If you are seeking help to get pregnant you may be feeling a little overwhelmed and confused by the amount of information available on which vitamins and minerals to take. That they are vital in achieving our goal of a heathy baby however, there is no doubt. In many of the books giving advice on how to get pregnant a high quality "preconception care" product is recommended that contains higher than normal dosages of "certain minerals". But which product should be chosen?

Zinc deficiency is cited as being strongly linked to infertility and so checking you have the right levels of zinc is also recommended by many pregnancy experts to help to get pregnant. Pyrroloquinoline quinone or (PPQ), a recently discovered vitamin, has been linked to having a role in fertility. The research however was carried out on PPQ-deprived mice and, since humans and mice have vastly different pregnancy mechanisms,it is thought now that there is no definitive evidence that PPQ can help to get pregnant.

It is my opinion however that the vitmains and minerals needed not only to help to get pregnant but to have a healthy pregnancy are mainly found in adequate supply in a balanced diet.

Eating a balanced diet before pregnancy means that your body has all the stores of vitamins and minerals it needs to help to get pregnant, carry a baby to full term and produce a beautiful baby. A nutritious, well-balanced diet that will help to get pregnant includes:

-plenty of fruit and vegetables (at least five portions per day), which provide vitamins and fibre.
-starchy foods such as potatoes and whole grain cereals, bread and pasta-protein such as lean meat, fish and pulses
-dairy foods such as milk and yoghurt, which supply calcium.

It is best to limit your intake of sugary, salty and fatty foods.

There are certain foods that you should not eat pre-pregnancy because they may make you ill or harm the baby if you were to fall pregnant. This includes unpasteurised dairy products, liver and large quantites of vitamin A such as fish liver oils, unpasteurised dairy products, raw or soft cooked eggs, pates, soft cheeses such as Brie or Camembert, blue cheeses such as stilton or roquefort, swordfish, marlin or shark, any more than two tuna steaks (170g raw) or four tins of tuna (140g drained) per week.

Folic acid, although it will not directly help to get pregnant, is the ONLY pre-pregnancy vitamin I would recommend for women who are eating a balanced diet. You need adeaquate amounts of folic acid to reduce the risk of your baby being born with a neural tube defect such as spina bifida. It is important that you start to take folic as soon as you start trying for a baby. The recommended dose is 400 micrograms (0.4 mg) daily in addition to the recommended intake of 200 micrograms (0.2mg) in your diet. Good sources of folic acid include dark green, fresh vegetables such as broccoli, peas, brussels sprouts and chick peas. Many breakfast cereals are fortified with folic acid and it is also found in wholemeal bread.

The aim of this article has ben to show that the vitamins and minerals that help to get pregnant and make for a healthy pregnancy are found in a balanced diet. This has hopefully taken away the confusion surrounding which vitamins and minerals to take. The only pre-pregnancy supplement needed is folic acid, not so much for it's help to get pregnant but for the reduction in neural tube deficiencies it affords to the babies of those who take it.