

Women who are pregnant need to produce extra blood for their babies as well, so there’s a good chance you could use the help of an iron supplement.

The suggested iron intake increases by 50% as soon as a women becomes pregnant. Generally, this means an increase from 18 mg / day to 27 mg / day (2).

Deficiency in iron might also result in a premature birth or a low birth weight. Although this is very easy to treat with the help of an iron supplement, it is still highly recommended that women who are pregnant are aware of the issue.

Calcium is a third crucial ingredient for pregnant women. Obviously calcium is something needed by everyone, but it actually plays a crucial role in the pregnancy process for both the mother and the baby.

For babies:

Helps develop stronger bones and teeth

Helps healthy heart, nerve and muscle growth

Helps develop normal heartbeat rhythm

For pregnant women:

Lessens the possible risk of hypertension

Helps avoid Preeclampsia

It is recommended that women who are 19 and older and pregnant consume over 1,000 mg of calcium every day. For pregnant women 18 and younger, 1,300 mg of calcium intake is recommended (3).

The best way to tell if you need a prenatal vitamin or not is to simply ask your doctor on your next visit (more than likely, your doctor will be on top of this already and now you’re here to narrow down the best prenatal vitamin on the market).

What are the benefits of prenatal vitamins?

There are more than enough benefits of taking prenatal vitamin supplements, which is why they are highly recommended for anyone who is pregnant.

In pregnancy, everything should be considered with a close eye, just to ensure safety and healthiness for both the mother and baby.

The benefits of prenatal vitamins supplements are, but not limited to:

reducing the possible risk of birth defects

lessen the chances of premature birth

giving new born babies higher chances of maintaining normal weight

help pregnant women maintain better health throughout the pregnancy

These benefits are definitely something that any pregnant women would probably wish to achieve during their pregnancy (4).

The help of prenatal vitamin supplements will boost overall being and especially the well being of the baby inside the womb.

If you are currently taking any other medications, make sure you check with your doctor before combining any new supplements.

What are the side effects of prenatal vitamins?

There aren’t many known side effects of prenatal vitamins, as long as the supplement is taken as directed.

These side effects have been reported for prenatal vitamin supplements, and you should consult your doctor if symptoms persist:

constipation

darkened or green stools

diarrhea

nausea

upset stomach

vomiting

It is recommended that you take a prenatal vitamin supplement with 8 oz of water and avoid taking the supplement with dairy products, as this will not make the supplement work as well.

If you take any type of anti-acids, refrain from taking them within two hours of taking your prenatal supplement (5).

Recap

All-in-all, it is a very good idea for a pregnant women to consider taking a prenatal vitamin.

Not only are you increasing your baby’s chance for healthy survival, a prenatal vitamin allows you to keep your own health in check throughout crucial development processes.

Don’t stress too much about which prenatal vitamin brand to choose. We’ve done the research to narrow down the best five prenatal vitamin products on the market, ranked at the top of the page.

Happy baby makin’!

More Supplement Rankings

Best Greens

Best Sleeping Aids

Best Calcium

Best Beef Protein

Best Colon Cleanse

Best Raspberry Ketones

Best Garcinia Cambogia

Best Nitric Oxide

Best Taurine

Best Pre-Workout

Best Creatine

Best Joint Support

Best Multivitamins for Women

Best Multivitamins for Men

Best Meal Replacement Shake

Best Nootropics

Best Probiotic

Best Fish Oil

(see more)

The post The Top 5 Prenatal Vitamin Supplements of 2017 appeared first on Health Ranks.

from Health Ranks https://healthranks.org/prenatal-vitamins/

[bobdelseynv]

The Top 5 Prenatal Vitamin Supplements of 2017

Women who are pregnant have an important role of fulfilling the nutritional needs of their baby and themselves at the same time.

Depending on the diet of the mother, this is not always an easy thing to do.

(For the best general women’s multivitamins, click here)

Prenatal vitamins help ensure proper nutrition for the mother and the baby throughout the duration of a pregnancy.

So how do prenatal vitamin supplements work and are they really worth it?

We’ll cover this, along with the benefits and possible side effects of taking a prenatal vitamin.

Before we get there, we’ve ranked the best prenatal vitamins of 2017, according to price, product quality, and customer reviews.

So what’s the best prenatal vitamin supplement on the market?

