Brewer Diet? (blue ribbon babies)

[wombatclay]

So, anyone planning on using the Brewer diet for Blue Ribbon Babies this time round, or did anyone use it in the past?

I gained a lot of water weight with dd and was hovering in the "border line high blood pressure range" (to the point that I almost was too high risk for my care provider) and I'd really like to avoid both of those things this time.

I've heard good things about the brewer diet, but when I look at the food lists...yoicks! I don't know that I could eat that much food every day. And it seems very "meat/dairy" focused. I do eat some meat, but I'm lactose intolerant and don't think the small amount of yogurt I can eat without a problem is going to get anywhere near the "1 quart of milk per day"!

Any ideas?

[philomom]

This has been a topic several times. Just do a search for brewer diet here on Mdc.

The diet worked for me beautifully. It is hard to get in that much protein, but I had short, effective labors and babies that were right at 7lbs and marvelously pink and and alert from birth.

[wombatclay]

Thanks! I searched for Brewer Diet (and then tried Brewer Diet Blue Ribbon) and got so many hits (most of them seemed to be unrelated?) that I thought I'd just cut to the chase and ask up front.

Is there a forum you'd suggest limiting the search to?

[Mere]

I did it for both of my pregnancies, and everything turned out really well; babies were very healthy, and their weight was good.

It can be a challenge to get all that dairy and protein in, and the 2 eggs a day...well, you just get used to doing it! I'm less of a milk drinker now than I was before, but I'm trying get most of it in via yogurt and smoothies.

[wombatclay]

I've actually been on teh South Beach diet for almost a year now so the eggs wont be a problem. But I'm lactose intolerant...I can eat a little yogurt (about a cup) or a few slices of cheese without digestive problems, but anything more than that and I'm a mess! So no milk, no ice cream, no smoothies with more than a cup of yogurt, etc.

I'm just wondering if the Brewer plan is "doable" without the dairy?

[Mere]

I wonder if calcium is the main reason the recommend all that dairy, or if it's something else too? Maybe the wesbite explains it better.

We drink a lot of almond milk in our house, so I should find out whether or not that is an appropriate substitute...

[ksera05]

not in your DDC but as someone who has had pre-e your post title caught my eye I'd suggest doing a search for pre-eclampsia...there was a sticky started by gossamer awhile ago that has a lot of discussion about the Brewers diet.

Honestly, that amount of protein can be risky to some women. For others it can really help.

Here are some other Mothering.com threads:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...=pre-eclampsia

ha! and here is the thread I referred to above:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...=pre-eclampsia

I hope that helps.

[wombatclay]

Thanks Ksera!

[StacieM]

Wow - this is my 5th pg and I've never heard of that. I'll have to look into it as I seem to be on a healthy eating track more than normal and wanted to look into some eating suggestions. All my babies were 6.5 lbs or less, so I wouldn't mind having a 7 pounder!

[MammaV]

I think when you look at the purpose of the creation of the Brewer diet you find that it was made for malnourished women often impoverished. I follow a more traditional diet with whole foods, lots of fresh and raw, fresh veggie juices and high fat dairy. See the weston a. price foundation websites and the Sally Fallon website. I also do cultured veggies. I don't eat a ton of meat, but I do eat quite a bit of nuts and fermented virgin coconut oil. I had a beautiful pregnancy w/ DS and a very speedy waterbirth - 1 1/2 hours, and he was perfectly pink and alert from the start. Aside from being a bit heavy for this pregnancy, I plan on eating the same way.

[wombatclay]

I think I'll talk with my doctor next week about all this, since so many midwives really swear by the Brewer Diet... I think Brewer's position was that most American women are malnourished (even if we don't look it!) because many of the foods we eat are not very nutritious. I try to eat a lot of whole foods but with family allergies/finances I'm a bit limited in the range of foods I can prepare for the family.

I'm personally lactose intolerant and allergic to all fish/shellfish/seafood, and other family members have wheat and nut allergies (so no fish or nut products in the house, limited dairy and nothing with wheat or other high gluten grains)...we've had a lot of luck with the South Beach plan (phase two and three) so maybe that's what we'll stay with.

I just hope I can keep my blood pressure down this time!

[Brisen]

There are links to vegetarian alternatives on the website, or there were when I was last there.

You can find similar diet ideas in the Traditional Foods subforum of Nutrition and Good Eating.

[Skrimpy]

Hi gals, I came across this thread while browsing your DDC for some links to send a friend due in June.

Dr. Brewer's last book had diet plans for a traditional basic pregnancy diet as well as a vegetarian plan and a vegan plan. He had soymilk cited as the best substitute for cow milk due to the protein content. I'm not sure the protein in almond milk but if it's about the same as cow milk I think it would be a good alternative. I don't know any way to get his book anymore (very frustrating for me wanting to give it to friends ) but I have guidelines based on his recommendations on my website. These are the vegan ones here:

http://www.naturalbirthandbabycare.c...ancy-diet.html

basic ones here: http://www.naturalbirthandbabycare.c...nutrition.html

HTH with the less dairy questions!

[todavia]

:
very interesting...lots to learn.