March 18, 2024 • 9 mins
A surprising look into what I actually recommend that women take in terms of vitamins and supplements.
This is a billion dollar industry marketing everything under the sun to you, but what do you actually need?
Find out here!
Instagram: https://instagram.com/forvaginasonly
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Hey guys, and welcome to another episode of
(00:02):
the Four Vaginas Only podcast.
In this episode, we are gonnatalk about OBGYN approved
vitamins and supplements.
And you're gonna be surprisedprobably about how many I
actually think that you shouldbe taking.
So if you want to find out more,take a listen to this episode,
but first, let's cue the music.
(00:24):
Hello and welcome to 4 VaginasOnly, the podcast about
everything female.
I'm your host, Dr.
Celestine, bringing youimportant information about
understanding your health andbody in the way you wish your
doctor would actually explainit.
All right, now thank you guys somuch for coming to the 4 Vaginas
(00:47):
Only Podcast.
I am Dr.
C or Dr.
Celestine, as most of you know,and I am a board-certified
obstetrician and gynecologistand also the host of the 4
Vaginas Only Podcast.
Now, in this episode, we'regonna be talking about
supplements and vitamins that Irecommend women take.
Now, there's not gonna be thatmany, which I think people are
(01:08):
gonna be surprised about.
And it's interesting because thevitamin and supplement industry
is a billion-dollar industry.
I mean, anything from the healthfanatics to, you know, the
personal trainers online or eventhe social media influencers
telling you to take this powderor that powder, all the way down
to the Kardashians arediscussing and pushing out their
(01:31):
vitamins and supplements forpeople to take.
But it's not actuallyrecommended to take a slew of
vitamins and supplements.
It's actually more recommendedto get it from your diet, and
there's a lot that we getsufficiently from our diet, and
sometimes we're overdoing it.
So that has its downsides aswell.
But you know, we're we'll getinto it.
(01:52):
We'll talk about which ones Iactually recommend and which
ones you can just get from yourgeneral diet.
So let's go.
Okay, so I mentioned that thevitamin and supplement industry
is a billion-dollar industry.
So basically, you know, they'repushing things that you actually
don't really need.
So experts actually recommendthat the best nutrients are
(02:14):
through food.
And that's because multivitaminbenefits are actually uncertain.
Um, there are there's a lot ofresearch that actually also
shows that some vitamins,especially in an excessive
amount, are harmful.
And a lot of thesemultivitamins, you know, that
you take one and done, areactually containing more vitamin
(02:35):
than you actually need or that'sactually recommended.
And that's because a lot ofpeople are getting certain
vitamins through food, and somepeople just don't need certain
vitamins.
So let's talk about which ones Iactually recommend for women.
Okay, so these vitamins andsupplements that I actually
recommend for women to take,there are only three of them.
(02:58):
Okay, so the first one that Irecommend that women take is
vitamin D.
And that's because there arevery few natural sources of
vitamin D, and most women, mostpeople, are not getting enough
sunlight and are deficient invitamin D, especially if you
live above the equator.
So, you know, in thereproductive years, especially,
(03:21):
but for most people, you need tobe taking vitamin D.
And the recommended amount forthe reproductive years is about
600 international units to betaken daily.
So that is one extra supplementthat I would say to take on top
of just trying to get thingsthrough your food.
Now, the next thing that I wouldrecommend for most women to take
(03:45):
is calcium.
Now, calcium, about 1,000milligrams per day, is
recommended.
Not just for bone health.
There are some studies that showit decreases PMS symptoms, which
is interesting.
Also, some studies are comingout showing that it helps to
keep lower blood pressure inpregnancy and decrease preterm
(04:05):
birth or preterm delivery.
But overall, calcium is good forbone health, especially when
combined with vitamin D to helpit absorb into your bones.
So most people are not gettingthe adequate amount of calcium
that they need daily.
So I would recommend that as anextra supplement for most women.
And then the third thing that Iactually recommend that you take
(04:30):
as a supplement, especially inthe reproductive years, is folic
acid.
Now, what's recommended there is400 micrograms daily, and that
is mainly because there are somecereals that are fortified with
folic acid, but most people arenot getting enough.
