How Women Can Protect Their Bodies During Pregnancy
Many of us have been led to believe a piece of conventional "wisdom" that is taking a significant toll on our health - especially on women and children, says Robert Thompson, M.D., an OB/GYN and integrative medicine specialist.
The conventional wisdom, more accurately described as ignorance, is that we need an abundance of prescription drugs and vitamin supplements, including calcium, to have strong bones and overall good health.
"Bones are composed of at least a dozen minerals and we need all of them in perfect proportions in order to have healthy bones and healthy bodies," says Thompson, author of "The Calcium Lie II: What Your Doctor Still Doesn't Know," (www.calciumliebook.com). The new book, coauthored by health journalist Kathleen Barnes, details the roles minerals play in overall health and how to identify and correct deficiencies and imbalances.
"Osteoporosis is caused by a loss of minerals from the bones, not just calcium, and we cannot possibly replace minerals with calcium alone, which hardens concrete!"
Consuming too much calcium, through food sources or by taking supplements, set up individuals for an array of negative health consequences, including obesity, Type 2 diabetes, Type 2 hypothyroidism, hypertension, depression, problem pregnancies, dementia, heart disease, kidney stones, gallstones and more.
Mineral deficiencies are at the root of a host of health problems. Using flavor-of-the-month drugs or vitamins compounds the problem. Thompson reviews how this affects women, children and women who are experiencing menopause, and what they can do about it.
• The mineral cost of pregnancy ... Women become very vigilant about their health during pregnancy, because they know it affects their babies. Although there are a lot of differences of opinion in the general public on what is best, it is a known fact that pregnant women lose about 10 percent of their total mineral supply to their babies. So, while pregnant, the average woman loses nearly four pounds of minerals to her baby with each pregnancy.
• Don't underestimate the long-term benefit of using unrefined sea salt. Skilled and experienced farmers know that unrefined sea salt is essential to the health of his or her animals. For more than 50 years, farmers have known that sea salt, or rock salt, is essential for their stock to remain healthy and to breed without birth defects. While we're not farm mammals, all mammals do have similar physiology. It follows that unrefined salt, which is the best source of sodium and ionic minerals, may have similar benefits for pregnant women and their children.
"I want to emphasize that this is a long-term benefit," Thompson says. "Minerals gained from using unrefined sea salt - which yields 15 percent trace ionic minerals - should have similar benefits for human pregnancy in helping to prevent birth defects and miscarriage."
• The problems women experience with menopause. It's estimated that up to 40 percent of perimenopausal (nearly menopausal) women have low thyroid function that adds to their symptoms when their hormones begin to fluctuate, "but I believe this is far too conservative of a figure," Thompson says. "More realistically, it's near 90 percent or more, and hypothyroidism is probably near 95 percent, especially if a woman is more than 20 percent above her ideal body weight. In addition to hypothyroidism, excessive calcium contributes to dementia and other menopausal problems." To be clear, excess calcium, usually from supplementation and fortification in foods leads to these problems.
• Consider bioidentical hormones. There is overwhelming biological evidence that bioidentical hormone replacement is not only natural and safe, but it also improves the quality of life and reduces breast cancer incidence, heart disease, stroke, dementia, osteoporosis, high cholesterol and nearly all known chronic illness associated with aging. Balanced physiologic transmucosal bioidentical hormone replacement is the specific method to consider.
About Robert Thompson, M.D.
Dr. Robert Thompson is a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist, and a nutrition specialist who helps patients get long-term relief from chronic disease, including obesity, diabetes, hypothyroidism and adrenal fatigue. His newest book, "The Calcium Lie II," is available for free at www.calciumliebook.com. Dr. Thompson received his medical training at the University of Kentucky and has been a leader in medical advances for more than 30 years.
