Perelel Health, The OB/GYN Founded Prenatal + Fertility Supplement Line

 

Can you tell me a little bit about what prompted you to start Perelel Health and what gap it was seeking to fill?

It all started in 2018 when two Los Angeles women, Alex Taylor and Victoria
Thain Gioia, found themselves pregnant and frustrated with their prenatal
vitamins.

When Alex and Victoria learned that they were both going through a similar
experience with their prenatals, they decided to dig deeper. They discovered that
there was essentially no regulation in the prenatal industry, no specifications
around the ingredients included, and perhaps worst of all, little information as to
what should even be in a prenatal. What was even more surprising was that this
applied to the entire category of vitamins, too. Turns out, timing is critical in
nutrition—not only during pregnancy, but other stages of a woman's reproductive lifecycle, too.

Most vitamins use a one-size-fits-all approach to prenatal nutrition that fails to
deliver targeted nutrients for each unique stage of a woman’s hormonal lifecycle.

Victoria and Alex teamed up with Dr. Banafsheh Bayati, who joined as Medical
Co-Founder, to run point on formulation and medical community relations. Alex
and Victoria knew firsthand the importance of OBs at this time, so they wanted to
give women access to the best. Dr. Bayati helped pull together a team of leading
multidisciplinary doctors and practitioners in women's health - across both
western and eastern medicine. These experts inform all of our products and
power all of our educational content.

Perelel is the first and only OB/GYN-founded vitamin brand offering clean,
targeted nutrition for each distinct stage of a woman’s reproductive life cycle.
Using only high-quality ingredients in the most bioavailable formats, formulations
are informed by the latest medical research coupled with the proprietary insights
Perelel’s founding team of doctors have gleaned from their active clinical experience. With Perelel, women can rest-assured that they’re getting exactly
what they need, when they need it most, from the experts who know best.

 

Alex Taylor and Victoria (Tori) Thain Gioia, cofounders of Perelel

I always tell my clients and friends to look for L-5 methylfolate in their prenatal, and not to take one with folic acid. Can you tell me about the difference between folic acid and L-5 methylfolate, and both proven and possible complications that folic acid may cause?

Although they sound similar, folate and folic acid are not one in the same.
Folate refers to the water soluble vitamin in its natural or methylated form,
which is the most bioavailable for our bodies. Folic acid is the synthetic
version which requires processing by the body to become active and
available for absorption. Given how vital folate is to an early stage pregnancy
and that up to 60% of women are unable to effectively process folic acid, we
use a methylated folate, which is easily absorbed by the body requiring no
added processes for your body or your liver. One of our panel members, Dr.
Amber Samuel, a Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist, has shared this insight
and research with us for when this question comes up: "Folic acid being less
expensive and synthetic lead to the terms folate and folic acid being
interchangeable, but science shows us that the end result and goal are the
body having additional folate building blocks. We know that while everyone
has to convert folic acid for it to be useful (an added step decreasing
bioavailability) some women cannot due to MTHFR mutations. The Perelel
source of L-5 methylfolate is the same as folic acid and more bioavailable as
seen in many studies.”

(Note from Lauren: for possible folic acid and pregnancy complications, see this quote from Dr. Mark Hyman: Up to 60% of the population has a variation to their MTHFR gene, making it difficult to process the synthetic form of folate, known as folic acid. This can make supplements that contain the synthetic form dangerous for people with this variation. Women need folate for healthy ovulation and egg development. Folate can help prevent miscarriages, spinal cord injuries, and fetal brain injuries (9). Look for a prenatal that contains folate (might also be listed as L-methylfolate, L-5-MTHF, or 5-methyl-folate).)

Image from functionalnutritionanswers.com, see their article here

I love that you separate conception, 1st trimester, 2nd trimester, 3rd trimester, and postpartum. Can you tell us about how you tailored the supplements for each stage of motherhood?

Our medical co-founder, Dr. Bayati, formulated our products utilizing her many
years of clinical experience and the latest research to make sure all of your needs are covered in each trimester! Most prenatals use a one-size-fits-all approach to
prenatal nutrition that fails to deliver nutrients targeted for each unique stage.
Instead, we created daily vitamin packs that include not only your daily prenatal
vitamin that other brands provide, but also a high quality omega, and two
targeted supplements for your exact stage -- saving you both money and time
finding all of the different supplements to support you at each phase.

One book we’ve sold a lot of is the Better Baby Book by Dave and Lana Asprey. That was the first time I learned about the importance of the man’s role in the fertility process. Can you tell us about the importance of men's health and his supplementation during the fertility process?

Our goal with this product is to raise awareness about the importance of approaching fertility and parenthood as a true team effort while showing the ways in which men can play an active role by caring for themselves and, in turn, support their fertility outcomes and their nutrition as fathers. After all, fertility is 50/50 and according to the CDC, almost half of infertility is attributed to the male factor, but so much of the pressure falls on the woman alone.

Our Men’s Multi Support daily packs were formulated by one of the nation’s
leading men's fertility & health experts, Dr. Brian Levine, MD, MS, FACOG. Every ingredient is backed by research and targeted to ensure full-spectrum nutrition while also supporting fertility. Dr. Brian Levine is the founding partner and practice director of CCRM New York. He has many years of experience in IVF treatment, IUI treatment, PCOS treatment, gestational surrogacy, LGBTQ reproduction, and many other areas. He is board-certified in both reproductive endocrinology and infertility and obstetrics and gynecology. Brian Levine, M.D., leads the industry in normalizing open dialogue about infertility— a medical condition affecting 1 in 8 couples— and educates prospective parents on a national level.

 So many women struggle with PCOS because of diet, stress, and lifestyle. I was so excited to see Perelel address this condition in this comprehensive supplement. Can you tell us a little bit about how this supplement tackles PCOS?

Our medical co-founder, Dr. Bayati, and team of experts created our PCOS
Support to be a comprehensive formula to help manage the symptoms associated with PCOS. Perelel’s PCOS Support is one of the few products on the market that uses the optimal Myo-inositol to D-chiro-inositol ratio for restoring ovulation, according to research. Additionally, it includes Berberine for healthy blood glucose regulation, DIM for health estrogen metabolism and Alpha Lipoic Acid for supporting menstrual cycles and healthy ovulation.

Can you talk to us about PCOS and fertility?

PCOS can be a cause of infertility given lack of regular ovulation. To start, diet and
exercise changes can bring about an improvement in ovulatory cycles and allow for
spontaneous pregnancy. At times, oral medication can be used to improve ovulation or induce ovulation.