Yet another ? (sorry!) - all my vit's are bad I just realized. how to find safe ones

[nalo]

Am I dense or what. Day 4 of ED and I just thought to check my vitamins. My fish oil has soy and my prenatal and cal/mag have corn. What to do? I desperately need to take these. Do I just keep taking them until I find other one's? With my current ED I don't think I come close to getting enough vitamins/nutrients and I would venture to say almost no calcium. Where are the safe vitamins/supplements? TIA.

[matey]

I am not taking anything for the first couple of weeks, and I think my vitamin would be fine. My lac consultant told me not to worry about it, starving women still produce nutrient rich breast milk, and that for now we just need to figure out wht is going on with the little man.

If you vits have all that stuff, I dont see how you can take them I too am on day for of an ED, and if it were me,I would discontinue using them.

My one that is safe I got from the health food store, but it is what I have always taken, I just got lucky.

[WildIris]

Hi again Mary. Vitamins are a real issue for me too right now. I just found out about my corn allergy in January, and realized that over half the supplements I take had corn in them! I'm also avoiding wheat and soy which are often in supplements. It does make it tough.

On the other forum I mentioned to you by PM, there are some discussions on vitamins and which ones are corn-safe. Phytopharmica is a brand people seem to have good luck with. Not ALL of their stuff is corn free, but apparently the company is good and trustworthy in terms of 'no corn' really meaning no corn.

You do have to be careful because there are supplement companies that will say on their label "no corn, wheat" etc., but will include trace amount because they believe those amounts are so processed that they "can't possibly bother anyone." I have had to get rid of a huge collection of NOW Foods brand supplements for these reason. They say "no corn" on the label but I was having reactions to them. It's maddening.

I suggest checking out Phytopharmica stuff online, and also posting on the other forum and ask for advice on specific supplements you need.

[nalo]

Thank you! I tell ya...I'm so tired and preoccupied with this whole thing that I already forgot that I had other places to explore (the websites you mention). I guess I'll just stop taking them for a while. I know my body will leach from itself to provide good milk for DD but I want to make sure I also am taking care of myself!

[Chinese Pistache]

I'm taking 365 brand (Whole Foods) prenatal vitamin that is definitely corn and dairy free and I *think* it's soy (and everything else) free, too.

[kjbrown92]

The Cod Liver Oil capsules I get from Whole Foods (also the 365 brand) are allergen free. If the TED is only for a couple weeks though, your body should be fine. Then when you start adding foods, do the nutrient rich ones to keep yourself balanced.
K

[changingseasons]

I'm having the same issue... I have an rx prenatal that I'm still not sure about, but the pharmacist said he didn't see any of my 'bad' foods in the ingredient list. But after 2 months of an elimination diet and still some reactions in my BF dd, I narrowed it down to my calcium supplement!! Then while Googling the brand (Citracal), I ended up at the manufacturer's website where they say that vegetarians and people with food allergies should only take the Kosher version of their product (and especially not the Citrical + Vit D) because there is no food product in it. So I am assuming that means there IS food product in the non-kosher version. Trust me, I looked at the labels closely before I bought these, and it says nothing about this!! So after another long search, I finally found a calcium citrate supplement at a local health food store. It is by TWINLAB (calcium citrate caps), and the label says,

"No tablet binders, coating or colorings. Free of the most common allergens such as fish, corn, soy, yeast, weat, barley, lactose, and all milk and egg products. No added flavorings, sugars, salt, artificial sweeteners, preservatives or salicylates." I've been taking them for a few days, and no reactions in dd!! Not the cheapest, but they are working for us so I would recommend trying them out.

[RoadWorkAhead]

Kirkman labs has some of the best allergen free vits. =)

[lastrid]

You can do bone broths for calcium and other minerals. Just take bones (they can be roasted or not, can have meat, or not) and put in a pot and put in just enough water to cover them. Make sure the water level is at least one inch below the top. Bring them to a boil, skim the foam, and then simmer on low/warm (you want there to be a bubble or two every few seconds, not a very vigorous simmer) for 12-24 hours. If you feel comfortable doing so, add about 1/4 cup of vinegar (I use Braggs) to the pot of water and let the bones soak for an hour before turning on the burner. This leaches out more of the minerals.

After it's all done, I strain the bones out, pick off the meat, and make soup. You can just drink the broth too. Add enough salt and pepper or safe herbs to make it taste good to you. I usually use thyme, basil, and parsley. When I was on a TED I would buy a whole turkey so that I would have a lot of meat at my disposal and I would make broth from the carcass. You can also just get turkey thighs for fairly cheaply.

[kjbrown92]

My naturopath recommended Nordic Naturals and I looked at their cod liver oil and it doesn't say anything on the ingredients list, but if you read the text on the side of the bottle it says that the Vitamin E is from soy. Ugh. Then put SOY on the ingredient list so it's easier to see!! Makes me mad. You have to read EVERYTHING.
Kathy

[mommydancer]

My naturopath recommended Nordic Naturals and I looked at their cod liver oil and it doesn't say anything on the ingredients list, but if you read the text on the side of the bottle it says that the Vitamin E is from soy. Ugh. Then put SOY on the ingredient list so it's easier to see!! Makes me mad. You have to read EVERYTHING.

I totally agree with this point. They should not be allowed to say "vegetable" anything...which vegetable? And the allergen warning in bold type should be mandatory.

Also, I am glad the remark was made about prenatals...I need to recheck mine. They never give you the bottle at all for prescription stuff...that is just dumb.