Nezam El-Tayebat Fact CheckA scientific assessment of the “نظام الطيبات” nutrition system
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Mostly false Certainty of evidence: moderate provisional C-SRC-65

Pregnant women develop health problems because pregnancy causes cortisol deficiency and raised intra-abdominal pressure.

Safety note: Pregnant women should not replace prenatal care, prescribed medication (e.g. for blood pressure, thyroid or diabetes) or recommended supplements such as folic acid with this explanation. Warning signs such as severe headache, swelling, visual disturbance, bleeding or abdominal pain need urgent medical attention.
Conclusion: Cortisol rises in pregnancy; abdominal pressure is a plausible but unproven factor, so the explanation is mostly wrong.
  1. Original statement
  2. Scientific assessment
  3. In plain language
  4. Studies on this claim
  5. Regional context
  6. What applies in my country?
  7. References

Original statement

في الرئه زاد واحد بيكح كتير ليه الست الحامل بتضرب وليه الست الحامل بتظهر عندها المشاكل لانها بتخش في نقص الكورتيزون وارتفاع في ضغط البطن يعني الحمل بيجي >> بيعمل اضطراب في في اكسس في مسار

verbatim according to source. Translation by the project; the Arabic wording is authoritative.

Translation

Pregnant women develop health problems because pregnancy causes cortisol deficiency and raised intra-abdominal pressure.

Origin

Source status
Video transcript (own words)
Attribution
Elawady (machine transcript)
Video
الضغط الجوي atmospheric pressure وضغط البطن وعلاقته بأعراضك #ضياء_العوضي (Open source)
Published
9 January 2026
Timestamp
0:00:35 (location in the original video’s automatic YouTube caption track; confirms where the words occur, not who speaks)
Attribution uncertainty
Transcript is YouTube CC or machine-generated (no timestamps); wording may contain speech-recognition errors. Speaker attribution within live streams/podcasts is not marked in the transcript; the excerpt was judged to be Elawady's own speech from context. Recurrence = number of archive transcripts matching the keyword pattern ['الحامل|حامل', 'كورتيزون|ضغط البطن'] (approximate; includes re-uploads/clips; 10 distinct text passages).
Claimed mechanism

Cortisol deficiency and raised intra-abdominal pressure during pregnancy.

Claimed health effect

Health problems in pregnancy.

Population concerned

Pregnant women.

Geographic restriction by Elawady

none found; he does not limit this statement to a country or to a production system

Diverging source versions

Source status
Video transcript (own words)
Attribution
Elawady (machine transcript)
Video
ارتفاع ضغط البطن والاضطراب الهرموني وظهور كل ماهو مناعي #ضياء_العوضي (Open source)
Published
10 January 2026
Timestamp
not available (transcript has no timings)
Attribution uncertainty
Further video in which the same statement recurs; no excerpt recorded. Archive transcript without timestamps.

Scientific assessment

Mostly false – Essential parts of the statement are not supported by the evidence or are strongly exaggerated.

Certainty of evidence: moderate – Further research may still affect the assessment.

1. What was claimed?

Pregnant women develop health problems because pregnancy causes cortisol deficiency and raised intra-abdominal pressure.

2. What is demonstrably correct?

The growing uterus raises intra-abdominal pressure in late pregnancy; a review describes this as a chronically compensated physiological state to which most women adapt, notes that normal values are lacking and treats a link with pre-eclampsia as an unproven hypothesis (I-INTB-23).

3. What is wrong or exaggerated?

Pregnancy does not cause cortisol deficiency: total plasma cortisol rose progressively to about three times control levels in the third trimester and free cortisol rose 1.6-fold (I-INTB-22). Pregnancy complications (e.g. pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, anaemia) have multiple established causes; a single explanation by 'cortisol deficiency and abdominal pressure' is not supported.

4. What remains unclear?

Whether raised intra-abdominal pressure contributes to pre-eclampsia or other complications is not known (I-INTB-23).

5. Which studies support it?

I-INTB-23 (only for the narrow point that intra-abdominal pressure rises in late pregnancy; it does not mention cortisol and does not show that the pressure rise causes health problems).

6. Which studies contradict it?

I-INTB-22.

7. What applies to Germany and Europe?

Not region-specific.

8. What is known about Egypt?

Not region-specific.

9. What practical conclusion is appropriate?

Pregnant women should attend regular prenatal care; symptoms such as headache, swelling, high blood pressure or abdominal pain need medical assessment.

Assessment details

Rationale for certainty of evidence

Longitudinal measurements show that total and free cortisol rise, not fall, during pregnancy (I-INTB-22); this is a small study but consistent with established physiology. Raised intra-abdominal pressure in pregnancy is plausible but under-studied, and its role in complications is a hypothesis (I-INTB-23).