And it's proven that the 400microgram dose in most people
(04:50):
prevents something called neuraltube defect when a female
becomes pregnant.
It prevents neural tube defector helps prevent it in the
developing fetus in their body.
So it helps with the spine andthe brain formation.
So, really, those are the onlythree supplements that I would
recommend the majority of womento take, as opposed to taking a
(05:13):
general multivitamin with abunch of vitamins in it.
Now, are there other things thatI think you know you need to be
paying attention to?
Sure, and it definitely dependson who you are.
So, for example, if you are astrict vegetarian or someone
that's taking daily heartburnmedication, it's recommended to
supplement with vitamin B12because you are most likely
(05:35):
deficient in it.
About 2.4 micrograms per day forthat specific population.
For the general population, weget most of our B12 through
food.
And that includes fish, thatincludes red meat, that includes
chicken, that includes eggs, allhave B12 in it.
(05:56):
So just make sure that if youare curious about it, at least
check your levels with yourdoctor first before just
starting that supplementation.
The other thing that I think Iwouldn't recommend to take for
everybody, um, but it's iron.
And it's funny because themajority of women think that
they are deficient in iron.
(06:17):
They think they're anemic.
I can't begin to tell you theamount of people that come to my
office and say that they areanemic when in fact they are
not.
So the first thing I would sayis make sure you actually check
your level with your doctor tosee if you are anemic before
starting to supplement withiron, because most of us get a
good amount of iron in our redmeat when we eat beans, when we
(06:41):
eat dried fruit.
Um, but those of us that havevery heavy periods, which if
you've ever listened to mypodcast before on heavy periods
or read in any of my articles,that means at least like 80
milliliters of blood you'relosing or over that amount with
your period.
Or if you're breastfeeding orpregnant, you probably need some
supplementation because you losemore iron.
(07:02):
But the majority of us areactually not baseline anemic.
So make sure you check yourlevels first before you just
start taking iron supplements.
And there are a lot of othervitamins and minerals that are
promoted, especially when we'relooking at, you know, the
billion-dollar industry that'strying to sell us all of their
vitamins and supplements thatyou get from your actual food
(07:24):
that you're eating.
So the other one is zinc, somelinks to improving depression,
great, but you get thatnaturally in a lot of different
seafoods like oysters.
You also can get it in oats orchickpeas.
And then vitamin E.
There has been some link todecreasing PMS with vitamin E
supplementation, but you getthat naturally if you're eating
(07:44):
nuts and seeds and pumpkin,things along those lines, can
give you an adequate amount ofvitamin E without needing to
take any extra supplementation.
Also, vitamin B6.
Vitamin B6 is great forpregnancy, it's been shown to
prevent some nausea inpregnancy, and it's beneficial
in the menopausal years as well,but we get a lot of
(08:05):
supplementation from the thingswe eat, such as tuna, salmon,
and some cereals are actuallyfortified with extra vitamin B6.
So a lot of us don't need totake extra supplementation of
that.
So that's it.
The vitamins and supplementsthat I recommend as an OBGYN for
the majority of women justinclude vitamin D, calcium, and
(08:27):
folic acid.
Now, we talked about somespecial populations where you
would need some other vitaminsor supplements, but a lot of us,
like I said, get it majorityfrom the food that we eat every
day, as long as you're eating awell-balanced, well-rounded
diet.
So, overall, I would say talk toyour doctor before you start any
vitamins or supplements to seewhat category you fall in,
(08:50):
what's going on with your healthor other medications you might
be taking that would indicatethat you might need certain
extra vitamins or supplementsbefore you just start buying
them over the counter orlistening to an Instagram or
TikTok ad about takingsomething.
Okay.
And that's all.
Thank you guys so much forlistening to the Four Vaginas
Only podcast.
You can catch me on all socialmedia platforms at 4 Vaginas
(09:14):
Only and also my brand newwebsite that has launched, four
vaginasonly.com, where you canfind my social media, you can
contact me, you can see whatI've been up to writing-wise and
information-wise, and you canlisten to this very podcast
episode along with all of theothers.
