Are Prenatal Vitamins Safe for Men? Experts Explain How to Support the Health of a Father-To-Be

When it comes to fertility, there’s an obvious and understandable focus on a woman’s health — but what can men do to increase the odds of a successful pregnancy? What about taking prenatal vitamins? Are supplements formulated for mothers-to-be even safe for men? Common sense dictates that good nutrition is important to reproductive health. But to dig into the specifics, we consulted two experts on the matter. Let’s break it down. A Healthy Lifestyle is the Building Block For starters, both of the doctors we consulted stressed the importance of general health, for both the father- and the mother-to-be. “To conceive successfully, it’s important to optimize your own health as much as possible,” says Dr. Colin Zhu, DO. A board-certified physician in family medicine and also a chef, Zhu also founded The Chef Doc, a lifestyle- and nutrition-focused brand. Important markers on the health journey for prospective parents include “maintaining a healthy weight by consuming a fiber-rich diet; striving for 150-300 minutes of moderately intense exercise per week; drinking closer to 120 ounces of water a day [for men], as per the Mayo Clinic; and sleeping between seven to nine hours a night, as per the American Sleep Association,” he says. Dr. Amos Grunebaum concurs. When trying to conceive, “It’s really important that both parties are equally healthy. Men often don’t want to admit that it can be their problem when she cannot get pregnant,” says the obstetrician, who is also a professor at the Zucker School of Medicine in New York and founder of babyMed, a site designed to facilitate healthy pregnancies. Both the quality and the quantity of a man’s sperm are key to conception, Grunebaum points out. Therefore, his initial advice to men who are trying to become fathers: “No smoking, no alcohol, no being overweight. Eat healthy food, manage stress.” All of these factors, he says, can affect a man’s sperm. A Man’s Diet Affects His Sperm Health One study, Zhu notes, “found a correlation with improved semen parameters with improved omega-3 fatty acid intake, whether by supplementation or from foods rich in omega-3s.” On the flip side, a poor diet has the opposite effect: “Poor semen quality was observed with higher intakes of processed meats and dairy, and improved semen quality with higher intakes of fruits and vegetables. This was confirmed in another study, when the intake is more than five servings of fruits and vegetables a day.” It’s important to understand that men’s reproductive health cannot be improved overnight, Grunebaum points out: “Sperm can take nine to 10 weeks to be produced. Anything that happens over that period can affect sperm quality and count. So it’s not just doing something the night before or the week before.” A good diet is key, Grunebaum stresses. His recommendation? “The best diet is the Mediterranean diet: a lot of fish, low-fat meat or no meat, and a lot of vegetables.” Do Supplements Help with Conception? Both experts agree that improved nutrition makes a difference—and supplements can help. “Take a daily multivitamin and an antioxidant supplement,” says Grunebaum. “Studies have clearly shown that men can improve their fertility by adding a daily supplement. That should include selenium, co-enzyme Q10, L-carnitine, and folic acid. Those are specific male fertility supplements that can improve his sperm count. Again, it takes about three months to achieve that.” Grunebaum shared a meta-analysis of several smaller studies to support this recommendation. He also recommended a supplement he designed: Fertilaid for Men, which combines the recommended nutrients. (Fertilaid also makes a formula for women.) Zhu suggests a slightly different combination for men trying to conceive a baby. “My general recommendations would be having a high-quality vitamin B12 and omega-3 supplementation from a plant-based source, and vitamin D3,” he says. Regarding co-enzyme Q10, Zhu notes that your body is able to produce it on its own, under the right circumstances. Eating leafy greens—such as spinach, swiss chard and kale—and getting enough sunlight causes “a chemical reaction where we are able to naturally reactivate levels of CoQ10. So, it’s not necessary to supplement if you are able to eat more chlorophyll-rich diets, like a whole foods plant-based diet.” Not sure what a chlorophyll-rich diet looks like? In that case, it can help to work with a registered dietitian or certified nutrition coach for guidance. RELATED: Diets Decoded: Plant-Based Diet Are Women’s Prenatal Vitamins Safe for Men? Both experts agree there’s no clear danger for men taking a prenatal vitamin, even if it’s formulated for women — but they also don’t recommend it. “There’s no reason to do that, because there are specific supplements for men that will help their sperm,” says Grunebaum. “In general, a simple prenatal women’s vitamin is not unsafe for men, but it does not usually have the optimal amount of vitamins and supplements for men.” And of course, as Zhu points out: “If you have specific questions about infertility, contact your urologist, OB-GYN, and/or fertility specialist.” (Image: Shutterstock)

Should You Be Taking Daily Supplements?

