“I just found out I’m pregnant. Can I keep drinking my energy shake in the mornings?”
“My doctor gave me the go-ahead to work out. Okay to have a protein shake after the gym?”
“My immunity-boosting drink is a life-saver. Can I keep using it while I’m pregnant?”
These are common questions during pregnancy, and ones that we hear a lot at MotherToBaby. Perhaps you’ve wondered the same thing yourself. As teratogen information specialists, we provide facts about how a person’s exposures in pregnancy might affect their developing baby. So, when we get questions about shakes, powders and other nutritional supplements in pregnancy, we look to the research. And that research, or lack of it, leads us to caution people against drinking that favorite nutritional shake while they’re pregnant. Here’s why:
Lack of FDA approval
Nutritional shakes and powders fall under the category of “supplements.” Supplements aren’t approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the way that food and medicines are. The FDA does set out safety requirements for supplements, but the manufacturers are responsible for ensuring that their own products meet those requirements (kind of like a home builder inspecting their own house.) This means that shake makers and other manufacturers can put their products on the market without proving their safety, or even showing that the products actually do what they claim they will. Once a supplement is on the market, the FDA relies mostly on consumers’ reports to alert them of side effects or other problems that could lead to warnings or recalls.
This is not to say that all supplement makers are unscrupulous or careless. Many manufacturers go above and beyond the FDA requirements for safety, and stand behind the purity and efficacy of their products. But the lack of oversight has allowed supplements to wind up on shelves despite being contaminated with bacteria, pesticides or heavy metals (such as lead), or having mislabeled ingredients or amounts of those ingredients. These inconsistencies can be dangerous, especially for people who take medications that might interact with unknown ingredients, or for pregnant people who need to avoid potentially harmful additives that can affect the baby.
Lack of studies in pregnancy
Nutritional shakes often contain vitamins, herbs, plant derivatives and other goodies intended to boost energy, strengthen immunity or have other positive health effects. But these additives are often listed on the label as “herbal blends” or “proprietary blends,” meaning that the individual ingredients are not revealed. And even if they are listed individually, some of those ingredients may have been studied in pregnancy, while others have not. The lack of studies means we don’t know if they might have harmful effects on a developing baby or otherwise increase risks in pregnancy.
For example, some ingredients may be “generally recognized as safe (GRAS)” when eaten in the amounts usually found in food, but they could increase the risk of miscarriage when used at high concentrations in pregnancy. The concentration of a plant-derived ingredient can vary from batch to batch, depending on the growing and harvesting conditions of the plant. So in the end, you can’t be sure what you and your developing baby are getting with that shake.
Nutritional needs in pregnancy
A varied, healthy diet along with a daily prenatal vitamin recommended by your healthcare provider should give you all the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that you and your growing baby need during pregnancy. Adding the extra vitamins found in that shake to your diet might result in exceeding the daily recommended amounts for pregnancy. On the flip side, if you are using a nutritional shake as a meal substitute, you might be missing essential nutrients that you and your baby should be getting from food. Always talk to your healthcare provider about the best way to meet your specific nutritional needs during pregnancy.
So, what to do about that container of protein powder sitting in your pantry or those bottles of energy shake taking up space in the fridge? Our advice? Find a new home for them until after you’ve delivered and are no longer breastfeeding. After all, you want to give your pregnancy a “fair shake,” right?
References:
• Natural Products Database, adapted from The Review of Natural Products. Facts & Comparisons (database online]. St. Louis, MO: Wolters Kluwer Health Inc.; 2012.
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA 101: Dietary Supplements. https://www.fda.gov/Food/DietarySupplements/UsingDietarySupplements
• U.S. Food and Administration. Daily Values for Infants, Children Less Than 4 Years of Age, and Pregnant and Lactating Women. https://www.fda.gov/food/dietary-supplements-guidance-documents-regulatory-information/dietary-supplement-labeling-guide-appendix-c-daily-values-infants-children-less-4-years-age-and