1- VitaBalance Pregnancy Plus

Lowest price we found

VitaBalance offers one of the most well-rounded prenatal vitamin supplements the market has ever seen, with an emphasis on the three most important prenatal vitamin components: zinc, calcium, and folic acid.

Here’s exactly what’s in Pregnancy Plus:

How did VitaBalance come up with their prenatal vitamin formula?

Well, a lot of research has been conducted on what essential vitamins and minerals are involved during a pregnancy.

Calcium, zinc, and folic acid have all been recognized as crucial prenatal vitamin components.

Popular health encyclopedia WebMD states that “Women who are pregnant or might become pregnant take folic acid to prevent miscarriage and ‘neural tube defects,’ birth defects such as spina bifida that occur when the fetus’s spine and back do not close during development.”

Folic acid has even been brought up on The DR. OZ Show:

“While it is especially important for women of childbearing age, folic acid is critical for your health at any stage of your life, whether you are a man or a woman.”

What are people saying about Pregnancy Plus?

Here’s one recent review:

“I am just so relieved to know that I’m using a product that is trusted by so many other soon to be moms. It’s not easy knowing what advice to take on board when there is so much out there but with Pregnancy Plus I feel I’ve made the right choice.” – Jenny G.

Not only do they have stellar reviews, they’re one of the more affordable prenatal vitamin supplements on the market, too.

This supplement is manufactured in an FDA approved facility with GMP certifications.

Take 2 capsules per day (one in the middle of the day, one in the evening), 60 capsules in the bottle.

Buy Pregnancy Plus Online

—

2- Rainbow Light Prenatal One

Lowest price on Amazon

Rainbow Light is a leading brand founded in the multivitamin space (they have products in both the top men’s and women’s multivitamin rankings) but their prenatal vitamin might be their most impressive vitamin supplement yet.

The ingredients in the Prenatal One blend are sourced from superfood extracts that promote a baby’s development and support a mother’s energy and nutrition.

In particular, this prenatal supplement contains 30 milligrams of non-constipating iron to support metabolism and red blood cell production, 400 IU of vitamin D2 to promote healthy bones and teeth, plus 100 milligrams of vitamin C and 4,000 IU of vitamin A to support skin, eye, and immune system health.

Prenatal One contains plant-source enzymes plus 25 million probiotics to enhance digestion without an upset stomach.

It’s also a vegan and vegetarian-approved supplement, meaning no animal products or artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, preservatives, or other additives and 100% free of gluten, soy, dairy, nuts, shellfish, and yeast.

Serving size: 1 tablet, 150 tablets in the bottle.

Buy Prenatal One on Amazon

—

3- MegaFood Baby & Me 2

Lowest price on Amazon

MegaFood’s Baby & Me 2 is one of the more expensive prenatal vitamin supplements on the market, but supposedly you get premium quality.

Here’s what the people at MegaFood have to say about their prenatal vitamin product:

“MegaFood takes pride in knowing we deliver the promise of farm fresh foods to you in everything we make. It’s not easy, but we believe farm fresh whole foods are the best way to deliver authentic nourishment and not just vitamins and minerals alone. And that’s the difference between feeling good and feeling really good.

Feeling good and trusting what you are putting into your body is of even greater importance as you go through pregnancy. We have included a comprehensive list of ingredients tailored to meet the changing needs of your body and your growing baby, and you can rest assured knowing that our formula is certified gluten-free, dairy free, soy free, vegetarian safe, kosher, and Non-GMO.”

Farm fresh foods is an interesting concept, definitely not something you see offered by other leading prenatal vitamin products.

Here are the ingredients contained in Baby & Me 2: vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D3, vitamin E, vitamin K1/K2, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, niacin, vitamin B6, biotin, pantothenic acid, iron, iodine, zinc, selenium, copper, manganese, chromium, molybdenum, potassium, choline, silica, stearic acid, and plant cellulose.

Take 2 tablets daily, 120 tablets in the bottle.

Buy Baby & Me 2 on Amazon

—

4- NatureMade Prenatal Multi + DHA

Lowest price on Amazon

NatureMade is another big name in the health supplement space. Their prenatal vitamin supplement contains traditional prenatal ingredients (calcium, zinc, folic acid, etc.) along with 200 mg of the essential omega-3 fatty acid, DHA.

The serving size is only one softgel per day, which is nice compared to other leading brands that require you take 2-3 capsules per day. Also one of the more affordable prenatal vitamin supplements for the quantity of servings in the bottle (90).

