Pandemic Update: We are open and accepting new patients, with protocols in place to keep ourselves and our community safe.
Learn More
(510) 457-8886       info@ebacupuncture.com

East Bay Acupuncture & Natural Medicine

  • Home
  • About
    • Our Practice
    • Sean Michael Hall, L.Ac.
  • Conditions We Treat
    • Fertility & Hormonal Health
    • Pregnancy & Postpartum
    • Pain, Orthopedics & Neurology
    • Cancer Support & Adjunct Care
    • Mental Health, Sleep & Detoxification
    • Digestion, Immunity & More
    • Stop Smoking Program
  • Patient Info
    • Becoming a Patient
    • Fees & Services
    • Insurance
  • Resources
    • Research
    • FAQs
  • Store
  • Blog

Vitamin B3 during pregnancy

By Nadia Moredo, L.Ac.

Vitamin B3 during pregnancyMany of you have probably seen the recent news that vitamin B3, also known as niacin, can help prevent birth defects and pregnancy loss.

More research is needed before practitioners start recommending an increased dose of B3, and as with any vitamin or mineral, consuming it in its whole food state often results in better absorption. B3 is a water-soluble vitamin, meaning that excess niacin leaves the body through urination and needs to be replenished regularly.

Here are the top foods that you can include in your diet to make sure you are getting enough B3.

  • Fish is an excellent source of niacin. A portion of tuna per week, fresh or canned, can significantly increase your niacin intake. Tuna can be high in mercury, so limiting your serving to once weekly, and including other foods on this list can be a good way to increase niacin. Salmon is also a great source of niacin, and including bothe tuna and salmon in your diet can increase your omega-3 levels as well.
  • Poultry. Both chicken and turkey contain moderate to high levels of niacin. Adding poultry to your diet, along with other plant-based niacin-rich foods can give you a boost.
  • Meat. A serving of beef, pork and lamb all have moderate amounts of niacin. Liver has the highest amount. Including small portions of good quality, grass-fed meat in your diet can help prevent anemia in pregnancy, give a good sustained energy boost and increase niacin.
  • Mushrooms. Although the most niacin-rich foods tend to be animal based, mushrooms have a good amount of B3. The best varieties to add for niacin are shiitake, oyster and portabello.
  • Avocado. A great source of an array of vitamins and nutrients, fiber, and plant-based fats, avocados contain a modest amount of niacin. Adding half to a whole avocado to your diet daily can increase your overall niacin intake.
  • Sea veggies. An excellent source of trace minerals and iron, seaweed and other sea veggies contain small amounts of niacin. In addition to munching on nori, try wakame salads, sprinkling dulse on soups and salads, and cooking rice and other grains with kombu to up your daily niacin.
  • Whole grains. Brown rice and oats both contain moderate amounts of naturally-occurring niacin. Many pastas and cereals have been fortified with niacin, and these are fine to eat sparingly, while focusing more of your diet on whole grains.
  • Green peas. Including a cup of fresh or frozen peas in your salad or main meal can increase the amount of niacin you are getting.
  • Peanuts and Sunflower seeds. A great plant-based source of niacin. Eat as a snack, add to meals and include these nut butters to snacks to raise your niacin input.

If you are in your first trimester and nausea or food aversions make this list look impossible, don’t be concerned. Most good quality prenatal vitamins already contain a daily amount of niacin. Look on your label for vitamin B3, niacin, nicotinic acid or niacinamide. They are all forms of vitamin B3 and are easily absorbed.

If you are interested in supplementing your niacin intake, eat from the list above, and talk to your primary care practitioner to see if you should take a higher dose in vitamin form. In higher doses, niacin can cause flushing: redness, warmth, itching or tingling. Your practitioner can recommend a non-flush vitamin B3, a time-release vitamin B3 or increasing slowly to avoid this irritating side-effect. As always, the best way to get optimal nutrients is to eat a well-rounded, whole foods diet.

