How safe is vitamin A while you're pregnant?
I was surprised at how complicated this one got.
Turns out that there are two kinds of vitamin A: carotenoids (including beta-carotene) which is found in fruits and vegetables and is converted into vitamin A by your body; and preformed, (retinoid form) that is found in meats and fortified foods – which essentially means it's already been converted by something else.
Vitamin A keeps our eyes, skin and immune system healthy and plays a key role in maintaining healthy vision.
You need it.
Okay, now here's where it gets tricky. Too much preformed vitamin A can cause birth defects such as malformations of the head and face, the central nervous system, the thymus, and the heart. Oh, okay, great.
The current recommended daily allowance for adult or pregnant women seems to be around 2,700 IU.
Preformed:
So what does that mean for you? Well, it looks like the biggest no-no is liver. Now, I can personally think of a thousand reasons not to eat liver but you may really enjoy it. I was once at a party and my friend had to lean in to tell me something and I said, "Cheryl, why in the hell does your breath smell like cat food?" Turns out she was eating paté (or Fancy Feast).
That said, it looks like not all liver is created equal. Just to give you an idea, 1 oz of goose liver (which I'm going to guess is about the size of four dice if it's the same weight as cheese) is 933 IUs, beef liver is around 8881 IUs, and chicken liver is 4026 IUs. Most paté is made from goose liver so it looks like a couple of crackers will still be under your limit. Plus, when you google the facts on paté and pregnancy, most sites get their knickers in a knot over the listeria danger (similar to cold cuts) and not the vitamin A which usually indicates you'd have to constantly exceed your daily limit to do any damage.
Oh, and just so you know, eating polar bear liver will kill you (pregnant or not) so steer clear of that tonight.
Most other things like milk, salmon and eggs really don't contain enough vitamin A to get scary. It looks like you'd have to eat around 40 eggs a day (Cool Hand Luke style) to exceed your recommended intake.
Face Creams:
No studies have shown that face creams containing retinoids, such as Retin-A, Retinol, etc., are harmful during pregnancy but most sites get twitchy about it and advise that you try to avoid it.
On the other hand, Isotretinoin (Accutane, Amnesteem, Claravis, Sotretwhich) which is man-made form of vitamin A acne medication, and Tazorac have been classed as an Pregnancy Category X by the FDA. Which is code for stay-the-hell-away-from-it. So don't touch it with a ten foot pole if you are pregnant or thinking about becoming pregnant. It's badass.
Beta-Carotene:
As for plant based, beta-carotene vitamin A, such as sweet potatoes, pumpkins, carrots, cooked spinach, butternut squash, dried apricots, peppers, cantaloupe, etc.; go for it. Your body has to convert the beta-carotene to vitamin A so it regulates how much it needs then ditches the rest.
In short: Carrots: Yes. Liver, Accutane and Fancy Feast: No.
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13 Comments
Reader Comments (13)
That was useful thank you. But than I would have a question, maybe you know the answer. Bio-Oil.... for stretch marks in pregnancy, and i love it a lot, but there is A-vitamin in it. ? why do they put it in if i shouldn't have too much of it? S o i got scared and stopped using, but after some other prego friends said it's ok to use, so i'm using it again, but still worried a bit. What do you think?
To the reader who posted about the bio-oil: If it worries you, don't use it. Be your own judge. Or better yet, ask your dr. The thing about stretch marks is.... yes they are unsightly at first, but after a while they "silver" which means they pretty much fade away. You can use other creams or lotions to help maintain elasticity in your skin if it's something you are truly worried about.
Personally, I've never been concerned about them. It's a natural part of life for me, having had them for years.
The vitamin A thing was something of some concern for me in my great hunt for the Prenatal Vitamin. Glad that you covered it, PC!
It looks like Bio Oil contains Retinyl Palmitate which is a form of vitamin A but it doesn't say how much is in it. It mentions on the website that it has been deemed safe for pregnant women (I don't know how much stock you want to put in that) and there is no evidence that supports topical vitamin A does any harm so you should be okay.
Of course, if you're feeling twitchy about it, just skip it. I've read a few articles that say that stretch marks are a luck of the draw so even if you lovingly rub your belly like Buddha, you still may get them. Sucks, I know.
Hope that helps.
I was about to say I'm living proof that sweet potato overeating during pregnancy is fine. My mother would eat 2 whole 9-inch SP pies EVERY WEEKEND from October until Feb when I was born in 1984. My Granny would make them for her cuz' she just craved them so much it became a running joke after I was born. Now 27yrs later my mom is still sick of them & I LOVE them so much its crazy! ^.^
Thank you for your post! I'm gluten-free, soy-free, and xanthan gum-free and the only thing I can eat to settle my stomach that's "easy" and "pre-made" are carrots. While I make my own chicken soup and saltines, it's so much easier to peel and wash carrots.
The information is very interesting. It made me understand something, and it is that I never knew before.
I think it's important to distinguish topical from ingestible forms of any ingredient. If you're applying an oil to your skin, most of those types of products are going to be non-systemic, in that the actual molecules aren't small enough to be absorbed into the blood stream to affect one's system (or fetus). Typically the only way a topical product would cause systemic interference would be if it uses nano-technology, or if the individual using it has a pre-existing sensitivity/allergy. I work for a cosmetics company (Aveda) and we get questions like this all the time.
Also, stretch marks are typically genetic, but jojoba oil is another good alternative for keeping the skin supple and reducing the severity of them. I'm in my seventh month and have been using our Calming Composition, which is primarily sunflower and jojoba oils, the whole time and only have a couple wee stretch marks.
It is my understanding that the concern for too much vitamin is is about synthetic vitamin A. Liver is a very nutritious food and should absolutely be consumed during pregnancy!
Nope, I thought liver was a good thing too but because it has already been converted by the animal that the liver belonged to (sorry that's gross) you can get too much vitamin A from it. It's the beta-carotene form (plant based) that you can go crazy on.
Tazorac is pregnancy category X.
I do understand that you don't want to eat a pound of liver a day but an ounce a day is what I have heard is the recommendation. I would worry about getting too much copper though, before I worried about the vitamin A (from liver, that is). Beef liver is also much higher in Vitamin A than chicken liver. I personally think this is a case of throwing out the baby with the bath water. There is a huge about of nutrition in liver! Just because one nutrient may increase the chance of birth defects when eaten in large amounts every day, doesn't mean you should never eat it at all... right? The studies that may have correlated vitamin a with birth defects appear to have been done with a vitamin a supplement anyway. I'm going to have to look into this more. Thank you for bringing it up.
Retinoids aren't a great idea during pregnancy because they make your skin MUCH more sensitive to the sun.
They make you much more prone to developing melasma because of it, and it's difficult to fade after delivery.
I found this great resource for expecting mothers... The counsel on exposures that may harm the baby for free!!
800.733.4727