Superior, high-quality
nutrition since 2002.
Got a question for us? We’ve got answers!
Our wonderful staff field hundreds of questions a month from doctors and patients. For your convenience, we’ve put together a list of a few of the questions we hear most. If you don’t see your question here, just go ahead and contact us.
We’re always happy to hear from you!
Prescription prenatal vitamins such as TriCare DHA ONE® with Folate are able to include more of the key ingredient folic acid (necessary for the prevention of neural tube defects such as spina bifida) than over-the-counter prenatals. Also, prescription prenatals are subject to greater FDA oversight than over-the-counter prenatals. Finally, prescription prenatals typically utilize the optimum forms of the ingredients they contain, while this is not always the case for over-the-counter prenatals.
Fish-based DHA utilizes the natural food chain for concentration. This is much more efficient and economical than the concentration processing applied to plant-based DHA, so we are able to produce a single piece softgel that is smaller than prenatals with plant-based DHA. While contaminants may be present in the fish that are sources of DHA, our enhanced purification process ensures that these are reduced to levels at or below detection limits.
DHA plays a very important role in the development of your baby’s nervous system. DHA supplementation during pregnancy can decrease the risk of premature labor, and it appears to reduce the risk of postpartum depression. EPA is another essential fatty acid with important functions in the body. It is a good idea to have EPA along with DHA in a prenatal vitamin, as some DHA will be broken down to form EPA when EPA levels are low.
Calcium blocks the absorption of iron, a mineral important for all pregnant women and their babies. Obtaining a sufficient amount of iron during pregnancy is essential to the health of both you and your developing baby. Also, prenatals that include calcium have less than 20% of the recommended daily amount needed during pregnancy, so 80% or more of the calcium requirement must be obtained from other sources. Learn more here more about calcium benefits to pregnancy, foods that are a good source of calcium and more detail of why there is no calcium in TriCare Prenatal™ DHA ONE® with Folate.
We know that many women experience constipation while pregnant and therefore our Prenatals contain a stool softener in order to discourage unnecessary pregnancy discomfort. We have done everything possible in the development of this revolutionary prenatal vitamin to ensure only the best for both you and your baby.
No, as long as it is taken with food. The vitamins and minerals in DHA ONE® with Folate are the highest quality available, and are forms specifically selected to reduce irritation and possible nausea. Also, we have included vitamin B-6 in DHA ONE® with Folate. Vitamin B-6 helps control nausea during pregnancy. Finally, our ultra-purified DHA means no fishy aftertaste that might contribute to nausea.
TriCare Prenatal™ DHA ONE® with Folate is superior to other prenatal vitamins in that it is a once daily, small, easy-to-swallow softgel that provides nutrients essential to the well-being of you and your baby. The ultra-purified DHA in our product means that it is virtually free of the contaminants that may be found in fatty fish with no fishy aftertaste. On top of this, TriCare Prenatal™ DHA ONE® with Folate incorporates a stool softener to help you avoid the constipation issues that can arise during pregnancy. We have intentionally kept calcium out of our formula, as calcium blocks the absorption of iron, an essential mineral for all pregnant women and their babies. We are also one of the few prescription prenatals that include biotin and iodine in our formula, an essential vitamin for tissue growth and brain development.
The most important co-factors are Magnesium, Vitamin K, Zinc, Boron and Vitamin A.
Vitamins and minerals in your body are interconnected. Other vitamins and minerals that help Vitamin D work better are called co-factors.
Your physician may prescribe intravenous fluids and medications, such as corticosteroids or bisphosphonates.
Symptoms of too much Vitamin D can include nausea, poor appetite, frequent urination, weakness and kidney problems. If you experience these symptoms when taking Vitamin D, you should stop immediately and consult your physician.
Everyone taking high doses of Vitamin D should be under the care and supervision of a physician. A blood test can be administered by your physician to measure your 25(OH) D levels. If your 25(OH) D levels are above 150 ng/ ml then this is considered to be potentially toxic. A blood test to measure calcium can also measure 25(OH) D levels. If your calcium levels are high and 25(OH) D is high, then you may be getting too much Vitamin D.
Vitamin D toxicity, also called hypervitaminosis D, is a rare but potentially serious condition that occurs when you have excessive amounts of Vitamin D in your body. Toxicity from Vitamin D is more likely to develop if you take 50,000 IU per day for 2 months or more or 300,000 IU in a single day.
Low levels of Vitamin D have been associated with gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia and small infants. There has also been a correlation between Vitamin D deficiency and pre-term birth. Pregnant women who take adequate amounts of Vitamin D during gestation may also experience positive immune effects.
Dietary supplements sold over-the-counter do not require FDA approval. OTC supplements often have inaccurate labeling; it’s not uncommon for a dietary supplement to have vastly different amounts of an ingredient than listed, or have unlisted contaminants. Taking a prescription-grade supplement such as Decara helps ensure that you’re actually getting what you need.
According to the CDC, 33% of Americans have vitamin D levels below sufficiency.1 The definition of sufficiency used by the CDC only takes into consideration vitamin D’s effects on bone health, not the wide range of other elements of good health we now suspect vitamin D to influence. Vitamin D receptors are found to exist in most tissues throughout the human body and research has suggested a relationship between vitamin D and the immune system, cognitive health, hair retention, depression, cancer, and much more.
Some research suggests that vitamin D3 is far more potent than vitamin D2 in humans; we know that there are differences in their potency in other animals. However, the relative potency has not be definitively proven. Vitamin D2 was only added to the human diet in the 1930s, when it was discovered that scientists could easily make this form from plants and fungi. Without enough research on the metabolism of both forms of vitamin D, we believe that the best form of vitamin D is the one our ancestors produced and consumed for millennia.
We are not allowed to give medical advice. However, we can point you to the IOM’s recommendations (600IU/day) and the Endocrine Society’s Clinical Guidelines (2000IU/day).
It is imperative that the scripts states “Brand Necessary” and that the doctor list Decara and vitamin D3 specifically. Many doctors only write “vitamin D” or fail to write “Brand Necessary,” resulting in pharmacists using other products to fill the script.
The vitamin D3, or cholecalciferol, in Decara is not sulfated. Cholecalciferol is used to treat vitamin D deficiency and especially the resultant bone demineralization. Vitamin D sulfate has no known medical use.
As far as we are aware, no ingredients in either Decara 25,000IU or Decara 50,000IU are religiously prohibited, except potentially during Passover. Decara contains soya (soy bean) oil, which may be avoided by Jews during Passover. Our gelatin, however, is bovine (from beef) and not sourced from pork.
Unfortunately, we currently do not offer a Decara product that is GMO-free.
We offer Decara 25,000IU vegicaps for patients who do not wish to consume anything produced from the death of an animal. The Vegicaps® capsules are specifically formulated by Catalent to be free of animal products. However, Decara sources its vitamin D from lanolin, an oil obtained from sheep’s wool. As far as we know, there is currently no high-potency, prescription-grade vitamin D3 product that is vegan. Decara may be suitable for some vegetarians.
Decara 50,000IU softgels have gelatin sourced from beef.
Decara 25,000IU vegicaps use carrageenan, a common food additive derived from red seaweed.