Source quality

Machine transcript of a live stream; wording may contain recognition errors; meaning checked in context.

Regional transferability

Universal physiology.

Individual exceptions

Rare women have adrenal insufficiency in pregnancy; this is a specific disease, not a general effect of pregnancy.

Regional scope of the claim
general (biological/medical)
Last reviewed
25 October 2026 provisional

In plain language

Dr. Elawady said pregnant women get health problems because pregnancy lowers cortisol and raises the pressure in the belly. Measurements show the opposite for cortisol: it rises about threefold during pregnancy. The growing womb may raise belly pressure, and researchers have asked whether this plays a role in some complications, but this is not proven. Pregnancy problems have many causes and need regular medical check-ups.

Studies on this claim

Studies supporting the claim (0)

No studies in this group.

Studies contradicting or limiting the claim (1)

  • Cortisol rises during pregnancy

    Jung C et al.. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2011 · PMID 21367926 · DOI 10.1210/jc.2010-2395
    Cohort studyindependent cross-checkabstract only checked★ key study

    Total cortisol rose about threefold and free cortisol 1.6-fold by the third trimester.

    Cortisol rises about 3-fold.

    Does the study support the specific claim? No · Methodological quality: moderate · Certainty of evidence: see overall assessment of the claim

    Original publication · Scientific details

    Study explained simply
    What did the researchers want to find out?

    Measure cortisol in pregnancy

    How was the study done?

    Longitudinal study

    How many people, animals or samples were studied?

    20 pregnant women + controls

    What was actually found?

    Cortisol rises progressively

    How large was the observed effect?

    3-fold total; 1.6-fold free

    What do the results mean in everyday life?

    In normal pregnancy the body makes more cortisol, not less.

    What are the study's limitations?

    Small study; abstract only

    What does it say about Elawady's specific claim?

    Contradicts 'cortisol deficiency in pregnancy'.

    Do the results apply to Germany and Europe?

    High

    What can explicitly not be concluded from this study?

    Does not address rare adrenal insufficiency in pregnancy.

    Scientific details →

Studies with mixed or unclear results (1)

  • Abdominal pressure in pregnancy

    Chun R, Kirkpatrick AW. Ann Intensive Care 2012 · PMID 22873421 · DOI 10.1186/2110-5820-2-S1-S5
    Narrative reviewindependent cross-checkfull text checked

    Abdominal pressure is probably raised near term, but most women adapt to it; any role in pre-eclampsia is only a hypothesis. Cortisol is not discussed.

    Raised IAP in pregnancy plausible; causal role unproven.

    Does the study support the specific claim? Partly · Methodological quality: low · Certainty of evidence: see overall assessment of the claim

    Original publication · Scientific details

    Study explained simply
    What did the researchers want to find out?

    Review IAP in pregnancy

    How was the study done?

    Narrative review

    How many people, animals or samples were studied?

    not applicable

    What was actually found?

    Few IAP data in pregnancy (e.g. median 22 mmHg at term, 16 mmHg after delivery); pregnancy considered a compensated state; pre-eclampsia link hypothetical

    How large was the observed effect?

    not applicable

    What do the results mean in everyday life?

    The growing womb may raise abdominal pressure, but whether this causes complications is not known.

    What are the study's limitations?

    Narrative review with a single case; no systematic search; measurement methods unvalidated in pregnancy

    What does it say about Elawady's specific claim?

    Partly plausible; does not support his general explanation.

    Do the results apply to Germany and Europe?

    Universal

    What can explicitly not be concluded from this study?

    Cannot conclude that abdominal pressure (or cortisol deficiency, not studied) explains pregnancy health problems

    Scientific details →

Regional context

Germany / EU

Not region-specific.

Egypt

Not region-specific.

What applies in my country?

General scientific assessment

Mostly false Cortisol rises in pregnancy; abdominal pressure is a plausible but unproven factor, so the explanation is mostly wrong.

This statement concerns biological or medical relationships. The scientific assessment above applies regardless of the country; country-specific food data do not change it.

References

  1. A longitudinal study of plasma and urinary cortisol in pregnancy and postpartum.. Jung C et al.. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2011 · PMID 21367926 · DOI 10.1210/jc.2010-2395
  2. Intra-abdominal pressure, intra-abdominal hypertension, and pregnancy: a review.. Chun R, Kirkpatrick AW. Ann Intensive Care 2012 · PMID 22873421 · DOI 10.1186/2110-5820-2-S1-S5

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