Weddingbee boards

I'm a vegetarian and I take Rainbow Light.  I don't think there are vegetarian versions of DHA (I just looked up Buried Treasure and can't find anything saying it is vegetarian).  I believe all DHA supplements are made from fish oil.  I do put flax seed on my yogurt which is a good source of Omega 3's.  There is some research saying flax seed is not good for pregnancy though it seems like it is only a problem if you have it in excess.

I did a little more research and it looks like you can get algae-derived DHA supplements.  Apparently, the reason DHA is in fish oil is because they eat the algae.  Unfortunately, the ones linked above have gelatin in the capsule, but it does look like vegetarian DHA supplements are available. 

Rainbow Light and New Chapter are both great brands because they are trustworthy and whole foods based.  You can also get your essential fatty acids (DHA, EPA, EFA) from Udo's Oil Blend, which is completely vegetarian.  It comes in liquid and pill form.  It does have flax in it - the reason flax is not "recommended" is because there are no levels set for it.  But many pregnant and nursing women have taken it with success since it is a great vegetarian way to incorporate more of the essential fatty acids into your diet - which are really good for both you and the baby! 

Good luck!  I think you are on the right track!

They do make synthetic gelatin, but as far as I know, there is no way to tell from an ingredient list whether or not the gelatin in a product is synthetic so I just avoid it altogether.  If there is some indicator that I'm missing, I'd love to know about it!

@ andreaandchinelo - I saw that.  Unfortunately, that doesn't actually confirm that it is vegetarian.  Most DHA comes from fish oil and I couldn't find anything on Buried Treasure saying whether their DHA is fish oil or algae based.  Being yeast, gluten, dairy, and wheat free does not preclude them from including fish oil. 

I've been using Rainbow Light but I can't swallow those huge pills - blech - and they just crumble when I try to cut them up.  I'll be switching to the Buried Treasure liquid.  Thank you for starting this thread - it's great!

I take Rainbow Light and like them a lot.  They did not upset my stomach at all, like one random other veggie brand I found did.  My doctor checked and said they look great.  I also have trouble with the giant pills though, so I was chewing them, which, um, turns your teeth black!!  A dentist can easily get if off with that baking soda spray, and mine told me it was the iron in the pill (which would be true of any supplement with iron) so just brush your teeth immediately after taking it so the iron doesn't have time to interact with your enamel.  It has been many months now since that happened and quickly brushing after has prevented any black marks at all on my teeth.  Sorry, gross and random, but I couldn't find any info on it when it happened to me and flipped the hell out, so I figured I'd offer a warning :-)

For DHA, I (finally) found an algae-derived one with no gelatin:  http://www.mothernature.com/p/Vegetarian-DHA-90-soft-gels/192478.html?utm_source=frg&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=product&zmam=1000941&zmas=18&zmac=110&zmap=41313

It is kind of hard to find places where it is actually on sale, but it's called "Spectrum Vegetarian DHA Softgels" and my doctor gave them the thumbs up as well.

Has anyone tried NutraBella's BellyBar Chewable Prenatals? It doesn't say on the website that they are vegetarian, but they are kosher (what I was really looking for) which means if they have gelatin in them (which they might not), it would have to be fish-based.  The DHA is vegetarian, so I wonder if the product might be as well? 

I ordered some, but I am tired of choking on giant pills, swallowing a dozen tiny crush pieces and the liquid vitamins though better for swallowing smell just awful - so awful, I haven't even been able to convince myself to take them.