So, thank you guys so much forlistening, and I'll catch you in
(09:35):
the next episode.
Bye.
Hey guys, and welcome to another episode of
(00:02):
the Four Vaginas Only podcast.
In this episode, we are gonnatalk about OBGYN approved
vitamins and supplements.
And you're gonna be surprisedprobably about how many I
actually think that you shouldbe taking.
So if you want to find out more,take a listen to this episode,
but first, let's cue the music.
(00:24):
Hello and welcome to 4 VaginasOnly, the podcast about
everything female.
I'm your host, Dr.
Celestine, bringing youimportant information about
understanding your health andbody in the way you wish your
doctor would actually explainit.
All right, now thank you guys somuch for coming to the 4 Vaginas
(00:47):
Only Podcast.
I am Dr.
C or Dr.
Celestine, as most of you know,and I am a board-certified
obstetrician and gynecologistand also the host of the 4
Vaginas Only Podcast.
Now, in this episode, we'regonna be talking about
supplements and vitamins that Irecommend women take.
Now, there's not gonna be thatmany, which I think people are
(01:08):
gonna be surprised about.
And it's interesting because thevitamin and supplement industry
is a billion-dollar industry.
I mean, anything from the healthfanatics to, you know, the
personal trainers online or eventhe social media influencers
telling you to take this powderor that powder, all the way down
to the Kardashians arediscussing and pushing out their
(01:31):
vitamins and supplements forpeople to take.
But it's not actuallyrecommended to take a slew of
vitamins and supplements.
It's actually more recommendedto get it from your diet, and
there's a lot that we getsufficiently from our diet, and
sometimes we're overdoing it.
So that has its downsides aswell.
But you know, we're we'll getinto it.
(01:52):
We'll talk about which ones Iactually recommend and which
ones you can just get from yourgeneral diet.
So let's go.
Okay, so I mentioned that thevitamin and supplement industry
is a billion-dollar industry.
So basically, you know, they'repushing things that you actually
don't really need.
So experts actually recommendthat the best nutrients are
(02:14):
through food.
And that's because multivitaminbenefits are actually uncertain.
Um, there are there's a lot ofresearch that actually also
shows that some vitamins,especially in an excessive
amount, are harmful.
And a lot of thesemultivitamins, you know, that
you take one and done, areactually containing more vitamin
(02:35):
than you actually need or that'sactually recommended.
And that's because a lot ofpeople are getting certain
vitamins through food, and somepeople just don't need certain
vitamins.
So let's talk about which ones Iactually recommend for women.
Okay, so these vitamins andsupplements that I actually
recommend for women to take,there are only three of them.
(02:58):
Okay, so the first one that Irecommend that women take is
vitamin D.
And that's because there arevery few natural sources of
vitamin D, and most women, mostpeople, are not getting enough
sunlight and are deficient invitamin D, especially if you
live above the equator.
So, you know, in thereproductive years, especially,
(03:21):
but for most people, you need tobe taking vitamin D.
And the recommended amount forthe reproductive years is about
600 international units to betaken daily.
So that is one extra supplementthat I would say to take on top
of just trying to get thingsthrough your food.
Now, the next thing that I wouldrecommend for most women to take
(03:45):
is calcium.
Now, calcium, about 1,000milligrams per day, is
recommended.
Not just for bone health.
There are some studies that showit decreases PMS symptoms, which
is interesting.
Also, some studies are comingout showing that it helps to
keep lower blood pressure inpregnancy and decrease preterm
(04:05):
birth or preterm delivery.
But overall, calcium is good forbone health, especially when
combined with vitamin D to helpit absorb into your bones.
So most people are not gettingthe adequate amount of calcium
that they need daily.
So I would recommend that as anextra supplement for most women.
And then the third thing that Iactually recommend that you take
(04:30):
as a supplement, especially inthe reproductive years, is folic
acid.
Now, what's recommended there is400 micrograms daily, and that
is mainly because there are somecereals that are fortified with
folic acid, but most people arenot getting enough.
And it's proven that the 400microgram dose in most people
(04:50):
prevents something called neuraltube defect when a female
becomes pregnant.
