Treating Pre-eclampsia and Gestational Diabetes with the Brewer Diet
Can it really be done?
What is the Brewer diet?
Dr Tom Brewer discovered in the 1950s and 60s that pre-eclampsia has its foundation in malnutrition. By placing pregnant women on a nutrient- and protein-rich diet, he noted that far fewer women became sick and needed hospitalisation. it also keeps blood sugar stable if you have diabetes.
The brewer diet is incredibly easy to eat as it is pretty limitless for intake - how fabulous is that in your pregnancy!
You should eat the following each day:
- 4 whole milk foods (full fat milk, cheese, butter etc)
- 5 whole grains (oats are great)
- 2 vitamin C foods (eg orange, strawberry, potatoes),
- 1 vitamin A food (eg tomatoes, liver, eggs, fish oil)
- 2 dark green leafy vegetables
- 3 fats and oils (animal fats and butter best, try to avoid seed oils)
- 2 eggs
- 7 servings of protein (eg meat, legumes - eat at least one portion of liver per week)
- Salt to taste
- Drink plenty of water!
Why is it such a good diet in pregnancy?
Malnutrition can affect anyone without them realising - in fact it is often those with a high BMI that suffer from malnutrition. And these are the very women that are most at risk from gestational diabetes.
Weighing in pregnancy comes in and out of fashion. Restricting weight gain and intake can have quite severe unintended consequences because it can actually increase your risk of GD or pre-eclampsia because you are at risk of losing out on good nutrients.
By eating with the Brewer diet, you can make sure you get essential foods in good amounts - including protein and fats. These are not only good for your health, but are a fundamental requirement for your growing baby to make sure they get everything they need. Baby's brain and nervous system development needs fatty acids and cholesterol.
If you suffer from pregnancy sickness, give the diet a go as it also appears to help stop nausea.
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