Think of supplements as acting like insurance for your body: they can’t replace a healthy diet, but when your body needs a little extra help, they’ve got your back. Here are few simple rules to follow.

Are Enriched and Fortified Foods Healthy? The Pros and Cons

Have you picked up iodized salt or vitamin D-rich milk recently? Both are examples of fortified foods—meaning, foods to which extra nutrients have been added. Pumped-up products are crazy common: Besides milk and salt, commonly fortified foods include cereals, breakfast bars, orange juice, tea and infant formulas. At first glance, they seem incredibly helpful. If you tend to be calcium-deficient, why not get an extra dose while sipping your morning OJ, right? Of course, it’s not that simple (sigh …). Here are the facts you need to know to decide whether fortified foods are right for you and your family. Fortified Foods vs. Enriched Foods First, a distinction: Fortification and enrichment are both processes that add nutrients to food, but they’re slightly different. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), fortification is when a nutrient gets added to a food that never contained that nutrient. Adding vitamin D to orange juice or milk is a good example. Enrichment, on the other hand, is when nutrients lost during processing are added back into a food. For instance, when whole wheat is processed into white flour, iron and B vitamins may be added back in a synthetic form. Fortified functional foods Fortified functional foods take this concept even further. They contain an added ingredient intended to produce a specific health benefit beyond its nutritional value, such as cholesterol reduction or cancer prevention. Some types of fortified functional foods contain supplements, such as the addition of: Omega-3s in milk to boost brain function Collagen in protein bars to enhance skin health Probiotics for better gut or immune function Other types include antioxidants, like the addition of fruits or vegetables in cereals or beverages. The Benefits of Fortified Foods: 3 Success Stories Government agencies and food policy advocates often use one process or another to decrease nutrient deficiencies in large populations, an approach that can be super effective. In the 1920s, U.S. companies began adding iodine to table salt. This essential element supports the thyroid gland. Without enough iodine, humans experience a high incidence of goiters (the term for an enlarged thyroid). In the 1930s, commercial milk producers began fortifying milk with synthesized vitamin D, the “sunshine vitamin,” to save children from rickets. In 1900, about 80% of children living in Boston suffered from rickets, a bone affliction that leads to deformities, but it was essentially eradicated thanks to fortified vitamin D. Much more recently in 1996, the FDA mandated adding synthetic folic acid to processed grains. The goal: to combat high incidences of neural-tube defects in newborns. All three of these policies helped prevent real public health problems. The Problems with Fortified Foods However, the average consumer who regularly eats fortified foods faces a few big issues. Many experts argue that your body does not absorb individual nutrients added to foods in the same way that it absorbs naturally occurring nutrients in whole foods, consumed alongside other complementary nutrients. A simple example: Skim milk is often fortified with vitamin A and D, which are fat-soluble vitamins—but the milk was processed to remove the fat. When you consume those vitamins without a fat source, you may not get the same degree of nutritional benefits. RELATED: ​​Food Combining: The Facts and 5 Combos That Make Sense for Your Health and Life Not to mention, most food companies use synthetic versions of micronutrients, which your body may process differently than the natural, food-based versions. The Problems with Enriched Foods Companies often add vitamins into food at incredibly high levels—up to 100% of the recommended daily amount into one serving of food. Since most of us don’t have severe deficiencies, eating a lot of enriched foods might cause you to exceed the recommended daily intake by a long shot. This can mess with your digestion, for starters. Some individuals have trouble breaking down folic acid (which is necessary for the important process of methylation), for example, so eating enriched bread, pasta and cereal regularly could lead to decreased immunity or mask a vitamin B12 deficiency. In severe but thankfully rare cases, overconsumption of micronutrients can lead to toxicity overload. RELATED: What is Methylation and Why Does It Matter For Your Health? The Takeaway Here’s the bottom line: You may have noticed something about most of the enriched or fortified foods mentioned here—they’re usually highly processed to begin with. It’s much better to avoid those kinds of foods altogether. Fortification can be a useful tool for delivering nutrients to at-risk populations. But if you’re lucky enough to have the choice, it’s better to skip labels that say enriched or fortified. Instead, reach for naturally nutrient-rich whole foods. (Image: Shutterstock)

