Pre-eclampsia is a potentially dangerous pregnancy complication characterised by high blood pressure.
It usually begins after 20 weeks of pregnancy in a woman whose blood pressure had previously
been normal.
It can come on without warning and there may be no symptoms.
So, how can you prevent this condition, that can have serious complications for you and
your baby?
Well, stay tuned and I'll give you my favourite dietary tips.
Hi, I'm Melanie McGrice, a fertility and prenatal dietitian.
I help women to have healthy babies and give their babies the best start in life by optimising
your diet when it most counts, when their genes are being programmed during their first
thousand days.
In today's episode, we're discussing the impact of nutrition on the risk of developing pre-eclampsia,
and I'm going to share with you my top 3 food for preventing this condition.
But first, let me tell you what doesn't work.
Although you may have read that you should have a low salt diet to help prevent pre-eclampsia,
whoever told you that is wrong.
As dietitians, we often recommend that people reduce their salt intake to prevent high blood
pressure, and pre-eclampsia is a form of high blood pressure, so it makes sense that it
would be effective, but research from clinical trials has found that restricting salt intake
does not help to reduce your risk of pre-eclampsia.
Now, this doesn't mean that you can have as much salt as you like, but you don't need
to avoid it all together either.
So, what are my three top foods?
Drumroll please....
Number three goes to....
Broccoli. Now the reason that I've chosen broccoli is that it is rich in folate.
I have to admit that I haven't seen any studies undertaken on the impact of broccoli on preventing
pre-eclampsia, but emerging research suggests that adequate folic acid may help reduce the
risk of pre-eclampsia. And broccoli is definitely rich in that.
Now second place goes to - salmon.
Although the research on the impact of omega 3 fats remains inconclusive, there is some
research to suggest that long chain omega 3 found in salmon may help to prevent pre-eclampsia,
and it's definitely not going to hurt!
Salmon has so many benefits during pregnancy - just make sure that it's cooked thoroughly
to reduce listeria risk, and limit your intake to a maximum of three times per week so that
you don't end up with mercury toxicity.
Finally, my first place goes to...milk.
Research has found that women who consume less than 600 milligrams of calcium per day
have an increased risk of developing pre-eclampsia.
Milk is one of the richest sources of calcium, providing approximately 300 milligrams per glass.
We should be aiming for around 1000 milligrams per day, but I see many women who get a fraction of this
If you choose to drink plant-based alternatives, ensure that they are fortified with calcium
as they don't contain as much natural calcium as animal-based alternatives do.... or speak
to your dietitian about whether or not you need a calcium supplement.... or better still,
eat salmon with the bones, which is an amazing source of omega 3 AND calcium!
Then serve it with broccoli on the side!! Perfect!
One final thing, having a high body mass index is one of the biggest risk factors for pre-eclampsia,
so if you're watching this before pregnancy, I'd encourage you to oprimise your weight
as much as possible before you conceive.
If you're already pregnant, again, try to optimise your pregnancy weight gain by eating
as healthily as possible.
If you need help, I'd strongly encourage you to speak to a prenatal dietitian, because
as I always say ' the lead up to conception, during pregnancy and breastfeeding is the
most important time in your life for eating well, as it doesn't just impact your health,
but your baby's too'.
I personally provide virtual consultations, or I'd be happy to recommend a suitable colleague.
Feel free to post any questions in the chat box below, and if you haven't done so already,
make sure that you subscribe so that you get my weekly tips.
And, I'll look forward to seeing you in my next video!