“When do pregnancy cravings start?”, “What are the best vitamins to take during pregnancy?”, and “Can you drink Ensure while pregnant?” are nothing compared to the sheer volume of questions plaguing your mind from the moment you find out you’re pregnant.
Pregnancy’s one of the most gratifying and terrifying experiences you can go through, and those experiences seem even worse when you’re going through them for the first time.
More often than not, you’re bombarded with rules and regulations that you need to follow to a tee, and you’re overthinking, overanalyzing, and double-checking everything anyone wants you to eat because you don’t want to harm your little cuddle bundle.
Now, you’re completely aware that you need to pack up on vitamins and minerals at all times to ensure both of you receive the nutrients you need to be happy and healthy. However, there are times when you need supplements because you can’t physically consume any more mangoes, bananas, and avocados.
One of those supplements happens to be Ensure. To answer your question, you can drink Ensure while you’re pregnant.
Today, we’re bringing you a rundown on everything you need to know about drinking Ensure while you’re pregnant, and everything you need to consider before you go to the nearest CVC and purchase nine months’ worth of stock. Why don’t we get started?
What to expect during pregnancy?
Oh, there’s nothing more entertaining when you’re pregnant than scrolling through Instagram, TikTok, or even Pinterest and observing other moms-to-be rocking fashion-forward outfits (Rihanna, for example), sipping on coffee, and living their best life.
Of course, there’s nothing more entertaining than that when you’re not going through a bunch of not-so-entertaining changes that come with pregnancy.
Nausea, morning sickness, frequent cravings, mood swings, bloating/gas, and changed eating habits are some of the most common symptoms you might go through.
While you’re experiencing the most overwhelming, surprising, and engrossing experience of your life, your body’s trying to adapt and share resources with the tinniest bun in the oven.
Actually, your baby’s getting all the nutrients she needs from you and that’s why there’s nothing better you can do for your baby while you’re pregnant than to eat healthy foods and take supplements when necessary.
But, regarding those not-so-entertaining changes, there are times when you’re not capable of keeping the fruits and veggies down (thanks to morning sickness).
That’s precisely when you start thinking about supplements such as Ensure. But can you drink Ensure while pregnant? Does it even provide you with the necessary nutrients and is it worth the risk?
Before we answer your questions we must underline the fact that you should always (and we mean always) consult with your doctor before you make any changes to your diet while you’re pregnant.
What are the nutritional guidelines for pregnancy?
Don’t worry, we’re going to let you know if you can drink Ensure while pregnant as soon as we tackle the nutritional guidelines for pregnancy. Let’s make sure you understand why you would even need to consider taking supplements such as Ensure.
Right off the bat, your nutritional recommendation change from the moment you find out you’re pregnant. As a pregnant woman, for example, you’re supposed to increase your calories by approximately 300 kcal/day throughout your pregnancy.
However, the calories that you consume as a pregnant woman need to come from balanced, vitamin-packed, and mineral-packed meals approved by your doctor. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), you’re supposed to take predetermined quantities of vitamins and minerals during pregnancy.
These vitamins and minerals are Calcium (1,300 milligrams for ages 14 to 18; 1,000 milligrams for ages 19 to 50), Iron (27 milligrams), Iodine (220 micrograms), Choline (450 milligrams), and Vitamin A (750 micrograms for ages 14 to 18; 770 micrograms for ages 19 to 50).
You shouldn’t forget Vitamin C (80 milligrams for ages 14 to 18; 85 milligrams for ages 19 to 50), Vitamin D (600 international units), Vitamin B6 (1.9 milligrams), Vitamin B12 (2.6 micrograms), and Folic acid (600 micrograms).
Other than that, you can also expect to gain weight during your pregnancy. Now, the amount of weight you’re supposed to gain depends on your BMI and happens to be attributed to the growing baby, placenta, amniotic fluid, and changes your body goes through.
Every woman is different and you shouldn’t shy away from discussing the changes you’re going through with your doctor. With that out of the way, we can finally talk about whether you can drink Ensure while pregnant (and whether you even should).
What’s Ensure?
We’re pretty sure you won’t be satisfied with a simple “Yes, you can drink Ensure while pregnant!” When you’re pregnant for the first time (or second, or third…), you’re guaranteed to start double-checking everything you consume because you want to make sure you’re doing everything you can to keep your baby happy and healthy.
With that on our minds, we have to start the Ensure discussion by brushing over what Ensure drinks are. Ensure drinks are ready-to-drink supplements, packed with vitamins and minerals without the added dietary fiber.
Ensure’s parent company, Abbott Nutrition, possesses hundreds of years-long history of trusted, science-based nutrition which attests to the fact that Ensure drinks are some of the most popular supplements out there.
Ensure drinks offer numerous options contained within two categories – complete, balanced nutrition products that provide thought-out and proportioned macronutrients, vitamins, and minerals and targeted nutrition products that provide more significant quantities of protein and lower amounts of sugar.
