Diuretics in excess can cause dehydration and damage to the kidneys. Moderation could be used by those with kidney problems when eating diuretic bitter/peppery herbs/flowers. Caffeine also has a strong diuretic effect. With sufficient quantity the body can become dehydrated, stressing kidneys. Diuretics can cause mineral loss, including calcium, potassium, and sodium (Na), worsening osteoporosis and possibly causing critically low Na, or hypoNatremia. If one urinates say three or more times during the night, one may be eating an excess of diuretic foods.
Anyone undergoing lengthy water fasting, or taking diuretics to treat high blood pressure, may eventually suffer from hypoNatremia. According to Balch (Prescription for Nutritional Healing by Phyllis A. Balch MD), at least 20% of the elderly suffer from hypoNatremia. As levels of sodium lower, one may experience confusion, lethargy, flatulence, depression, headache, impaired sense of taste, nausea, poor coordination, cramps, anorexia, dizziness, flatulence, hallucinations, low blood pressure, dehydration, heart palpitations, memory impairment, muscular weakness, recurrent infections, recurrent feelings of déjà vu, seizures, until eventually death intervenes.
During the 2002 Boston Marathon, a runner collapsed and died after drinking large quantities of sports drinks. HypoNatremia had caused swelling in the brain. Pressure increased until she died.
While the middle of the “normal” range for Na in the blood may only be “normal” for the possibly high NaCl-consuming reference group used to find that range, a reading below the “normal” range can prove downright dangerous. Doctors usually advise increasing consumption of NaCl to treat hypoNatremia. While some NaCl may be advisable to avoid crises, beware of eating too much NaCl to compensate, since excessive NaCl intake can result in edema, high blood pressure, potassium deficiency, and liver and kidney disorders. I take one quarter teaspoon of NaCl daily if I’ve sensed one of the symptoms such as recurrent déjà vu or spaciness coming on, due to a tendency toward mild hypoNatremia. I wish I could do without NaCl entirely. One can test whether one needs a little NaCl by forgoing it entirely. If any symptoms of hypoNatremia seem to be coming on fairly strong, one could put say 1/16 teaspoon NaCl on a small amount of food to find out if one becomes more grounded within a few minutes. Blood tests can be requested that include Na level for a more scientific measure.
A further personal note: A health professional has told me that a deficiency of the steroid hormone aldosterone, which is produced by the adrenals, can cause hypoNatremia and high K. My blood test shows low Na and normal K, consistent with this hypothesis (“Splanchnology” in Gray’s Anatomy). Since I also urinate a lot after eating diuretics, I conclude that my hypothalamus makes too little anti-diuretic hormone, or my pituitary stores and releases too little, as governed by the hypothalamus. Addison’s disease of adrenal insufficiency is associated with high levels of the enzyme renin, but my renin is low resulting in low release of aldosterone, so the problem is not Addison’s, rather the problem is insufficiency in the hypothalamus-pituitary portion of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis. My father had similar symptoms, so I suppose I have a tendency toward these challenges.
To reduce or eliminate the salt intake, one could try eating larger quantities of celery without the leaves to get Na as needed, since celery’s high in Na, without so much ionic Cl. (Please see “Organic minerals”.) Food processing or juicing the celery could help one consume the nutrients in quantity by reducing chewing. Excessive NaCl from salt sets ionic chlorine loose to wreak free radical destruction after the ionic Na gets transferred through a cell membrane via a Na-potassium pump or otherwise gets removed from the Cl ion. (Please see “Salting the wound”.)