7 Nutrients You Need for Healthy Hair

Healthy hair is more coveted than the perfect pair of jeans but sometimes more elusive than the perfect avocado. While we don’t all hate the Pantene lady for being beautiful, we do have a little ounce of envy at what happens when she swings her mane around in slo mo. Why? Because when we swing our dry, brittle, over-processed, or just generally damaged hair around, it kinda just stays in one place. And then we swing in the other direction to make sure it wasn’t just a directional fluke, but nope. Kinda just stays in place. So what’s a girl to do to get those frazzled locks back to being commercial worthy? EAT! As much as I love trying the latest beauty products and believe in many of them, my expertise is fixing us all from the inside out. So when it comes to sporting healthy hair, I always turn to my fork rather than the fancy stuff in a bottle. The healthier you are on the inside, the healthier you’ll look on the outside. Your hair is no exception. 7 Nutrients You NEED for Healthy Hair: B Vitamins: Go for quinoa oatmeal, brown rice, strawberries, green leafy vegetables, chicken and salmon. They contain the B vitamins niacin, pantothenic acid, folic acid, B6 and B12, which are responsible for strengthening hair follicles and increasing circulation to the skin. They work to stimulate hair follicles to grow healthy hair. The complex of B vitamins is important because all of these vitamins work together. Researchers have shown that B vitamins play a role in a reduction in hair loss, a decrease in gray hair as well as longer, shinier hair. Biotin: You don’t often find me telling you to eat liver, but it’s a very good source of biotin, which is also a B vitamin. Biotin gets special attention for its role in stimulating new cells and re-growing lost hair. It’s still up in the air as to whether or not biotin supplementation, shampoo and hair products can do the same work as biotin in the diet, so make sure chow down on these great sources: nuts, eggs, Swiss chard, whole grains and halibut. Zinc, Selenium and Iron: You’ll find zinc in oysters, red meat, shellfish and legumes. Selenium is abundant in butter (yes, a little organic grass fed butter is good for you!), garlic, whole grains and fish. And, iron you’ll find in dark greens, grass fed meat, sunflower seeds and even dark chocolate. These minerals assist the body in repairing damaged hair and strengthening hair follicles. You need every strand you have, so eat foods rich in these minerals to keep your stylist in business. Protein and omega 3s: You’ll find protein in nuts, seeds, legumes, meat and fish. Focus on fish when it comes to hair because you want both protein and omega-3s to help your hair and grow shiny. Aside from adding these uber nutrient foods to your diet, if your hair is on the dry side, don’t wash it daily – 3 or 4 times a week is probably plenty. The oils on your scalp can revitalize the shine to your hair, so don’t go scrubbing them away with shampoo every day. Also, limit heat based styling tools, such as blow driers and straightening irons (yes, ladies you can do this!) which can rob the hair of moisture. If you need an immediate shine and repair for your otherwise lackluster mane, food comes to the rescue, yet again. Use one of these ingredients to add instant pizzazz. You can apply the below foods to just the dry parts of your hair, or your whole head. Avocado Argan oil Beer Moroccan oil Olive oil Nutrient deficiency shows in your hair not just your mood, friends. If your diet is somewhat lacking, a multivitamin may not be a bad choice to help make the most of your pony. So there you have it. Healthy hair starts with what goes in your mouth. So the next time you’re having a bad hair day, make it a good food day.