Greetings T-Nation,
A friend of the family has just been prescribed bedrest for the remaining 4 months of her pregnancy. On top of that she is not gaining weight and has also been prescribed 3 servings of Ensure a day between meals. Obviously there are higher quality supplements available (that probably taste better too!).
Is Chocolate Grow! the best thing I could suggest for them? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
-Thad
How about some real FOOD, you know, like salmon, broccoli and quinoa? What a concept?
[quote]rholdnr wrote:
How about some real FOOD, you know, like salmon, broccoli and quinoa? What a concept?[/quote]
Agreed. Real food is the best choice here, but if she’s having trouble “stomaching” the extra food, a meal replacement might be helpful.
I would choose something a little lower in sugar than Ensure, if you have to go that route.
[quote]jehovasfitness wrote:
rholdnr wrote:
How about some real FOOD, you know, like salmon, broccoli and quinoa? What a concept?
Agreed. Real food is the best choice here, but if she’s having trouble “stomaching” the extra food, a meal replacement might be helpful.
I would choose something a little lower in sugar than Ensure, if you have to go that route.[/quote]
My wife drank protein shakes (on top of her regular food) while pregnant with our son. He came out 8lbs 6ounces.
[quote]rholdnr wrote:
How about some real FOOD, you know, like salmon, broccoli and quinoa? What a concept?[/quote]
Well she is a tiny thing and never was a big eater. Her meals are usually chock full of good stuff, but she would have trouble eating more “meals”.
Sorry if I have this mistaken, but Grow! is just a protein powder, correct? Not an MRP?
Pregnant women NEED carbohydrates…a bare MINIMUM of 175g or about 50-65% of total calories. So, just adding more protein is not necessarily the answer. Actually, pregnant women only need an extra 25g of protein during pregnancy for optimal growth of the fetus. Any more isn’t going to do a whole lot. All macro- and micor-nutrients have to be in place. Ensures were designed for this.
Be careful playing doctor. Pregnant women are not bodybuilders.
[quote]jehovasfitness wrote:
I would choose something a little lower in sugar than Ensure, if you have to go that route.[/quote]
Gaining the appropriate amount of weight during pregnancy is absolutely critical for the health of the child. The sugars in Ensures can accomplish this and provide missing vitamins and minerals through fortification.
The Grow!(now Metabolic Drive) might not have enough carbs but the regular version plus some fish/flax oil and a multi-vitamin would make a good quality MRP. I haven’t tasted Ensure but I do know the Metabolic Drive powders can make some truly tasty shakes. Probably cheaper too.
Fish oil would be an excellent addition. Flax oil would not be the best in this case since only a very small portion of it is converted to DHA. Fish oil, supplements of DHA derived from algae, or omega-3 fortified eggs would be better.
On second thought, fish oil supplements are probably not a good idea because of mercury contamination, which is a bigger hazard for pregnant women. Some supplements can have concentrated amounts of mercury, so she’d have to make sure that the supplements she uses do not contain high levels. That would be difficult to find out though, since supplement companies don’t have to say jack about it.
I’d urge her to eat at least 12 oz. of low-mercury fish (flounder, salmon, tilapia) a week, or use another source of DHA supplementation known to be contaminant-free.
Geez, that was dumb of me not to realize that sooner.
Good luck
I’m pretty sure it was Ensure that I drank regularly a while back.
They taste pretty good and are calorie dense.
I don’t think you need to replace Ensure with anything.
[quote]ungarn wrote:
Greetings T-Nation,
A friend of the family has just been prescribed bedrest for the remaining 4 months of her pregnancy. On top of that she is not gaining weight and has also been prescribed 3 servings of Ensure a day between meals. Obviously there are higher quality supplements available (that probably taste better too!).
Is Chocolate Grow! the best thing I could suggest for them? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
-Thad
[/quote]
I’m certainly not an expert but in something this serious why not just ask/listen to the doctor?
[quote]K-Narf wrote:
ungarn wrote:
Greetings T-Nation,
A friend of the family has just been prescribed bedrest for the remaining 4 months of her pregnancy. On top of that she is not gaining weight and has also been prescribed 3 servings of Ensure a day between meals. Obviously there are higher quality supplements available (that probably taste better too!).
Is Chocolate Grow! the best thing I could suggest for them? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
-Thad
I’m certainly not an expert but in something this serious why not just ask/listen to the doctor?[/quote]
Mostly because she is fed up drinking vanilla Ensure! I figured there may be some other options that T-Nation posters would suggest.
…chocolate Ensure?
I can’t stand but laugh at your friend. Tell her to eat, its not difficult. Jesus, is she like, partially retarded???
[quote]Angelbutt wrote:
jehovasfitness wrote:
I would choose something a little lower in sugar than Ensure, if you have to go that route.
Gaining the appropriate amount of weight during pregnancy is absolutely critical for the health of the child. The sugars in Ensures can accomplish this and provide missing vitamins and minerals through fortification. [/quote]
absolutely, but having a healthy mother is important as well, and eating quality calories is more crucial than just eating any of 'ol calories.
2 of the 1st 3 ingredients in Ensure is sugar. I happen to think there are better alternatives out there. One being real food, but like mentioned if that’s hard to do, then a quality meal replacement powder low or free of sugar (with complex carbs) along with protein would be a better choice.
But yes, in a pinch Ensure would do.
I completely agree with jehovasfitness. Ensure is just sugar/corn syrup with a lil protein. Might as well just use Metabolic Drive, mixed with lowfat milk. Maybe add a splash of honey, if additional sugar is wanted.
[quote]Angelbutt wrote:
Pregnant women NEED carbohydrates…a bare MINIMUM of 175g or about 50-65% of total calories. So, just adding more protein is not necessarily the answer. A
ctually, pregnant women only need an extra 25g of protein during pregnancy for optimal growth of the fetus. Any more isn’t going to do a whole lot. All macro- and micor-nutrients have to be in place. Ensures were designed for this.quote]
Dude where the hell do you get your info from. 50% of her cals coming from 175 grams of carbs would mean she’s only eating 1400 cals/day, maybe a little more. Even counting the fact that you said “minimum” doesn’t add up to a whole lot, giving the wrong impression on how much she should eat…it should be more like, “eat as much good foods as you can & quit complaining. Your pregnant, beoch”. (edit as you wish)
And to say that she only needs 25 extra grams of protein to support her child is like saying that EVERY child born ALWAYS weighs 4 kilos and it is PROVEN that 25 grams is all that is necessary. It’s f—ing ridiculous.
I wouldn’t let anyone I know listen to such BS even if EVERY M.D. on the planet said as such. You shouldn’t limit a pregnant womans protein OR calorie intake based on bogus info like that.
[quote]Angelbutt wrote:
jehovasfitness wrote:
I would choose something a little lower in sugar than Ensure, if you have to go that route.
Gaining the appropriate amount of weight during pregnancy is absolutely critical for the health of the child. The sugars in Ensures can accomplish this and provide missing vitamins and minerals through fortification. [/quote]
The sugars in Ensure are just as refined as the shit in soda. So what, your gunna tell her to down pepsi all day now?
[quote]Angelbutt wrote:
Flax oil would not be the best in this case since only a very small portion of it is converted to DHA. Fish oil, supplements of DHA derived from algae, or omega-3 fortified eggs would be better.[/quote]
Any fat is an excellent choice. Even fat from beef and pork, if they’re grassfed. And Egglands Best eggs and their counterparts aren’t “fortified” (a word you seem to not know the meaning of) with omega-3’s, they are naturally higher do to a better diet and better living conditions the chickens are given.