Here are the ingredients: gelatin, soybean oil, glycerin, water, soy lecithin, yellow beeswax, resin, ascorbyl palmitate, niacin, vitamin B6, folic acid, vitamin B12, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D3, vitamin E, and calcium (as calcium carbonate).

It is important to note that this supplement contains wheat. However, there are no artificial flavors, preservatives, or yeast. All colors have been derived from natural sources – no synthetic dyes.

1 softgel per serving, 90 softgels in the bottle.

Buy Prenatal Multi + DHA on Amazon

—

5- Garden of Life Vitamin Code RAW Prenatal

Lowest price on Amazon

One of the highest priced prenatal vitamins on the market, Garden of Life’s Vitamin Code RAW Prenatal is a whole-food multi-nutrient formula, specifically formulated to meet the unique needs of women during pre-conception, pregnancy, and lactation, by providing the nourishment to support both Mom and her developing baby.

This particular supplement is RAW – meaning no high heat, synthetic binders, fillers, artificial flavors, sweeteners, colors or additives commonly used in tablets.

The ingredients in this prenatal vitamin are blended in a base of 23 fruits and vegetables together with food cofactors for exceptional nutritional value.

Non-GMO Project Verified; Also 100% gluten and dairy free.

Take 1 capsule 3 times daily – 60 servings per bottle.

Buy RAW Prenatal on Amazon

—

What are prenatal vitamins and how do they work?

All pregnant women deserve the best health since they are taking care of two people at once.

Prenatal vitamin supplements are there to help mothers and their babies stay on top of their nutrition throughout the entire pregnancy duration.

It is important that women who are pregnant have the proper vitamins and minerals to keep the baby inside their womb healthy, while maintaining adequate health themselves throughout the entire pregnancy. 

Folic acid, iron and calcium are three of the most important vitamins that women who are pregnant or plan to become pregnant need to keep themselves and their baby healthy.

Folic acid helps prevent the possible risk of neural tube defects, or NTDs.

NTDs are one of the serious birth defects of the brain and spinal cord. The neural tube is actually part of the embryo from which the baby’s brain and spine develops. This defect will most likely occur in the early stages of development.

Women who take folic acid at the very early stages of their pregnancy or before conception are reported to reduce their baby’s risk of neural tube defects by as much as 70% (1). 

The specific amount that you need may be instructed by your doctor, but it can be anywhere from 400 micrograms to 800 micrograms.

Iron, on the other hand, is highly needed during the first 6 months of pregnancy.

It is used to produce hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that carry oxygen to different organs and tissues throughout the body.

Women who are pregnant need to produce extra blood for their babies as well, so there’s a good chance you could use the help of an iron supplement.

The suggested iron intake increases by 50% as soon as a women becomes pregnant. Generally, this means an increase from 18 mg / day to 27 mg / day (2).

Deficiency in iron might also result in a premature birth or a low birth weight. Although this is very easy to treat with the help of an iron supplement, it is still highly recommended that women who are pregnant are aware of the issue.

Calcium is a third crucial ingredient for pregnant women. Obviously calcium is something needed by everyone, but it actually plays a crucial role in the pregnancy process for both the mother and the baby.

For babies:

Helps develop stronger bones and teeth

Helps healthy heart, nerve and muscle growth

Helps develop normal heartbeat rhythm

For pregnant women:

Lessens the possible risk of hypertension

Helps avoid Preeclampsia

It is recommended that women who are 19 and older and pregnant consume over 1,000 mg of calcium every day. For pregnant women 18 and younger, 1,300 mg of calcium intake is recommended (3).

The best way to tell if you need a prenatal vitamin or not is to simply ask your doctor on your next visit (more than likely, your doctor will be on top of this already and now you’re here to narrow down the best prenatal vitamin on the market).

What are the benefits of prenatal vitamins?

There are more than enough benefits of taking prenatal vitamin supplements, which is why they are highly recommended for anyone who is pregnant.

In pregnancy, everything should be considered with a close eye, just to ensure safety and healthiness for both the mother and baby.

The benefits of prenatal vitamins supplements are, but not limited to:

reducing the possible risk of birth defects

lessen the chances of premature birth

giving new born babies higher chances of maintaining normal weight

help pregnant women maintain better health throughout the pregnancy

These benefits are definitely something that any pregnant women would probably wish to achieve during their pregnancy (4).