You can also choose between prepared drink beverages or nutritional powders. But, can you drink Ensure while pregnant without experiencing serious ramifications?
Can you drink Ensure while pregnant?
First things first, you can drink Ensure while pregnant. Sure, there are women who might not need the added nutrients or might not respond that great to some of the vitamins and minerals contained within Ensure.
However, other than a few exceptions, most women can drink Ensure while pregnant without fear of harming the baby. Considering the fact Ensure’s a trusted brand, you can get Ensure drinks and powders at both hospitals and nursing homes.
To make matters even better, Ensure’s been approved by the FDA which gives the brand even more grounds to stand on. Now, Ensure drinks should only be consumed as a supplement rather than a primary source of nutrients.
Ensure drinks can be advantageous for women suffering from morning sickness and other pregnancy symptoms that might prevent them to consume the foods that offer them the most nutrients, too. Other than that, Ensure drinks offer a bunch of other benefits you can check out down below.
What are the benefits of drinking Ensure while pregnant?
1. Ensure can help you meet your nutritional requirements during pregnancy
Most moms-to-be wonder whether they can drink Ensure while pregnant because they’re unable to consume enough vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients to meet the nutritional requirements.
Whether that’s because they’re experiencing morning sickness or because they’re having a hard time consuming enough calories, most pregnant women end up needing supplements.
And, what better way to ensure you take your supplements than to make them as delicious as Ensure? When you get the green light from your doctor, you can turn to Ensure to help you meet your nutritional requirement during pregnancy.
2. Ensure can fight off (or ease) your morning sickness
Now, Ensure won’t make your morning sickness go away. But, when you’re unable to consume healthy foods and keep your vitamins and minerals up to par because you’re throwing up or fighting the urge to throw up, you can turn to Ensure.
Most women experience the urge to throw up when they try to consume protein such as meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products. Protein’s one of the most common nutrients required for pregnant women, and that’s why protein shakes such as Ensure make things easier for pregnant women.
Don’t shy away from asking your doctor about these types of protein shakes to make sure you’re eating healthy during your pregnancy.
3. Ensure can help you gain weight during the pregnancy
Maybe you’re wondering if you can drink Ensure while pregnant because you’re trying to figure out whether you can achieve the recommended weight with the assistance of Ensure drinks.
Maybe you started eating much healthier when you found out you were pregnant which caused weight loss rather than weight gain. Or, perhaps you started experiencing morning sickness and found yourself struggling to consume enough calories.
Whatever the case might be, with the green light from your doctor, Ensure can help you gain weight during pregnancy by bringing up your daily calorie intake.
What are the drawbacks of drinking Ensure while pregnant?
1. Ensure can provide you with too many vitamins
There’s always the other side of the coin we need to consider before we start eating and drinking everything the world wide web tells us to. First things first, Ensure’s packed with vitamins, minerals, and nutrients you might not even need.
When you’re eating healthy, balanced meals, taking your prenatal vitamins, and drinking enough water, you’re already doing everything you need to do to ensure your baby’s proper development.
Drinking Ensure on top of everything else you’re consuming might cause more damage than good (too much Iron can cause diabetes, too much Vitamin A can cause birth defects, etc.)
2. Ensure can contain caffeine
Now, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends that pregnant women limit their caffeine consumption to less than 200 mg (about two, six-ounce cups) per day.
While that doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to drink caffeine at all, it doesn’t limit the amount of caffeine you should drink on a daily. Certain Ensure drinks contain caffeine (Ensure Max, for example, contains a whopping 100 mg of caffeine which equates to an average cup of coffee).
When you’re trying to keep your caffeine levels down, you might want to reduce the number of Ensure drinks you have on a daily (or skip them altogether).
3. Ensure can’t replace regular meals
Of course, we can’t forget to underline the fact that Ensure can’t replace regular meals. Actually, some pregnant women have been known to resort to protein shakes, protein drinks, and products similar to Ensure to keep their weight down during pregnancy.
Needless to say, doing that can harm the baby (and you) which means you should, under no circumstances, drink Ensure rather than eat a healthy, balanced meal. With the approval of your doctor, you can drink Ensure to keep your vitamins and minerals up to par, but you can’t drink Ensure to avoid eating lunch.
What are the best Ensure products to drink while pregnant?
Now that you know whether you can drink Ensure while pregnant, we can move on to one of the other most common questions among pregnant women. What are the best Ensure products to drink during pregnancy, with the green light from your doctor?
Ensure offers a bunch of options, depending on your nutritional requirements, deficiencies, needs, and wants. Whether you’re searching for a complete, balanced product or a targeted product, Ensure’s got your back!
We suggest choosing between Ensure Original, Ensure Plus, Ensure Complete for a complete product, and Ensure Max Protein, Ensure High Protein, and Ensure Plant-Based Protein for a targeted product.
Whatever you decide to go with, don’t forget to check with your doctor whether that’s the right product for you. Good luck!
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