Related articles:

  • Vitamin B3 could help prevent birth defects
  • Metabolism and Congenital Malformations — NAD’s Effects on Development
  • Historic Discovery Promises to Prevent Miscarriages and Birth Defects Globally

East Bay Acupuncture & Natural Medicine
Follow Us On Facebook
(510) 457-8886

East Bay Acupuncture: Sean Michal Hall, East Bay Acupuncturist · Filed Under: Author: Nadia Moredo, Fertility, Pregnancy Tagged With: acupuncture, Acupuncture East Bay, Acupuncture East Bay Fertility, Nadia Moredo, Pregnancy, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B3 pregnancy

The Two Most Important Superfoods for Fertility

By Sean Michael Hall, L.Ac.

Most of you have heard of superfoods by now.

They are foods like kale, berries, turmeric and spirulina. Superfoods are extremely nutrient-dense, or have properties that make them especially protective against disease. Although plant-based superfoods are amazing for overall health, the superfoods most essential to fertility and reproductive health tend to be animal-based. Liver and bone broths are extremely healthy superfoods for parents-to-be, but they aren’t the easiest to prepare.

For that reason, the following two foods top my superfoods for fertility list:

1. ORGANIC, PASTURED EGGS

Eggs are good for you, especially the yolk! Numerous studies show that although regular egg consumption has a slight blood cholesterol raising effect, there is no correlation between egg consumption and heart disease risk. Cholesterol is the precursor to every steroidal hormone in our body. That’s right, estrogen, progesterone and every other hormone important for fertility starts out as a cholesterol molecule. If you have low cholesterol and hormone imbalance, eating eggs regularly is a great place to start. I would rather have my reproductive health patients have total cholesterols slightly higher than 200, than in the lower range of normal.

But cholesterol is only one reason I recommend eggs for fertility. They are also powerhouses of nutrition, and loaded with minerals, most of the natural metabolites of the fat-soluble vitamins A, D and E, beta-carotene, vitamin B12, natural folates, omega-3 fatty acids, a complete protein profile, and much more. Many of these vital reproductive system nutrients are not absorbed well when taken in supplement form, and some of them are not found at all outside of animal sources.

From a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) perspective eggs are one of the best foods to build the Jing, or reproductive essence, as well as the Blood. Both Jing and Blood are essential to reproductive health, and eating the eggs of chickens, as well as fish roe or caviar, is one of the best ways to replenish both.

Important: Organic
The higher you go up the food chain, the more important organic becomes. Eating conventional fruit or vegetables from time to time, is not a big deal. Especially, if the produce you eat isn’t one of the dirty dozen. But chickens that are fed pesticide and fertilizer-laden grains for during their lives will concentrate the toxins in the eggs that they produce.

Essential: Pastured
If chickens are fed a diet of grains like corn, soy and wheat, which they didn’t evolve to eat, it will make them less healthy, and their eggs considerably less nutrient-dense. Chickens that are free to forage for insects, seeds, grass, and whatever else free-foraging chickens eat, will usually have a yolk that is a darker yellow or even orange color. This is just one indicator of how much more nutrition they carry.

Where to find pastured eggs:
Whole Foods, Berkeley Bowl, Three Stone Hearth, and some Farmer’s Markets carry pastured eggs. All of the pastured egg sources I know raise their chickens without pesticides, fertilizers or hormones; though often, the small farms they come from can’t afford the expense of getting certified organic. A true pastured egg will cost $7 to $10 a dozen. Believe me, its worth the extra cost. Do not confuse the cheaper cage-free eggs with pastured. They are most definitely not the same.

2. ORGANIC, GRASS-FED, FULL-FAT DAIRY (especially Butter, Yogurt, and Cream)

Yes, full-fat dairy is not only good for you, it’s great for you! Full-fat dairy is one of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet, but unfortunately, it’s been given a bad rap. Mainly because it contains a little saturated fat, and some people are not able to digest it well. If you find that you are unable to digest dairy well, then it’s probably not right for you.

There are other great ways to get the nutrition you need, so contact me and I’ll give you some suggestions. If you do digest dairy well, then you are in for a treat. The nutrient profile it contains can help regulate hormone levels and increase spermatogenesis, ovulation and conception rates. And of course, foods made with butter and cream are delicious!

