Can not drink milk??

I read everywhere how bad vitamin A is and pregnant women need to avoid any food containing it. How about milk??? Can I drink glass a day even though it has v-A??

[JoyRenee]

I drink milk religiously, yummo. I think it depends on how much Vitamin A you get. Do any of the articles talk about how much Vitamin A is too much?

[chantal21]

hmmm...I drink a glass of milk everyday, sometimes 2. Never had any problems, even with my last pregnancy. Like joy said, if you have too much vitamin A, I think that's when it's a concern. I'm sure if you google it, you will find some info on it.

[GRose]

I hope it isn't bad, with my last pregnancy I craved milk, I would drink a gallon a day some days. With this pregnancy I have at least 3 12oz glasses a day, I cant get enough.

[cure65roses]

I can't imagine not drinking milk.  It's loaded with the calcium that your body desperately needs, for baby.  

I do try to acknowledge / monitor my vitamin A intake somewhat.  I try to stay away from carrots b/c of their high amount of vitamin A, but that's about all that I avoid.

[jessbbg]

Ok---wait wait wait, everyone wait, lol

Vitamin A is NOT bad.  It is NOT dangerous.  It is VITAL to your developing baby, and to you.  It's important to understand the whole issue, and why you have heard that vitamin A *can* be bad in large quantities...

There are two types of available Vitamin A in the foods we purchase and consume.  There is naturally occuring vitamin A as beta carotene, and there is pre-formed Vitamin A---think of it as lab-created vitamin A.  In nature, most "vitamin A" starts as beta carotene, and our bodies convert it after consumption to vitamin A for use... if your body does not need vitamin A, it doesn't convert it.  So naturally occurring, un-altered foods containing beta carotene (and other carotenoids) are fine to eat by the truckload---if your body has enough vitamin A, then it doesn't convert any beta carotene.  

Now this lab-created vitamin A, that's just basically a cheap fortification found in some foods (much cheaper to put in pre-formed vitamin A than to include actual beta carotene).  It's essentially already-digested/already-converted, meaning your body does not get to decide how much it's taking in.  If you have huge amounts of THIS type of vitamin A, that's where you can run into problems.  

it is the pre-formed vitamin A that can cause a problem in large quantities.  The places you'll find the most vitamin A are any animal liver (it's your liver that converts carotenoids into vitamin A, so this makes a lot of sense!!  this is why pregnant women are told to try not to eat any liver during pregnancy), fish oil, and fortified cereals---milk also does contain pre-formed vitamin A, but in amounts well below the RDA and any levels posing any risks in any studies (the most alarming unconfirmed study says keep it under 6600 IU daily, and a cup of milk has anywhere from 300 - 500 depending on what fat % it is----by the way, that study was just to see if there was greater risk of breaking bones when you're old... so that's why the recommendation is so low).

One other thing of particular note is that in pretty much all women ever studied in terms of vitamin A, the single greatest source of preformed vitamin A consumption in ALL of them was from multi-vitamins.  

If you're concerned about yours, just check the label.  It's fine if it says next to Vitamin A: "from beta carotene".  If yours doesn't and you want to switch, I got the cheapie from Target (and my extra nausea ended as soon as I switched! lol), and all of the vitamin A in it is from beta carotene, so it's perfectly safe.  Often it's the cheap or generic ones that will use pre-formed to keep costs down, but you'd be surprised, so just always check the label.

Oh, and the dangers associated with vitamin A consumption during pregnancy are pretty much limited to the first seven weeks of pregnancy---can cause birth defects

[Vic85]

The other type of vitamin A is called Retinol and as jessbbg stated this is the one you should be avoiding. You must drink plenty of milk to keep your calcium levels up, you and the baby both need calcium for good bones.

[Mumita]

Thank you for explaining it. When you are pregnant there's sooo much information overload that you don't know what to believe or think.
I've never really been concerned with too much vitamin A but I take all natural and expensive prenatal vitamins and eat pretty much everything.  I haven't had nausea At all during my pregnancy :)

[jessbbg]

No problemo----I'm all about dispelling the alarmist mentality that has gripped the US lately, especially media hype and healthcare scares----it drives me nuts!  so much false---and potentially dangerous---information is forced down our throats in headline fashion that it's incensing and nauseating.

millions of women have been told that vitamin a is bad and to avoid it... not just a few, but MILLIONS... when it is not just that it's ok to have, but it's *necessary*... for good health for mom *and* proper development for baby!  argh!!  

And the only time it's dangerous to baby (in huge quantities, that is) is in the first trimester... LOTS of stuff in huge quantities can kill you or your baby.  Guess what----Megadoses of vitamin C cause miscarriage--did you know that?  It's just so misleading when we just throw big blanket statements out there instead of sharing real knowledge.  

I despise carrots with a passion... Hate them.  Always have, always will.  But *because* i am pregnant and i need to consume the healthiest foods possible for my baby, I *make* myself eat them.  They are one of the healthiest foods known to man---and many people don't realize carrots are also an excellent source of fiber.

Beta carotene in any quantity isn't going to hurt you or your baby.  The worst it can do is turn you orange :-)  

[jessbbg]

oh, and mumita---i'd say play it safe and double-check the label on your prenatal.  mine was ridiculously expensive and it was pre-formed vitamin A (if it is pre-formed it will just say "Vitamin A", instead of "Vitamin A (as beta carotene)"----some will have half of it as beta carotene and the other half as preformed, but the percentage should be clearly displayed (mine says 100% as beta carotene).  

Again, if it just says Vitamin A, then it is pre-formed Vitamin A.  I was shocked when I discovered mine was pre-formed.  

[JoyRenee]

Wonderful information, thank you for sharing that! I knew milk wasn't bad to drink (it's actually encouraged) but I did not have the extensive research you have shown. Bravo!!!

[JoyRenee]

P.S. As a rule try to stay away from processed foods.

I'm off to drink a tall, ice cold glass of milk! YUMMY!!!

[jessbbg]

yummmm... our power went out and i lost a brand new gallon of milk, haven't made it to the grocery store yet, so i'm fiending!  have a sip for me too :-)

[blueeyedtabbycat]

Im not much of a milk drinker but after reading this post, I want some, lol! Off to have a glass:-)

[dietcola]

wow!!! What a great amount of information! Thanks everyone! Just looked at my prenatal vitamins. I am taking "one a day" ( have not been to a doctor yet) and it says  only 50% as beta carotene. Going to the pharmacy to get new once first thing after work!!!!!

[Mumita]

Oh I totally agree with you.  Specially when you are pregnant you get overwhelmed with half truths and some people make stuff up too and freak themselves out.  Like you, I do my research before believing half of the cr@p that is force fed to you by the media but most people don't, they just believe the first thing that they hear on tv.

My vitamins say beta-carotene and I chose these vitamins because the iron compound used is different and doesn't make you constipated and most drug store brands that are cheap have artificial stuff that isn't needed in the prenatals.

[jessbbg]

I hear ya, sister----it's so scary what people are being told, it's dangerous and irresponsible!