The help of prenatal vitamin supplements will boost overall being and especially the well being of the baby inside the womb.

If you are currently taking any other medications, make sure you check with your doctor before combining any new supplements.

What are the side effects of prenatal vitamins?

There aren’t many known side effects of prenatal vitamins, as long as the supplement is taken as directed.

These side effects have been reported for prenatal vitamin supplements, and you should consult your doctor if symptoms persist:

constipation

darkened or green stools

diarrhea

nausea

upset stomach

vomiting

It is recommended that you take a prenatal vitamin supplement with 8 oz of water and avoid taking the supplement with dairy products, as this will not make the supplement work as well.

If you take any type of anti-acids, refrain from taking them within two hours of taking your prenatal supplement (5).

Recap

All-in-all, it is a very good idea for a pregnant women to consider taking a prenatal vitamin.

Not only are you increasing your baby’s chance for healthy survival, a prenatal vitamin allows you to keep your own health in check throughout crucial development processes.

Don’t stress too much about which prenatal vitamin brand to choose. We’ve done the research to narrow down the best five prenatal vitamin products on the market, ranked at the top of the page.

Happy baby makin’!

More Supplement Rankings

Best Greens

Best Sleeping Aids

Best Calcium

Best Beef Protein

Best Colon Cleanse

Best Raspberry Ketones

Best Garcinia Cambogia

Best Nitric Oxide

Best Taurine

Best Pre-Workout

Best Creatine

Best Joint Support

Best Multivitamins for Women

Best Multivitamins for Men

Best Meal Replacement Shake

Best Nootropics

Best Probiotic

Best Fish Oil

(see more)

The post The Top 5 Prenatal Vitamin Supplements of 2017 appeared first on Health Ranks.

from Health Ranks https://healthranks.org/prenatal-vitamins/

[georgepaul32]

The Top 5 Prenatal Vitamin Supplements of 2017

Women who are pregnant have an important role of fulfilling the nutritional needs of their baby and themselves at the same time.

Depending on the diet of the mother, this is not always an easy thing to do.

(For the best general women’s multivitamins, click here)

Prenatal vitamins help ensure proper nutrition for the mother and the baby throughout the duration of a pregnancy.

So how do prenatal vitamin supplements work and are they really worth it?

We’ll cover this, along with the benefits and possible side effects of taking a prenatal vitamin.

Before we get there, we’ve ranked the best prenatal vitamins of 2017, according to price, product quality, and customer reviews.

So what’s the best prenatal vitamin supplement on the market?

1- VitaBalance Pregnancy Plus

Lowest price we found

VitaBalance offers one of the most well-rounded prenatal vitamin supplements the market has ever seen, with an emphasis on the three most important prenatal vitamin components: zinc, calcium, and folic acid.

Here’s exactly what’s in Pregnancy Plus:

How did VitaBalance come up with their prenatal vitamin formula?

Well, a lot of research has been conducted on what essential vitamins and minerals are involved during a pregnancy.

Calcium, zinc, and folic acid have all been recognized as crucial prenatal vitamin components.

Popular health encyclopedia WebMD states that “Women who are pregnant or might become pregnant take folic acid to prevent miscarriage and ‘neural tube defects,’ birth defects such as spina bifida that occur when the fetus’s spine and back do not close during development.”

Folic acid has even been brought up on The DR. OZ Show:

“While it is especially important for women of childbearing age, folic acid is critical for your health at any stage of your life, whether you are a man or a woman.”

What are people saying about Pregnancy Plus?

Here’s one recent review:

“I am just so relieved to know that I’m using a product that is trusted by so many other soon to be moms. It’s not easy knowing what advice to take on board when there is so much out there but with Pregnancy Plus I feel I’ve made the right choice.” – Jenny G.

Not only do they have stellar reviews, they’re one of the more affordable prenatal vitamin supplements on the market, too.

This supplement is manufactured in an FDA approved facility with GMP certifications.

Take 2 capsules per day (one in the middle of the day, one in the evening), 60 capsules in the bottle.

Buy Pregnancy Plus Online

—

2- Rainbow Light Prenatal One

Lowest price on Amazon

Rainbow Light is a leading brand founded in the multivitamin space (they have products in both the top men’s and women’s multivitamin rankings) but their prenatal vitamin might be their most impressive vitamin supplement yet.

