09/25/2023
🥩🍳Lets talk protein in pregnancy and how it relates to preeclampsia.🫘🥚
Preeclampsia is a very serious complication of pregnancy that can be fatal for mother and baby if not caught and treated. It is characterized by extreme swelling of the limbs, protein in the urine, and elevated blood pressure that is brought on by the liver being overstressed during pregnancy. Once a mother develops preeclampsia, the only treatment is to deliver the baby, even if the baby is preterm. Luckily preeclampsia rarely manifests itself before 24 weeks. Doctors still don’t really know what exactly causes it but one doctor in particular, Dr. Tom Brewer, found that by increasing a women’s protein intake he was able to lower the toxemia rate from about 17% to 0.5%. That’s huge! 🤯
It is extremely important to get adequate amounts of protein in your daily diet as well as essential vitamins and minerals (recommended 75-100g protein per day). Unless you are really working towards this amount of protein, you will most likely not reach these numbers. Each meal and snack should include a high source of protein. If caught early enough, it can be reversed, so be sure to ask your provider what amount of protein was in your urine at each visit. Even if there is just a trace amount, work towards increasing your intake of both protein and water.
Start by tracking your diet and logging how many grams of protein you are taking it, then adjust from there. Let me know if you need help with how to incorporate high protein foods in your diet!