Contact - Georgie Stephen Naturopath

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A little gift for you, mama! The New Mama Survival

If you could go back and tell your pregnant self s

This past week as we’ve been gearing up for the

FREE WEBINAR: Lessons from the carnivore diet, bro

Last night, you were in bed⁣ Me, your dad, a gla

Yes, yes it is.⁣ ⁣ Sadly, I see so many recomm $Yes, yes it is.⁣ ⁣ Sadly, I see so many recommendations *against* consuming liver in preconception, pregnancy, or postpartum. But it’s one of my top foods for women in this life stage because of its nutrient density. ⁣ ⁣ Although I disagree, I understand where this advice comes from - official dietary guidelines for expecting mothers state that liver is unsafe.⁣ ⁣ But the fear of liver is unfounded. Here’s why:⁣ ⁣ Studies using supplemental forms of vitamin A (read: synthetic) found that high doses resulted in some birth defects. This is the reason we now have an upper limit set at 10,000 IU of vitamin A in pregnancy & lactation. Liver is naturally high in retinol (preformed vitamin A), hence the fear - the risk of vitamin A toxicity and birth defects.⁣ ⁣ But since these findings, other research has confirmed that the same risks don’t apply to whole foods sources of retinol like liver as they do to synthetic supplements.⁣ ⁣ Here is one researchers statement, “liver and supplements are not of equivalent teratogenic potential (teratogen=causes birth defects). Advice to pregnant women on the consumption of liver based on the reported teratogenicity of vitamin A supplements should be reconsidered”*⁣ ⁣ Now, even if we were to play it safe with liver, to get 10,000 IU/d of vit A from liver, you’d have to eat 75g of chicken liver every day or double that of beef liver. For anyone unfamiliar with how much liver that *actually* is, it’s A LOT and I don’t know anyone who consumes that much liver on a regular basis.⁣ ⁣ Furthermore, liver based supplements typically contain liver in microgram or singular gram amounts. Meaning they provide a fraction of this amount.⁣ ⁣ Hopefully you can see how obvious it is that the fear of liver is unfounded.⁣ ⁣ Yes, women should be aware of this potential risk so they can make an informed decision, but like so much of prenatal nutrition, it’s presented in such a black and white way.⁣ ⁣ The more pressing risk in the perinatal period is of vitamin A deficiency, which can impact fetal growth and development, maternal metabolism and thyroid function, and immunity of both mum & baby.⁣ ⁣ *doi: 10.1177/096032719401300106.$