Good nutrition is essential for every stage of your baby’s growth and development. But the efficiency with which your body metabolizes nutrients is partly determined by your genes, and common genetic variants can affect the metabolism of one-carbon nutrients that are critical for the development of your child’s brain and spinal cord. Genate Essential Prenatal Nutrition is a multivitamin formulated from academic research that provides women with a formulation optimized to support their baby’s cognitive development. It includes the one-carbon nutrients choline, betaine, methylfolate, and B vitamins that many women have trouble metabolizing and/or don’t get enough of in their diet.
PRENATALS
Do Prenatal Nutrition Brands Really Know You?
MAY 6, 2024
Every prenatal nutrition brand says their product is made just for you—but the reality is that they’re making the same product for everyone. This should have you concerned because different people have different nutritional needs, especially during pregnancy. Your genetics can affect how you metabolize nutrients, so you do need a nutrition plan created just for you. But is meeting your unique nutritional needs even possible?
It is now, thanks to a physician-founded prenatal nutrition company called Genate (pronounced Gee-nate). Genate is different because they base their supplements and nutrition recommendations on a first-in-class prenatal genetic test. The Genate Test helps you discover where your body has challenges making or processing the nutrients needed for a healthy pregnancy.
So you’re saying I need a genetic test to have a healthy pregnancy?
Not exactly. But a test like the one from Genate, designed just for pregnancy, can give you valuable information about how your genes are helping—or hurting—your body’s metabolism of the nutrients most important in pregnancy, such as folate, DHA, B vitamins, calcium, and iron. Genate also checks your metabolism of choline and betaine, two nutrients that research has found are just as important as folate and DHA for brain development.
If you have one or more of the common genetic variants (misspellings) that can affect nutrients important for your baby’s brain function, you’d probably want to know. How common are these variants? Researchers have found that up to 70% of women have a gene in their choline pathway “turned off,” affecting their ability to make choline. You may have also heard that variants in the MTHFR gene can affect your ability to use folic acid. Genate checks for that too, along with over 300 other gene variants that impact your and your baby’s nutrition status.
Discover the genetics that affect your baby's cognitive development
Think about it this way: Nutrition is the most valuable for your child’s future health in the first 1,000 days after conception (birth through the first two years of life). Their development will be directly impacted by the nutrition you provide them while you’re pregnant and breastfeeding. So if you knew you could make a simple diet change now that would greatly affect your kid’s life for years to come, wouldn’t you? Or fast forward several years. If you could shorten your child’s nightly homework sessions by changing your diet while you’re pregnant, would you do it? (From one parent to another, we think you would…)
How does the Genate Test work?
The test focuses on the nutrients most important for your baby’s cognitive development and DNA formation: choline, folate, omega-3 DHA, betaine, vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin K, riboflavin, iron, and magnesium. It’s a saliva-based test that you can take at home in minutes. Simply swab your mouth with the collection device and return your sample in the postage-paid box. Your sample is processed at their CLIA and CAP certified lab where your confidential results are interpreted by their prenatal nutrition algorithm.
After your test is processed, you’ll get secure online access to your Genate Report. It provides detailed information on your genetic variants along with recommendations for every nutrient checked by the test. The report also provides critical information in the event you need more specialized nutrients such as phosphatidylcholine and methylfolate. The report is comprehensive, with educational articles and a nutrition survey to help you understand where you can get the nutrients your body needs. And if you want help… just press a button to make an appointment with a registered dietitian. They’ll be happy to work with you to create a meal and supplement plan tailored to your unique genetic signature.
Does Genate offer nutrition products?
Yes! The Genate team is committed to helping you optimize your nutrition throughout pregnancy and breastfeeding, and their vision continues far beyond genetic testing. Genate has developed prenatal nutrition supplements based on over 30 years of NIH-funded clinical research, designed to supply critical nutrients in amounts that most other brands lack. Responding to the need for a better prenatal supplement to support common genetic challenges and provide the nutrients needed for optimal brain development in babies, Genate Prenatal Nutrition was born.
When you order the Genate Test and a monthly subscription of their Essential Prenatal multivitamin, the company will send you the first bottle free. That way, you don’t lose any time getting started.
We agree that subscriptions aren’t always worthwhile, but when you're pregnant they can be a lifesaver. Getting the Essential Prenatal monthly ensures your supplements arrive on schedule, without you having to remember to order each month. You also have the chance to customize your subscription so it meets your unique needs once your Genate Test results come back.
What's in it?
The Genate Essential Prenatal includes nutrients that other brands ignore. Higher levels of certain nutrients have been added, based on research and genetic insights, to make sure your needs are met when you’re pregnant and breastfeeding.
With a focus on nutrition for overall health and brain development, Genate Essential Prenatal provides 20 nutrients, a probiotic for gut health, and a whole foods antioxidant blend for immune support. Genate stands out with betaine, methylfolate, and 100% of the choline recommended during pregnancy. Most brands provide less than 25% of that amount. It’s also 100% vegan, gluten-free, and designed for optimal tolerance and absorption.
The verdict
Not every prenatal supplement is right for every woman. Genate kind of is. And that’s the point. At a time when every product is bending over backwards to tell you it’s designed just for you, Genate stands apart. Genate has finally done what every brand is aiming for—they’ve designed a prenatal program that empowers every woman to get the nutrition they need. Learn more about Genate genetic and nutrition products.
This article is not intended as medical advice to treat or diagnose any health condition but rather as educational health information for the general public. It should not be used as a substitute for individualized medical care from your healthcare provider.
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Comprehensive Prenatal Support Package
Genate Essential Prenatal Multivitamin + Advanced Omega-3 DHA + Phosphatidylcholine
Our most comprehensive bundle - you’ll receive our Essential Prenatal Multivitamin, Advanced Phosphatidylcholine, and Advanced Omega-3 DHA.
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Save 23% today!
Comprehensive Prenatal Support Package
Genate Essential Prenatal Multivitamin + Advanced Omega-3 DHA + Phosphatidylcholine
Our most comprehensive bundle - you’ll receive our Essential Prenatal Multivitamin, Advanced Phosphatidylcholine, and Advanced Omega-3 DHA.
From $110 per month
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are the benefits of my baby getting the proper nutrients?
What are one-carbon nutrients and fatty acids, and why are they important?
One-carbon nutrients and fatty acids are critical for brain and spinal cord development during pregnancy and through the first two years of life. Although all nutrients are important, the one-carbon nutrients choline, folate, betaine, and B vitamins, along with the omega-3 fat DHA, provide the building blocks for proper growth of your developing baby's brain. Research at Cornell and Harvard universities has shown cognitive benefits for children born to mothers who received increased levels of one-carbon nutrients during pregnancy, demonstrating that optimal nutrition during pregnancy can have lasting effects for your baby.
If I buy Genate nutrition supplements, do I still need to take the test?
Genetic testing is a personal choice, and only you can decide what’s best for you and your baby. But the Genate Test is a powerful tool for optimizing your nutrition status, as it identifies genetically-caused metabolic inefficiencies that may influence your body’ ability to make and use the nutrients critical for your baby’s cognitive development. If you have SNPs in any of the nutrient pathways tested, your Genate Report will provide personalized recommendations for optimizing your nutrition. Our registered dietitians can show you how to fill in the gaps with foods and supplementation, if needed, to make sure you’re getting the nutrition you and your baby need.