Pregnant thoughts
Summarized from Mendelsohn’s chapter “Ritual Mutilations” (Confessions of a Medical Heretic ISBN 0-8092-4131-5): An episiotomy is an incision in the perineum (the area between the vagina and the anus) made just before the time of birth in order to enlarge the vaginal opening. Doctors used to think that an incision would ease the pressure during birth and would prevent major tearing. The latest wisdom on episiotomies is that they are not medically necessary in most deliveries and shouldn't be done routinely. In fact, they may end up causing more serious lacerations than those sustained by women who deliver without an episiotomy, possibly resulting in complications such as rectalinjury and sphincter muscle damage, with possible contamination of the fetus by fecal matter. Besides increasing the incidence of serious tears, episiotomies are associated with increased postpartum pain, increased discomfort when sexual intercourse is resumed and increased blood loss at the time of delivery. Rectal tears can also occur without an episiotomy as the natural tear extends. To help prevent the need for an episiotomy, one could stop pushing right before birth so that the head can be guided out gently (while supporting the perineum tissue) rather than popping out explosively and possibly causing a damaging tear. Beginning around the 34th week of pregnancy, one could also try massaging the perineum with Vitamin E oil or pure vegetable oil. This may increase the flexibility and suppleness of the area. Many practitioners may still believe a planned incision heals more easily than spontaneous tears. When interviewing practitioners, one could ask about their episiotomy rate and the cases in which an episiotomy may be necessary. Midwives generally perform fewer episiotomies than obstetricians. About 80% to 90% percent of first time mothers and half of those having subsequent births undergo episiotomies. Those who are pregnant or considering common operations such as tonsillectomy, hysterectomy, umbilical hernia repair, may wish to consider Mendelsohn’s chapter “Ritual Mutilations”.
Mendelsohn holds that no one pregnant or nursing should be taking medication, even aspirin, since the side effects could prove much worse in the fetus or infant (Confessions of a Medical Heretic ISBN 0-8092-4131-5). Mendelsohn also maintains that in most cases hospital births are more dangerous than home. (Please see “Pharmaceuticals: better living through chemistry?”)
Excellent resources by the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) and others: www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/pregnancy.html; Your Vegetarian Pregnancy : A Month-by-Month Guide to Health and Nutrition by Holly Roberts; www.vegetarian.org.uk/campaigns/childrenshealth/campaignsbadhabits.htm, www.vrg.org/nutshell/kids.htm, www.vrg.org/nutrition/teennutrition.htm. Also the book Healthy Eating for Life for Children by PCRM’s Amy Lanou, Ph.D.
Dairy cheese’s pathogenic Listeria bacteria may damagefetuses. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that infants not receive any milk other than human. Dairy products can cause allergic reactions that result in a raft of disorders ranging from sinuscongestion, respiratory and gastrointestinal disorders such as diarrhea, to chronic colds, earaches and sore throats, and even Type I insulin-dependent childhood diabetes. (Please see “Dairy dubious for health”.)
Formulas that contain inadequate sodium may expose an infant to risk of hypoNatremia, discussed in “Diuretic disorders”. Solely bottle feeding with dairy-based formula exposes mother and baby to risk of gastroenteritis, allergies, infections, and inadequate bonding between mother and child. When bottle feeding is necessary for an extended period, a counselor may suggest ways to maintain strong bonding.
Chlorine and fluorineblock iodine receptors in the thyroid gland, possibly resulting in hypothyroidism and reduced production of iodine-containing hormones essential for regulation of the metabolism. Hypothyroidism has been reported in infants fed soy formula.
If pregnancy is even a remote possibility, one might consider supplementing 400 mcg/day of the B vitamin folate (folic acid or folacin). Such supplementation needs to begin early or even before conception to benefit the egg as it forms and the rapidly developing new fetus. Folate has been shown to reduce risk of childhood cancer by 60%, and to reduce risk of birth defects. Folate is found in foods such as orange, pineapple and grapefruit juice, fortified breakfast cereals, beans and lentils, spinach and other green leafy vegetables, liver. Liver however might contain even more toxins than other cuts, since the liver is the clearinghouse for pesticides. The U.S. Public Health Service recommends that all women between the ages of 15 and 45 get an extra 400 mcg/day of folate.
B12deficiency can increase risk of birth defects. Mild B12 deficiency in infants may lead to loss of appetite and “failure to thrive”. Insufficient vitamin D3 can cause rickets in infants and children with symptoms of deformed bones and joints. (Please see “Vegan B12 bliss? Not.”)
Environmental toxins, preservatives, pesticides in food, smoking, alcohol, have a magnified detrimental effect on egg development and the young fetus.
When pregnant or lactating, the demand for minerals increases greatly. Therefore one may display “pica”, craving anything that contains sugar or salt to fool the body into feeling that it’s getting minerals. Instead one could supplement the range of major and trace minerals that one needs (“Vegetarian Mega Minerals” by Nature’s Life, and “Colloida Life Trace Minerals” by Source Naturals).
