“Have a healthy diet while breastfeeding.” You must have heard this advice a thousand times from your doctors, family, and friends. This is one of the best advice for you and your baby because your breast milk will provide the baby with the necessary nutrients required for growth and protection from infections or illnesses. Hence, what food you eat and avoid while breastfeeding plays a crucial role in your baby’s overall development. As it is National Breastfeeding Month, if you are looking for answers for the best food to eat and avoid while breastfeeding, here’s everything you need to know.
Foods to increase the intake of when you are breastfeeding
Breast milk is called “liquid gold” due to its color and all the essential nutrients it provides the baby in the first six months of their life. While your body regulates the composition of breast milk, research has shown that what you consume during this time affects the contents or composition of the breast milk. Hence, if you are nursing, breastfeeding, or chestfeeding, you must be mindful of what you eat, when, and how much.
While breastfeeding, you should eat food that is a rich source of protein, iron, and calcium. This includes lean meat, nuts, seeds, eggs, fish, and seafood low in mercury. You should also have a variety of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, such as berries, tomatoes, kale, garlic, bell peppers, cabbage, and broccoli.
If you are vegetarian, eat enriched cereals, leafy green vegetables, peas, dried fruit, such as raisins, and other healthy food items while breastfeeding. Fiber-rich foods like potatoes, sweet potatoes, beans, lentils, butternut squash, oats, quinoa, and buckwheat are also good for consumption when you are breastfeeding.
For calcium, include eggs, dairy products, calcium-enriched and calcium-fortified products, such as natural juices, cereals, soy milk, soy yogurt, and tofu. While breastfeeding, eat iron-rich foods along with ones high in vitamin C. This will help your body absorb iron easily. Most importantly, keep yourself hydrated by drinking water.
Eating various healthy foods will change the flavor of your breast milk, exposing your baby to different tastes. This might also help your baby accept solid food easily when you start feeding them semi-solid or solid food later on.
Foods to limit or avoid when you are breastfeeding
Although you can eat almost everything while breastfeeding, some food items should be avoided or limited.
Sugary drinks and processed food
Excessive consumption of sugary drinks will do no good to you or your baby. Too much sugar can contribute to postpartum weight gain or hinder your efforts to lose pregnancy weight.
Also, if you have been eating a lot of junk food while breastfeeding, maybe it’s time to limit your intake. Moreover, you should avoid consuming highly processed food while breastfeeding. They are low in essential nutrients and high in calories, unhealthy fats, and added sugars. Furthermore, your unhealthy food choices may affect your child’s food preferences later in life.
Caffeine
Avoid drinking too much caffeine while breastfeeding. Enjoying two to three cups of caffeinated drinks a day is all right. However, any more than this, the caffeine in your breast milk might agitate your baby or interfere with their sleep. This will make them irritable and cranky the next day. So, limit your intake of coffee, soda, tea, and even chocolate while you are breastfeeding.
Fishes high in mercury
Fishes are considered good food to eat while breastfeeding. However, bigeye tuna, king mackerel, marlin, shark, swordfish, and other fishes high in mercury should not be consumed if you are breastfeeding. They can cause mercury poisoning in the little ones, permanently affecting the central nervous system of your infant. Due to this, your child may have cognition impairment, fine motor skills impairment, and so on. Hence, consuming only low-mercury fish for adequate omega-3 intake is advisable.
Alcohol
Occasionally, drinking is considered acceptable. However, regular consumption of alcohol should be avoided while breastfeeding as it takes a long time to clear out from your system. Moreover, excess alcohol consumption will reduce your milk production and can have adverse effects on your infant. Hence, it is recommended to limit alcohol to one drink (or even less) and to wait 2-3 hours before breastfeeding.
If your infant experiences constipation, excessive gas, vomiting, eczema, diarrhea, or other issues, avoid these foods while breastfeeding and consult your doctor for further clarification.
Don’t shy away from taking supplements
Don’t shy away from taking supplements, especially if your body needs them. They are a great way to improve your body’s vitamin and mineral levels. Since your body is going through a lot of changes, there are chances that it might lack some essential vitamins or minerals required for your baby’s growth. Moreover, a poor diet or lack of a nutrient-rich one can also lead to vitamin deficiency. Taking supplements after consulting a professional can solve this issue.
However, it would be best if you were careful when choosing supplements. Many contain certain herbs or additives that are not deemed safe while breastfeeding.
So, be it your vitamin B12, vitamin D, Omega-3, multivitamin, or any other supplement essential for a baby’s growth, it is of utmost importance to consult your doctor to understand whether or not its components are safe to consume while breastfeeding. Chances are that after you give birth, your doctor will prescribe you some supplements. You should have these without second thoughts, as the professionals recommend them only after noticing your body doesn’t have the optimum amount of said nutrients.
Breastfeeding is a crucial stage for your infant’s overall growth (both physical and mental). Your diet plays a vital role in providing all the essential nutrients to your child through breast milk. Hence, keep a tab on what you are eating. Eat only healthy and nutrient-dense food to provide plenty of nutrition to your baby while breastfeeding.