The ingredients in the Prenatal One blend are sourced from superfood extracts that promote a baby’s development and support a mother’s energy and nutrition.

In particular, this prenatal supplement contains 30 milligrams of non-constipating iron to support metabolism and red blood cell production, 400 IU of vitamin D2 to promote healthy bones and teeth, plus 100 milligrams of vitamin C and 4,000 IU of vitamin A to support skin, eye, and immune system health.

Prenatal One contains plant-source enzymes plus 25 million probiotics to enhance digestion without an upset stomach.

It’s also a vegan and vegetarian-approved supplement, meaning no animal products or artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, preservatives, or other additives and 100% free of gluten, soy, dairy, nuts, shellfish, and yeast.

Serving size: 1 tablet, 150 tablets in the bottle.

Buy Prenatal One on Amazon

—

3- MegaFood Baby & Me 2

Lowest price on Amazon

MegaFood’s Baby & Me 2 is one of the more expensive prenatal vitamin supplements on the market, but supposedly you get premium quality.

Here’s what the people at MegaFood have to say about their prenatal vitamin product:

“MegaFood takes pride in knowing we deliver the promise of farm fresh foods to you in everything we make. It’s not easy, but we believe farm fresh whole foods are the best way to deliver authentic nourishment and not just vitamins and minerals alone. And that’s the difference between feeling good and feeling really good.

Feeling good and trusting what you are putting into your body is of even greater importance as you go through pregnancy. We have included a comprehensive list of ingredients tailored to meet the changing needs of your body and your growing baby, and you can rest assured knowing that our formula is certified gluten-free, dairy free, soy free, vegetarian safe, kosher, and Non-GMO.”

Farm fresh foods is an interesting concept, definitely not something you see offered by other leading prenatal vitamin products.

Here are the ingredients contained in Baby & Me 2: vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D3, vitamin E, vitamin K1/K2, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, niacin, vitamin B6, biotin, pantothenic acid, iron, iodine, zinc, selenium, copper, manganese, chromium, molybdenum, potassium, choline, silica, stearic acid, and plant cellulose.

Take 2 tablets daily, 120 tablets in the bottle.

Buy Baby & Me 2 on Amazon

—

4- NatureMade Prenatal Multi + DHA

Lowest price on Amazon

NatureMade is another big name in the health supplement space. Their prenatal vitamin supplement contains traditional prenatal ingredients (calcium, zinc, folic acid, etc.) along with 200 mg of the essential omega-3 fatty acid, DHA.

The serving size is only one softgel per day, which is nice compared to other leading brands that require you take 2-3 capsules per day. Also one of the more affordable prenatal vitamin supplements for the quantity of servings in the bottle (90).

Here are the ingredients: gelatin, soybean oil, glycerin, water, soy lecithin, yellow beeswax, resin, ascorbyl palmitate, niacin, vitamin B6, folic acid, vitamin B12, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D3, vitamin E, and calcium (as calcium carbonate).

It is important to note that this supplement contains wheat. However, there are no artificial flavors, preservatives, or yeast. All colors have been derived from natural sources – no synthetic dyes.

1 softgel per serving, 90 softgels in the bottle.

Buy Prenatal Multi + DHA on Amazon

—

5- Garden of Life Vitamin Code RAW Prenatal

Lowest price on Amazon

One of the highest priced prenatal vitamins on the market, Garden of Life’s Vitamin Code RAW Prenatal is a whole-food multi-nutrient formula, specifically formulated to meet the unique needs of women during pre-conception, pregnancy, and lactation, by providing the nourishment to support both Mom and her developing baby.

This particular supplement is RAW – meaning no high heat, synthetic binders, fillers, artificial flavors, sweeteners, colors or additives commonly used in tablets.

The ingredients in this prenatal vitamin are blended in a base of 23 fruits and vegetables together with food cofactors for exceptional nutritional value.

Non-GMO Project Verified; Also 100% gluten and dairy free.

Take 1 capsule 3 times daily – 60 servings per bottle.

Buy RAW Prenatal on Amazon

—

What are prenatal vitamins and how do they work?

All pregnant women deserve the best health since they are taking care of two people at once.

Prenatal vitamin supplements are there to help mothers and their babies stay on top of their nutrition throughout the entire pregnancy duration.

It is important that women who are pregnant have the proper vitamins and minerals to keep the baby inside their womb healthy, while maintaining adequate health themselves throughout the entire pregnancy. 