When pregnant or lactating, one may also become deficient in Omega-3 fatty acids, especially DHA, with the possible results that one becomes forgetful or suffers post-partum depression. Omega-3s are critically important in everyone’s neural cell membranes and therefore fundamental for healthy neural development in the fetus and infants. Vegans could supplement 200 mg of DHA extracted from algae twice a day when pregnant or lactating, in addition to eating ground flaxseeds. Since people might do well to avoid the mercury in fish especially when pregnant or lactating, everyone could supplement. (Please see “Outstanding Omegas”.) The B vitamins are also essential for a healthy nervous system. (Please see “Redirectingdepression”.)
According to the Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control, each year in the U.S. up to 600,000 children are born at risk for lower intelligence and learning problems due to mercury exposure because their mothers ate fish. Mercury in the blood of a fetus is 30% higher than in that of the mother. (Please see “Toxins: buyer be very wary.”)
Some older houses have yards with lead dust in the soil from sanding paint off during renovation. Children may risk lead poisoning from the soil and mud.
Babies born to women who use marijuana during their pregnancies may display altered responses to visual stimuli, increased tremulousness, and a high-pitched cry, which may indicate problems with neurological development. During infancy and preschool years, marijuana-exposed children have been observed to have more behavioral problems and to perform tasks of visual perception and language comprehension more poorly. In school, these children are more likely to exhibit deficits in memory, learning, sustained attention, and decision-making skills. Marijuana smokers may have the respiratory problems of tobacco smokers, such as more coughing and phlegm, symptoms of chronic bronchitis, and chest colds. Continuing to smoke marijuana can lead to injured or destroyed lung tissue.
Common complications of pregnancy include swelling, edema, and hypertension, worsened by salt (NaCl). (Please see “Salting the wound”.)
Infants need to nurse sitting up. Lying back too far allows fluid to migrate along the back of the throat up into the Eustachian tube and into the ear canal, where fluid can feed pathogenic organisms, causing earache.
Natural and artificial chemicals, toxins, pesticides do pass into milk glands. The ease with which they pass is illustrated by the fact that caffeine in breast milk is in the same percentage as in the mother’s blood. Caffeine has been suspected of causing mal-formations in the fetus and reducing fertility rates.
The risk of delivering premature babies can increase sevenfold among expectant mothers with gum disease (peridontis). The compounds that the body generates to combat the disease can trigger premature labor. The signs of gum disease include: a] red, swollen, or tender gums, b] gums that bleed easily, c] sensitive or loose teeth, d] difficulty chewing, e] persistent bad breath. Flossing, using a water pick to thoroughly wash out particles remaining between gums and teeth, and minimal intake of refined sugar can help reduce risk.
Practicing yoga with its stretching of the muscles around the pelvis may well shorten labor. Nipples could get rubbed with a dry washcloth to toughen the skin before beginning nursing to minimize rashes.
Undergoing a tissue-cleansing detoxification during pregnancy could flood the blood with toxins as they diffuse from tissues, causing a miscarriage. (Please see “Tricks to transitioning one’s diet.”)
The ketosis brought on by a high protein and high fat, but low carbohydrate diet can cause retardation in a fetus or nursing infant. Acetone and other acidic ketones that the body produces on such a diet invade the brain of the fetus, and wreak havoc.
Higher levels radioactive isotopes may accumulate in the glands of a fetus than in those of an adult, possibly resulting in huge increases in rates of disorders ranging from leukemia to reduced intelligence.
During pregnancy and lactation one may develop zinc and/or B12 deficiency since the needs of the fetus may drain reserves. (B12 is discussed in “Tricks to transitioning one’s diet”.) Depression may result from B12 deficiency.
Possible side effects on the fetus of supplementing glucosamine sulfate and blood-thinning chondroitin sulfate for osteoarthritis have not been thoroughly researched.
