Pre-eclampsia
[UPDATED MAY 2023]
What is Pre-eclampsia?
Pre-eclampsia simply means high blood pressure during pregnancy. The problem is that as delivery day approaches, the blood pressure can rise extremely high extremely quickly, resulting in brain damage and other organ failures. It is a problem which must be taken extremely seriously as this is a major cause of death in pregnancy, much more so in developing countries.
What are the causes of Pre-Eclampsia?
The most fascinating reading comes from Dr T Brewer in his book "Metabolic Toxaemia of Late Pregnancy: A Disease of Malnutrition". Keats publishing, New Caanan, Connecticut 1982. See Amazon.com Link for "Metabolic Toxaemia of Late Pregnancy: A Disease of Malnutrition". This doctor has the most extraordinary record for preventing pre-eclampsia. He simply puts his pregnant mums on high protein diets. I always get suspicious when doctors claim 100% success rate, but this is exactly what he does. Simply by feeding his mums a high protein diet, he was able to prevent pre-eclampsia in women of all social classes. Normally speaking pre-eclampsia is a disease of the less well off and he points out that this is simply because they cannot afford to eat protein in their diet.
Magnesium Sulphate
With respect to treating pre-eclampsia, the most effective treatment is magnesium - see Magnesium - treating a deficiency. Many nutritional studies have been reported, whereby hundreds of women in multi-centre trials have been randomly assigned either to receive intravenous magnesium sulphate or anti-convulsants such as diazepam or phenytoin. See:
- 'A Comparison of Magnesium Sulfate with Phenytoin for the Prevention of Eclampsia', New England Journal which concluded that:
Magnesium sulfate is superior to phenytoin for the prevention of eclampsia in hypertensive pregnant women. These results validate the long-practiced use of magnesium sulfate in the prevention of eclampsia.
- 'Magnesium sulphate versus diazepam for eclampsia', Cochrane Database which concluded that:
Magnesium sulphate for women with eclampsia reduces the risk ratio of maternal death and of recurrence of seizures, compared with diazepam.
- 'Which anticonvulsant for women with eclampsia? Evidence from the Collaborative Eclampsia Trial, The Lancet which conluded that:
There is now compelling evidence in favour of magnesium sulphate, rather than diazepam or phenytoin, for the treatment of eclampsia.
Treatment of Pre-Eclampsia
The observations, as above, reinforce my view that everybody should eat a The Paleo Ketogenic Diet - this is a diet which we all should follow See also:
- My book - Paleo-Ketogenic: The Why and The How
- The Paleo Ketogenic Diet - meals which require no cooking or preparation
- The Paleo Ketogenic Diet - PK Bread
- The Paleo Ketogenic Diet - PK Dairy
- Diet - what you need to eat to slow the normal ageing process
- Ketogenic diet - the practical details
Also, pregnant women should take magnesium and a good package of nutritional supplements - see :
This is because modern farming practices mean that the micronutrient content of our diet is deficient. Therefore we should ALL be taking nutritional supplements - see Nutritional supplements - why we all need them.
This is particularly important during pregnancy when there are higher requirements for protein and micronutrients than at any other stage of life and the optimal supply will ensure a healthy vigorous baby with good brain development. See also Our Book Green Mother - families fit for the future
Related Articles
- The Paleo Ketogenic Diet - this is a diet which we all should follow
- My book - Paleo-Ketogenic: The Why and The How
- The Paleo Ketogenic Diet - meals which require no cooking or preparation
- The Paleo Ketogenic Diet - PK Bread
- The Paleo Ketogenic Diet - PK Dairy
- Diet - what you need to eat to slow the normal ageing process
- Ketogenic diet - the practical details
- Nutritional Supplements
- Magnesium - treating a deficiency
- Nutritional supplements - why we all need them
- Our Book Green Mother - families fit for the future
External Links
References
- 'A Comparison of Magnesium Sulfate with Phenytoin for the Prevention of Eclampsia', New England Journal
- 'Magnesium sulphate versus diazepam for eclampsia', Cochrane Database
- 'Which anticonvulsant for women with eclampsia? Evidence from the Collaborative Eclampsia Trial, The Lancet
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