It prevents neural tube defector helps prevent it in the
developing fetus in their body.
So it helps with the spine andthe brain formation.
So, really, those are the onlythree supplements that I would
recommend the majority of womento take, as opposed to taking a
(05:13):
general multivitamin with abunch of vitamins in it.
Now, are there other things thatI think you know you need to be
paying attention to?
Sure, and it definitely dependson who you are.
So, for example, if you are astrict vegetarian or someone
that's taking daily heartburnmedication, it's recommended to
supplement with vitamin B12because you are most likely
(05:35):
deficient in it.
About 2.4 micrograms per day forthat specific population.
For the general population, weget most of our B12 through
food.
And that includes fish, thatincludes red meat, that includes
chicken, that includes eggs, allhave B12 in it.
(05:56):
So just make sure that if youare curious about it, at least
check your levels with yourdoctor first before just
starting that supplementation.
The other thing that I think Iwouldn't recommend to take for
everybody, um, but it's iron.
And it's funny because themajority of women think that
they are deficient in iron.
(06:17):
They think they're anemic.
I can't begin to tell you theamount of people that come to my
office and say that they areanemic when in fact they are
not.
So the first thing I would sayis make sure you actually check
your level with your doctor tosee if you are anemic before
starting to supplement withiron, because most of us get a
good amount of iron in our redmeat when we eat beans, when we
(06:41):
eat dried fruit.
Um, but those of us that havevery heavy periods, which if
you've ever listened to mypodcast before on heavy periods
or read in any of my articles,that means at least like 80
milliliters of blood you'relosing or over that amount with
your period.
Or if you're breastfeeding orpregnant, you probably need some
supplementation because you losemore iron.
(07:02):
But the majority of us areactually not baseline anemic.
So make sure you check yourlevels first before you just
start taking iron supplements.
And there are a lot of othervitamins and minerals that are
promoted, especially when we'relooking at, you know, the
billion-dollar industry that'strying to sell us all of their
vitamins and supplements thatyou get from your actual food
(07:24):
that you're eating.
So the other one is zinc, somelinks to improving depression,
great, but you get thatnaturally in a lot of different
seafoods like oysters.
You also can get it in oats orchickpeas.
And then vitamin E.
There has been some link todecreasing PMS with vitamin E
supplementation, but you getthat naturally if you're eating
(07:44):
nuts and seeds and pumpkin,things along those lines, can
give you an adequate amount ofvitamin E without needing to
take any extra supplementation.
Also, vitamin B6.
Vitamin B6 is great forpregnancy, it's been shown to
prevent some nausea inpregnancy, and it's beneficial
in the menopausal years as well,but we get a lot of
(08:05):
supplementation from the thingswe eat, such as tuna, salmon,
and some cereals are actuallyfortified with extra vitamin B6.
So a lot of us don't need totake extra supplementation of
that.
So that's it.
The vitamins and supplementsthat I recommend as an OBGYN for
the majority of women justinclude vitamin D, calcium, and
(08:27):
folic acid.
Now, we talked about somespecial populations where you
would need some other vitaminsor supplements, but a lot of us,
like I said, get it majorityfrom the food that we eat every
day, as long as you're eating awell-balanced, well-rounded
diet.
So, overall, I would say talk toyour doctor before you start any
vitamins or supplements to seewhat category you fall in,
(08:50):
what's going on with your healthor other medications you might
be taking that would indicatethat you might need certain
extra vitamins or supplementsbefore you just start buying
them over the counter orlistening to an Instagram or
TikTok ad about takingsomething.
Okay.
And that's all.
Thank you guys so much forlistening to the Four Vaginas
Only podcast.
You can catch me on all socialmedia platforms at 4 Vaginas
(09:14):
Only and also my brand newwebsite that has launched, four
vaginasonly.com, where you canfind my social media, you can
contact me, you can see whatI've been up to writing-wise and
information-wise, and you canlisten to this very podcast
episode along with all of theothers.
So, thank you guys so much forlistening, and I'll catch you in
(09:35):
the next episode.
Bye.
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