“Over the five generations since the beginning of the vast nutritional experiment with the SAD diet, our inherited DNA may actually have deteriorated” (Conscious Eating by Gabriel Cousens ISBN 1-55643-285-2). When I first read this statement, I was highly skeptical. However, free radicals have now been demonstrated to alter DNA. It seems “logical” that DNA of the reproductive system, eggs and spermatoa, could all be altered by free radicals. In addition, detrimental changes in gene expression in the fetus due to nutritional inadequacies in the mother’s diet can get passed to the next generation (pg.14 Discover Nov.2003). Cells contain structures that can repair at least minor damage to DNA, under ideal conditions, so that we, the results of generational deterioration due to the SAD diet experiment, could improve our diets, heal our DNA and begin giving birth to children free of the effects of the SAD diet.
Candida thrives on sugar. Pregnancy can change hormone levels, increasing the amount of sugar in the vagina and risk of candida. (Please see “Candida, the yeast-beast.”) Nurses sometimes give infants sugar before circumcision and blood tests, initiating that life-long craving for sugar.
Pregnant women could be at increased risk of miscarriage and birth defects due to chlorine. (Please see “Swimmers’ asthma from chlorine.”)
Fever higher than 100.6ºF could stunt fetal nervous system development, even during the second trimester (pg. 125 Prevention Dec. 2004).
A hormone mimicker that is used to soften plastic in bottles can leach into infants’ saliva. This mimicker (bisphenol) contains phenol groups that are very difficult for the body to break down; thus they endure in the body for a long time. Many pacifiers and chew toys no longer contain this plasticizer, but bottles may well (www.ncpa.org/pi/enviro/pd083100g.html). Polyvinyl chloride plastic (PVC) contains the plasticizer phthalate that leaches from PVC. Phthalate increases risk of cancers, including those of the liver, kidney, and mononuclear cell leukemia. Uses of PVC in toys can be replaced with traditional materials such as wood, cloth and natural rubber.
At several points in this book I mention that I don’t get flu shots. If I got the flu I’d probably start taking the shots, but I “hardly ever” get sick with even a cold. (Please see “Curing the common cold and other acute infections, flu”.) Some vaccines may contain the animal product gelatin as a stabilizer. Many vaccines are preserved in thimerosol, which contains mercury that could damage the nervous system. Some vaccines for preschoolers are no longer made with the preservative. Trace amounts may or may not remain in the vaccine. Although there are risks to any vaccination, outbreaks of childhood illnesses do occur. Such diseases can cause severe damage that lasts a lifetime, or death. Immunity passed through breast feeding lasts for only a few months after breast feeding stops. It’s one thing for an adult to choose to forgo vaccinations, entirely another for a parent to decide against them for a child. Vaccines do entail risks, so it’s a matter of weighing pros and cons, a difficult decision.
Taking antibiotics when not needed clears territory for bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics to populate. (Breaking the Antibiotic Habit: A Parent's Guide to Coughs, Colds, Ear Infections, and Sore Throats by Paul A. Offit, Bonnie Fass-Offit, Louis M. Bell). (Please see “Curing the common cold and other acute infections, flu”.)
Even organic produce may have been fertilized with bovine manure or washed with water contaminated by E. Coli. The toxins it produces can cause permanent damage to the kidneys and even death. Children are particularly vulnerable. Rapid diagnosis is critical. Symptoms include not only bloody diarrhea, but also ordinary diarrhea accompanied by severe abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, headache, or fever above 101ºF (Safe Tables Our Priority 800-350-STOP www.STOP-USA.org).
One never hears about “tired sperm” increasing risk of deformities in fetuses, only “tired eggs”. Wonder which gender formulated the latter hypothesis. The real reason that the risk of deformities in fetuses may increase as parents age may be that the older one gets, of whichever gender, the greater the number of medical x-rays.
The site www.vrg.org offers advice for maintaining a vegan pregnancy. Cousens wrote an excellent chapter “Nutrition for Pregnancy” (Conscious Eating by Gabriel Cousens ISBN 1-55643-285-2). Disease-Proof Your Child (www.DrFuhrman.com) and Healthy Eating For Life For Children by the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine (www.pcrm.org) could prove invaluable. The Policeman’s Guide to Emergency Childbirth is reputed to be a potentially useful reference.
“An ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy.”-Old Spanish proverb