Folic acid, iron and calcium are three of the most important vitamins that women who are pregnant or plan to become pregnant need to keep themselves and their baby healthy.

Folic acid helps prevent the possible risk of neural tube defects, or NTDs.

NTDs are one of the serious birth defects of the brain and spinal cord. The neural tube is actually part of the embryo from which the baby’s brain and spine develops. This defect will most likely occur in the early stages of development.

Women who take folic acid at the very early stages of their pregnancy or before conception are reported to reduce their baby’s risk of neural tube defects by as much as 70% (1). 

The specific amount that you need may be instructed by your doctor, but it can be anywhere from 400 micrograms to 800 micrograms.

Iron, on the other hand, is highly needed during the first 6 months of pregnancy.

It is used to produce hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that carry oxygen to different organs and tissues throughout the body.

Women who are pregnant need to produce extra blood for their babies as well, so there’s a good chance you could use the help of an iron supplement.

The suggested iron intake increases by 50% as soon as a women becomes pregnant. Generally, this means an increase from 18 mg / day to 27 mg / day (2).

Deficiency in iron might also result in a premature birth or a low birth weight. Although this is very easy to treat with the help of an iron supplement, it is still highly recommended that women who are pregnant are aware of the issue.

Calcium is a third crucial ingredient for pregnant women. Obviously calcium is something needed by everyone, but it actually plays a crucial role in the pregnancy process for both the mother and the baby.

For babies:

Helps develop stronger bones and teeth

Helps healthy heart, nerve and muscle growth

Helps develop normal heartbeat rhythm

For pregnant women:

Lessens the possible risk of hypertension

Helps avoid Preeclampsia

It is recommended that women who are 19 and older and pregnant consume over 1,000 mg of calcium every day. For pregnant women 18 and younger, 1,300 mg of calcium intake is recommended (3).

The best way to tell if you need a prenatal vitamin or not is to simply ask your doctor on your next visit (more than likely, your doctor will be on top of this already and now you’re here to narrow down the best prenatal vitamin on the market).

What are the benefits of prenatal vitamins?

There are more than enough benefits of taking prenatal vitamin supplements, which is why they are highly recommended for anyone who is pregnant.

In pregnancy, everything should be considered with a close eye, just to ensure safety and healthiness for both the mother and baby.

The benefits of prenatal vitamins supplements are, but not limited to:

reducing the possible risk of birth defects

lessen the chances of premature birth

giving new born babies higher chances of maintaining normal weight

help pregnant women maintain better health throughout the pregnancy

These benefits are definitely something that any pregnant women would probably wish to achieve during their pregnancy (4).

The help of prenatal vitamin supplements will boost overall being and especially the well being of the baby inside the womb.

If you are currently taking any other medications, make sure you check with your doctor before combining any new supplements.

What are the side effects of prenatal vitamins?

There aren’t many known side effects of prenatal vitamins, as long as the supplement is taken as directed.

These side effects have been reported for prenatal vitamin supplements, and you should consult your doctor if symptoms persist:

constipation

darkened or green stools

diarrhea

nausea

upset stomach

vomiting

It is recommended that you take a prenatal vitamin supplement with 8 oz of water and avoid taking the supplement with dairy products, as this will not make the supplement work as well.

If you take any type of anti-acids, refrain from taking them within two hours of taking your prenatal supplement (5).

Recap

All-in-all, it is a very good idea for a pregnant women to consider taking a prenatal vitamin.

Not only are you increasing your baby’s chance for healthy survival, a prenatal vitamin allows you to keep your own health in check throughout crucial development processes.

Don’t stress too much about which prenatal vitamin brand to choose. We’ve done the research to narrow down the best five prenatal vitamin products on the market, ranked at the top of the page.

Happy baby makin’!

More Supplement Rankings

Best Greens

Best Sleeping Aids

Best Calcium

Best Beef Protein

Best Colon Cleanse

Best Raspberry Ketones

Best Garcinia Cambogia

Best Nitric Oxide

Best Taurine

Best Pre-Workout

Best Creatine

Best Joint Support

Best Multivitamins for Women

Best Multivitamins for Men

Best Meal Replacement Shake

Best Nootropics

Best Probiotic

Best Fish Oil

(see more)

The post The Top 5 Prenatal Vitamin Supplements of 2017 appeared first on Health Ranks.

from Health Ranks https://healthranks.org/prenatal-vitamins/