You might have heard that taking prenatal vitamins can benefit your hair--making it grow faster and thicker--and clear your complexion. Unfortunately, there's no truth to these claims; prenatal vitamins don't give you lush locks or glowing skin. If you're pregnant, however, they can help ensure that you get the nutrients you and your fetus need.
Vitamin Myths
Your skin and hair are parts of your integumentary system, which consists of the skin and its accessory organs. While maintaining the health of the skin and hair does require that you consume adequate quantities of vitamins--all body systems require proper nutrition to thrive and operate properly--extra vitamins above and beyond your daily requirements won't "supercharge" your skin, hair or other organs. As such, as long as you're eating a healthy, balanced diet, no vitamins--prenatal or otherwise--will make your hair grow faster or your skin glow.
Prenatal Vitamins
Prenatal vitamins aren't actually much different from regular daily multivitamins. They contain the same basic micronutrients--vitamins and minerals--but some are present in larger amounts than you'd find in a women's daily multivitamin. Drs. Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz note in their book "You: Having a Baby" that prenatals are particularly high in folic acid, which your fetus uses to form the brain and spinal cord, and iron, which helps increase blood volume.
Misconceptions
That prenatal vitamins are particularly beneficial to skin and hair is a misconception that comes from the fact that pregnant women--a population who often take prenatal vitamins--typically have great skin and hair. This isn't a result of the vitamins, however; instead, it's an effect of pregnancy hormones, which increase blood flow to the skin, explain Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel in their book "What to Expect When You're Expecting." You can't recreate the effect of pregnancy hormones with prenatal vitamins.
Vitamin Recommendations
While it's completely reasonable to want to take a daily multivitamin, particularly if you're worried you're not getting enough vitamins and minerals from food alone, you won't benefit from a prenatal vitamin unless you're pregnant, breastfeeding or actively trying to conceive. In fact, prenatals are quite expensive and are most likely just a waste of money unless you truly need them. Regardless, while they won't benefit you, they won't hurt you either--provided you're healthy--explains dietician Katherine Zeratsky on the Mayo Clinic's website.
References
- "You: Having a Baby"; Michael Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet Oz, M.D.; 2009
- "What to Expect When You're Expecting"; Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel; 2008
- Mayo Clinic: Prenatal Vitamins
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