Anyone gonna follow the Brewer Diet?

[mama to 2 girls]

I wanted to try and follow it...BUT I can't drink all that milk!! I like the idea because it is an extremely easy way to get a lot of protein in....but my sinuses won't allow me to drink so MUCH dairy....

What other source besides all that milk, meat and beans and soy(I can only eat so much meat and beans and I don't like tofu or anything like that) can you make up for all that protein that comes from the milk??

[yamilee21]

I'm not sure yet - I am planning to follow it, but I am also hearing so much anti-dairy stuff these days, that I am having doubts.

[elf]

Just wondering--what does the Brewer diet do??

[quarteralien]

Originally Posted by elf

Just wondering--what does the Brewer diet do??

http://www.blueribbonbaby.org/ It's supposed to help you grow a nice healthy-sized baby, and prevent toxemia, which is pretty common in first time moms, as well as HELLP syndrome and other problems. As far as I can tell, there isn't a lot of science to back it up, but there are convincing stories about it, so I was thinking of giving it a try.

How about Jello as a source of protein? I worry about getting as much as the diet recommends as well. Especially if it's to the exclusion of fruits and veggies. I have a hard time seeing how that could be healthy. But I think I'm going to try it.

[prothyraia]

Nuts and nut butters are good sources of protein. Lots of fat, too, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

[meowee]

I'm following a vegan diet, as much raw as possible, sugar/ sweetener-free, alkaline diet. I have read that having a high percentage of raw vegan foods in one's diet can help prevent toxemia.

I would never depend on milk and meat as my main source of protein... certainly I wouldn't let it exceed 10% of my diet. 10 almonds have as much protein as half a pound of meat. Nuts are the way to go in my book! Beans also are very healthy but are acidic.

I would also be very concerned about consuming large amounts of soy because of its estrogen content.

[samuelsmom]

I followed something similar in my last pregnancy--lots of protein (but from varied sources). I felt great and hope to get back to that kind of diet again this time (I'm a slacker lately). It was what was suggested in my Bradley class and I stuck to it pretty well. We'll see--I love cottage cheese and practically lived on it for snacks for the extra protein boost.

[meowee]

Originally Posted by samuelsmom

We'll see--I love cottage cheese and practically lived on it for snacks for the extra protein boost.

Adding ground flax seed or flax seed oil to cottage cheese, or yogurt, makes the protein better absorbed by the body.

[samuelsmom]

Cool, I need to get some ground flax (or a new coffee grinder that I can use for the whole seeds that dh bought a while back). Thanks for the tip!

[Empress]

Originally Posted by meowee

Adding ground flax seed or flax seed oil to cottage cheese, or yogurt, makes the protein better absorbed by the body.

I thought I read somewhere flax was not good for pregnant women? I could be wrong. :

I will probably follow the Brewer diet. I am already overweight and I have a hard time eating balanced when I am pregnant.

[meowee]

Originally Posted by Empress

I thought I read somewhere flax was not good for pregnant women? I could be wrong. :

I will probably follow the Brewer diet. I am already overweight and I have a hard time eating balanced when I am pregnant.

I don't know! I guess you should check with your midwife/ OB first. Maybe in huge quantities it is dangerous but generally you just need to add a tbs to a cup of yogurt or cottage cheese.

Pregnancy does crazy things to the appetite, it can be really hard to eat "good" stuff in the right quantities.

[prothyraia]

Originally Posted by Empress

I thought I read somewhere flax was not good for pregnant women? I could be wrong. :

I've heard something like that too, though I don't remember where. Of course, that was after I took flax oil supplements my whole pregnancy with my son because I wanted all the omega goodies and was vegan. :

[Empress]

Originally Posted by meowee

I don't know! I guess you should check with your midwife/ OB first. Maybe in huge quantities it is dangerous but generally you just need to add a tbs to a cup of yogurt or cottage cheese.

Pregnancy does crazy things to the appetite, it can be really hard to eat "good" stuff in the right quantities.

Please don't feel bad! I can't tell you how much I've been wracking my brain to remember all this pregnancy stuff, and it's only been three years since the last baby. I think it was something to do with using flax for DHA supplementation, I know I was researching it yesterday.

I am sure some amount of flax meal is great for constipation, the bane of my life right now.

Back to the OP, is there a book about the Brewer Diet that discusses it in more detail someone could recommend? Thanks.

[meowee]

Originally Posted by Empress

I am sure some amount of flax meal is great for constipation, the bane of my life right now.

I did a little googling and found info both pro and con for flax seed. It is good for constipation but you could also try yellow dock tincture (it was recommended by a midwife so I'm pretty sure it's ok), or dried apricots or prune juice.

[AnneCordelia]

Originally Posted by meowee

10 almonds have as much protein as half a pound of meat. Nuts are the way to go in my book! Beans also are very healthy but are acidic.

Almonds are AWESOME! They are also great for heartburn.

[~*~MamaJava~*~]

I haven't ever checked out the brewer diet before - just clicked the link and took a look now. Sounds interesting! I tried to protein-load with my last pregnancy, because i keep having these little lean babies, but it didn't make any difference. That being said, I do a lot of what's in this diet anyways, but not to that extent. Might try it out.

[nubianamy]

Most of the books about the Brewer diet are out of print, but the Bradley Method includes lots of stuff from Brewer. You can probably find some at the library. Ask your midwife, too.

I follow some of the teachings of the Weston A. Price Foundation, which specifies a pregnancy diet similar to Brewer: http://www.westonaprice.org/children...ormothers.html The high protein load is similar, but specifically with raw dairy. I plan to follow this diet. (Yep, I'm weird!)

[bettysmom]

I found Brewer to be burdensome and stressful last time around. I was having to eat when I was not hungry at all, just to stuff down some more nuts or whatever to meet the protein requirement. I gained a ton of weight on it, and my BP spiked (but then, I was really anxious, too). If I do it again, I will do it with more guidance from my MW.

[Ahimsa]

Originally Posted by bettysmom

I found Brewer to be burdensome and stressful last time around. I was having to eat when I was not hungry at all, just to stuff down some more nuts or whatever to meet the protein requirement. I gained a ton of weight on it

Me too! I wonder if it takes into account different calorie needs, because I am 5'2" and 80-100 grams of protein seems like a massive amount of food for me. This time I am going to try to make sure I get some protein at each meal, but I am not going to count grams. I am going to trust my body signals and not stuff myself.

[nubianamy]

Ahimsa, that sounds totally reasonable!

The only thing I really needed to push myself to consume is water. I never was able to drink 8 glasses a day (until the last month, when I was PARCHED).