The Non-GMO, Lemony Prenatal Vitamin With No Shady Additives

Before you stop reading this because you’re not pregnant &/or not planning on pregnancy any time soon, HOLD UP. You can totally take a prenatal when you are NOT pregnant & I’m here to tell you why you should look into it.

I MEAN, let’s face it, who doesn’t want to feel their best all while getting 12 key nutrients in? LIKKKKKE sign me up. AND no, I don’t have pregnancy brain ( well I do- but like not at this exact moment ), you can take prenatals when you’re thinking, trying, & when you’re actually pregnant. We’ll get to that- you just wait.

If you’re an avid TSC Him & Her Podcast listener, you know that I’ve been taking Ritual Essentials For Women multivitamin for a year & a half. You can find this chic-ass bottle right next to my copper tongue scraper so I remember to take it every day. Basically having 12 key nutrients you need in 2 pills a day is so ideal, especially when traveling. For travel I like to keep mine in a cute pink pill case. EASY.

Anyway, this pregnancy came as a surprise to me & Michael so I wasn’t on the prenatal when I found out I was pregnant. But the second, & I mean THE SECOND, I found out, I hopped on board with the Ritual Prenatal. I just went for it because I know that the nutrients in this vitamin were VERY well-researched.

Now, if you’re pregnant & going to tell me that you’ll get nauseous from this, don’t worry. Ritual’s Prenatal has a no-nausea capsule design, no added colors or synthetic fillers, it is also gluten & allergen-free. This won’t make you want to upchuck your buttery sourdough toast if you know what I mean.

I like to take this prenatal every day, two after I’ve eaten breakfast if we’re getting specific. So who exactly is this prenatal for? It could be taken pre-pregnancy, or for someone like me who started to take them in the first trimester ( I found out at 7 weeks so that’s when I started taking it ), or to just help support your health.

During the first trimester, the folate in the prenatal helps support neural tube development & also contributes to brain development in the CRITICAL 28 days after conceiving.*

During the 2nd trimester, the nutrients in the Essential Prenatal vitamin helps support pregnancy. And during the 3rd trimester, the nutrients help support mother & baby.*

Ultimately, I’m just a big fan of Ritual because I respect the way they do their research. Just to give you every specific, I’ve actually spoken on a panel with the founder of Ritual, Katerina Schneider, & learned all about the vitamins. Each batch is checked for identity & composition. They even use a 3rd party to test each batch for contaminants.

A little back story on Katerina for ya: Katerina Schneider created Ritual after she became pregnant & felt that there were no prenatals she could trust. In response, she’s decided to create a company that will help women feel better and is transparent about where their resources come from. (via)

Not to mention she started Ritual when she was 4 months pregnant & has a degree in applied mathematics & economics from Brown University. No big deal. IMPRESSIVE !

Anyway, back to why I’m a fan…the website is so good too. It’s clear, streamlined, & easy to read. No BS or hidden weirdness. It’s all straight to the point & their branding is on point. It’s backed by science, chic, but subtle & you’ll want their bottle of multivitamins on your vanity.

So let’s break down the 12 nutrients in Ritual’s Prenatal…

Ritual Prenatal Nutrients:

 ♡ Folate
Methylated 4th generation Folate from Pisticci, Italy (1700 mcg DFE- 1000 mcg)
Supports red blood cell formation & brain health.*

♡ Omega-3
Vegan DHA from microalgae from Saskatoon, Canada (350 mg)
Supports brain & heart health.*

♡ Vitamin B12
Methylated B12 from Bridgeport, Connecticut (8 mcg)
This is especially my favorite because it contributes to energy-yielding metabolism & normal cell division.*

♡ Choline
Nature-identical Choline from Verona, Missouri (55 mg)
Helps support brain health.*

♡ Iodine
USP-grade potassium iodide from Ogden, Utah (150 mcg)
Thyroid support, please & thank you.*

♡ Biotin
USP-grade, active Biotin from Bridgeport, Connecticut (300 mcg)
Fuck yes, load me up on this shit. It contributes to normal gene expression.

♡ Vitamin D3
Vegan-certified D3 from lichen from Nottingham UK (50 mcg – 2000 IU)

♡ Iron
Gentle, ferrous bisglycinate chelate from Ogden, Utah (18 mg)
Especially important when you’re pregnant. Supports energy-yielding metabolism & is blood-building.

♡ Boron
Food-form Boron from Momence, Illinois (1mg)

♡ Vitamin E
From mixed tocopherols from Buenos Aires, Argentina (6.7 mg – 10 IU )
For antioxidant support.*

♡ Vitamin K2
Pure, non-soy form of K2MK7 from Oslo Norway (90 mcg)

♡ Magnesium
Chelated form of Magnesium from Ogden, Utah (30 mg)
This one is important guys. Helps support cell division & bone health, among other things.*

Let’s get real though, another reason I love Ritual is that it saves you time. I’ve talked about TIME a lot, but if you need a little refresher: I like to spend my money on time. This means Postmates, Uber so I can work in the back seat, hair & makeup so I can work while it’s happening, I EVEN order groceries from Thrive Market, you get it.

So the fact that Ritual’s Prenatal gets delivered straight to your door for $35 a month, in a cute little Instagrammy box, with no shady ingredients is efficient. Just some good, clean little pills straight to your door. I mean, what’s better?

I should mention the taste is lemony which is so much better than that nasty-rat chalky vitamin that gets stuck in your throat. Now that I’m pregnant I’m really focussed on growing a baby & making sure I’m supporting her development. Getting a prenatal ASAP was one of the most important things on my list.

Also you can use it on your S.O. Let me set the scene:

Perhaps I’m in bed & want a warm dark chocolate chip cookie or double fudge brownie from upstairs, or maybe even a nice cup of mushroom cacao. I roll over with my huge ass belly & say to Michael, “oh shit I forgot to take my prenatal today. It’s upstairs, can you go get it for me? & while you’re up there can you grab me a brownie that you put in the microwave for 30 seconds & water with ice & a silicone straw? “

He has to do it because it’s for the baby.

What can he say? I mean, you need your prenatal.

This is precisely why I keep one bottle by my toothbrush & one upstairs, just in case I want a brownie. I actually do this every night. No really, I’m serious.

( It also helps that Michael doesn’t want me walking up & down the stairs in the dark too much. I’ll have to think of something else creative like this when the baby comes ).

SO! If you are on the hunt for a bombass prenatal vitamin- this is the one for you. I can’t say enough good things about this vitamin. It’s easy to take & easy to digest. A lot of you DM’d about what prenatal I take & this is it. Most importantly, like I said, it’s not going to get caught in your throat with all this chalky whiteness. Gross. Head over to Ritual to try it out for yourself!

K, now I’m craving a warm dark chocolate chip cookie so I G2G. For any moms out there, I’d love to know your prenatal experience, give me the details.

& for those of you who aren’t pregnant, do you take prenatals? How do you feel? It’s a major difference for me!

Talk soon, x, lauryn

+ check out the pregnancy pillow you need

++ stalk all the details on Ritual Essentials for Women vitamins here.

* this post is in collaboration with Ritual. as always, all opinions are my own.

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