Important: Organic
Who wants bio-accumulated dioxins, phthalates, HCBs and PCBs in their dairy? Certainly not I, nor should you, especially if your plan is to get pregnant and have a healthy child. Each of those toxins disrupts endocrine function, reduces ovarian follicles and spermatogenesis, induces ovarian failure and leads to chromosomal aberrations.

More important: Grass-Fed
Not only are cows that are fed grass healthier than their grain-fed cousins, but they also provide milk that is much higher in omega-3 fatty acids, CLA, beta-carotene, iodine and vitamins A and E. Grain-fed cows, on the other hand, have high amounts of omega-6 fatty acids, which, when out of balance, increase inflammation and have a host of other detrimental effects. Grain-fed cows also have much lower levels of CLA and the fat-soluble vitamins that are so essential to reproductive health. Simply feeding cows the diet they evolved to eat converts dairy from an inflammatory food, to an anti-inflammatory, nutrient-dense superfood.

Essential: Full-Fat
Drinking non-fat dairy is a waste of calories and money. All of the micronutrients mentioned above that are essential to reproductive health are found in the fat of dairy. The non-fat part of dairy has all of the lactose. It is the sugary part that raises blood glucose and insulin levels, both of which are detrimental to ovulation and other reproduction processes.

Drinking milk without the fat is the same as drinking fruit juice instead of eating the whole fruit. We need the fiber, protein and fat that’s in the whole fruit or dairy to buffer and slow the transit time of glucose into the bloodstream. Otherwise your glass of fruit juice or non-fat milk acts very similar to a can of soda.

Where to find grass-fed dairy:
Berkeley Bowl, Whole Foods and Three Stone Hearth carry high quality dairy products. My favorite brands all come in glass, and are St. Benouit, Claravale Farms, and Strauss.

Final Note: Dairy and eggs are not right for everyone. Food intolerances, sensitivities and allergies may not make these foods the best for you. Other reproductive health issues, like endometriosis, may also make dairy and eggs less useful. If you have concerns, please contact me through my East Bay Acupuncture & Natural Medicine website at https://www.ebacupuncture.com, and I’ll be happy to give you some alternative choices.

East Bay Acupuncture & Natural Medicine
Follow Us On Facebook
(510) 457-8886

East Bay Acupuncture: Sean Michal Hall, East Bay Acupuncturist · Filed Under: Author: Sean Michael Hall, Fertility, Nutrition Tagged With: Acupuncture East Bay, Chinese Medicine, fertility, nutrition, nutrition for fertility, superfoods, superfoods fertility

Recent Posts

  • Key Supplements for Use During the Coronavirus Pandemic
  • EBANM COVID-19 Prophylaxis Protocol
  • Flame Retardant’s Effect on Hormone Health and Fertility
  • Birth Defects: 5 Natural Ways To Reduce Your Risk.
  • A Quick Guide to Green Cleaning Products

Categories

  • Acupuncture
  • Adaptogenic Herbs
  • Author: Gabriela Pierre
  • Author: Jenny Silverstone
  • Author: Nadia Moredo
  • Author: Sean Michael Hall
  • Book Reviews
  • Cold & Flu Prevention
  • Detoxification
  • Fertility
  • Herbal Medicine
  • Nutrition
  • Orthopedics & Pain Management
  • Placebo Effect
  • Pregnancy
  • Recipes
  • Supplements
  • Traditional Chinese Medicine
  • Yoga

East Bay Acupuncture
& Natural Medicine

2346 Stuart Street
Berkeley, CA 94705

p: (510) 457-8886
f: (510) 705-8520
info@ebacupuncture.com

Clinic Hours:

Monday – 10am to 7pm
Tuesday – 9am to 4pm
Wednesday – noon to 7pm
Thursday – 9am to 7pm
Friday – noon to 5pm

Read our Yelp Reviews

Contact

© 2007–2023 East Bay Acupuncture • Privacy • Terms of Use
2346 Stuart Street Berkeley, CA 94705 • p: (510) 457-8886
Sean Michael Hall, L.Ac.