The late Dr. Tom Brewer, an obstetrician trained at Tulane University in New Orleans, developed the Brewer Medical Diet during the 1950s and 1960s to help pregnant women and their unborn fetuses avoid prenatal complications. The 2,600-calorie per day diet recommends you eat 80 to 120 g of protein and an assortment of grains, fruits, vegetables and dietary fats. While on the diet, you can salt your food to taste and experience unrestricted weight gain, according to DrBrewerPregnancyDiet.com.
Theory
A lack of nutrients and insufficient dietary protein can cause metabolic toxemia in late pregnancy, MTLP, a condition marked by fetal or infant death, as well as heart failure, fatty liver, coma or convulsions in the mother, according to BlueRibbonBaby.org, the Brewer Diet official website. According to the website, a low-protein, low-nutrient diet can cause miscarriage; anemia; liver, kidney and lung infections; and placenta abruption, a condition in which the placenta breaks away from the uterus, causing hemorrhaging and fetal death. You can ensure your health and the health of your child by following the Brewer Diet and abstaining from prescription drugs, salt restriction, nicotine and alcohol, Dr. Brewer told medical writer C.J. Puotinen in a 2004 interview.
Methodology
While on the Brewer Diet, you eat two eggs per day and four servings of cow's milk. You also consume six to eight servings of protein, two servings of dark green vegetables such as spinach and five servings of whole grains such as brown rice or oatmeal. You also eat two servings of vitamin C-rich foods like oranges and cantaloupes, one serving of a vitamin A-rich food like strawberries and three servings of fats and oils like avocados or butter. You can modify the Brewer Diet if you are a vegetarian or pregnant with multiple fetuses.
Considerations
Although the Brewer Diet recommends unlimited salt intake based upon personal taste, the American Pregnancy Association's website states pregnant women should not eat any salt or should limit salt intake to avoid developing pregnancy-induced toxemia. Furthermore, MayoClinic.com recommends consuming 71 g of protein daily during pregnancy, which is below the recommended intake on the Brewer Diet.
Warning
Speak with your doctor about the Brewer Diet before you begin the program on your own. Your doctor might have concerns about your following a high-protein, unlimited salt diet during your pregnancy based upon your personal medical history and current health condition.
