A Closer Look at Nutritional Needs During Pregnancy

By: Krista Maas de Villiers, BSC Dietietics 

Pregnancy is one of the most nutritionally demanding times in a woman’s life. As your body works overtime to grow a baby, your need for key nutrients dramatically increases. But not all prenatal vitamins are created equal—how you meet those needs matters just as much as what you take. In this story, we’ll unpack how real food-based prenatal vitamins can help stabilize blood sugar, reduce the risk of gestational diabetes, and improve nutrient absorption. Let’s explore why a more bioavailable, food-first approach like Nunona’s Mama Bites can make all the difference.

Why Pregnancy Increases Your Nutritional Needs

From the moment of conception, your body begins a complex process of building new tissues, organs, and systems for your growing baby. This biological transformation demands higher levels of key nutrients such as folate, iron, choline, calcium, and magnesium. For example:

• Folate is essential for preventing neural tube defects during early fetal development1.

• Iron supports increased blood volume and oxygen delivery to the fetus2.

• Choline plays a key role in brain development and placental function3.

• Magnesium and calcium contribute to bone development and muscle function4.

But nutritional needs extend beyond just physical development. Blood sugar fluctuations are common during pregnancy, and many women are at risk for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM)—a condition that affects up to 10% of pregnancies in the U.S. 5. Managing blood sugar through balanced, nutrient-dense meals and snacks becomes essential—not only for preventing complications, but also for supporting steady energy and mood throughout the day.

Synthetic Prenatal Pills vs. Real Food: What’s the Difference?

The standard approach to prenatal nutrition has long been a once-daily synthetic pill. But here's the issue: synthetic vitamins often lack the co-factors and enzymes present in whole foods that aid in absorption. Your body may only absorb a fraction of what’s in those pills, and they can also cause unpleasant side effects like nausea, constipation, and bloating6.

Whole food-based options, on the other hand, contain nutrients in their most natural, recognizable forms—often with better absorption and fewer side effects. When nutrients come from food, your body knows exactly what to do with them.

The Nunona Difference: Blood Sugar Support and Gestational Diabetes Prevention

One of the biggest advantages of Nunona’s Mama Bites over traditional prenatals is its ability to stabilize blood sugar. Each serving contains not only essential micronutrients, but also protein, fiber, and healthy fats—the nutrients proven to blunt post-meal glucose spikes7. This is especially important for pregnant people trying to avoid or manage gestational diabetes.

Stable blood sugar supports:

• Reduced cravings and energy crashes

• Better sleep and mood stability

• Lower risk of insulin resistance and GDM8

Unlike synthetic pills that must be taken on an empty stomach (and often worsen nausea), Nunona is a functional food you can eat any time of day—making it easier to build a nourishing, sustainable routine.

Why Bioavailability Matters More Than Ever During Pregnancy

Let’s talk about bioavailability—the proportion of a nutrient your body can absorb and use. Synthetic nutrients like folic acid or isolated iron salts often have lower bioavailability and a higher likelihood of gastrointestinal side effects9. For example, folic acid must first be converted by the liver into its active form (5-MTHF) before it can be used—something many people genetically struggle to do10.

In contrast, nutrients from real food come pre-packaged with the enzymes, antioxidants, and phytonutrients that aid in digestion and absorption. Nunona’s bites include whole food sources of these critical nutrients, delivering what your body needs in a form it actually recognizes.

Making Prenatal Nutrition Easy, Delicious, and Impactful

Let’s face it—taking care of yourself during pregnancy is hard enough. Your prenatal vitamin shouldn’t add to the stress. Nunona’s Mama Bites are crafted from real, organic foods and deliver the nutrients you need in a format that actually nourishes your body.

Instead of reaching for a hard-to-swallow pill, enjoy a nutrient-dense bite that provides:

• The most nutritionally comprehensive prenatal supplement with 27+ bioavailable micronutrients at doses optimised for pregnancy

• The equivalent of 12 servings of fruits and vegetables

• Gentle-on-the-stomach iron and folate in bioavailable forms

• Balanced macros to support blood sugar and energy

• A delicious, snackable alternative that fits into real life

Your nutrition during pregnancy should be as dynamic and intelligent as your body is. With Nunona, it finally can be.

References

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Folic Acid. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/folicacid/index.html. Accessed March 2025.

2. Institute of Medicine. Iron Deficiency Anemia: Reexamining the Nature and Magnitude of the Public Health Problem. National Academies Press; 1993.

3. Caudill MA. Pre- and postnatal health: Evidence of increased choline needs. J Am Diet Assoc. 2010;110(8):1198–1206.

4. Kaiser L, Allen LH. Position of the American Dietetic Association: Nutrition and lifestyle for a healthy pregnancy outcome. J Am Diet Assoc. 2008;108(3):553-561.

5. American Diabetes Association. 2. Classification and diagnosis of diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2017;40(Suppl 1):S11-S24.

6. Ashfield-Watt PA. Folate, homocysteine, and cardiovascular disease: potential implications for folic acid fortification policies. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2005;59(1):1–17.

7. Jenkins DJ, et al. Effect of a low-glycemic index or a high-cereal fiber diet on type 2 diabetes: a randomized trial. JAMA. 2008;300(23):2742–2753.

8. Landon MB, et al. A multicenter, randomized trial of treatment for mild gestational diabetes. N Engl J Med. 2009;361(14):1339–1348.

9. Allen LH. Causes of vitamin B12 and folate deficiency. Food Nutr Bull. 2008;29(2 Suppl):S20–S34.

10. Bailey SW, Ayling JE. The extremely slow and variable activity of dihydrofolate reductase in human liver and its implications for high folic acid intake. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009;106(36):15424–15429.