Foods to Help Increase Breast Milk Production
Did you know that in order to produce enough breast milk for your baby you should pay attention to the food you eat? Breastfeeding is a natural way to nourish your baby, but if you’re not healthy then feeding the baby may deplete your stores of vitamins and minerals to supply the baby. You can consider to choose foods that will help increase breast milk production.
Healthy Eating
A poor diet can also affect the amount of breast milk you produce. You want to eat healthy, nutritious foods as much as possible while breastfeeding.
Best Food That Helps Boost Your Breast Milk Production
You can try these foods to help you increase breast milk production for your baby and keeping your own energy and health up.
- Oats- Energy, fiber, controls blood sugar
- Almonds- Omega-3 and Vitamin E
- Apricots- calcium, fiber, lactation hormones
- Carrots- Vitamin A
- Barley- increases hydration
- Asparagus- Vitamins A and K, fiber, stimulates lactation hormones
- Salmon- Essential fatty acids
- Cumin- fat burner, reduces acidity that could cause digestive irritation
- Milk- helps baby avoid allergy to milk, promotes lactation, calcium, EFA
- Garlic- Chemical compounds to increase lactation
- Fennel Seed- aids digestion, eases colic in baby
- Basil- boosts immunity levels
- Spinach- iron, calcium, folic acid
- Beet Leaves- iron, detoxifying agents
Foods to Avoid
Along with the knowledge of what to eat to help increase breast milk production, you should also know what foods to avoid. You may be surprised to learn that while you should eat plenty of fruits, oranges, berries and pineapples should be avoided. Also, lettuce, cabbage, raw onion, strong herbs, and caffeinated beverages are not good choices for breastfeeding moms. It’s best not to drink alcohol when breastfeeding; however, moderate alcohol consumption (up to 1 drink/day) is not known to be harmful to the infant. Ideally, you would wait at least 2 hours after a single drink before nursing. This doesn’t mean you can’t pump and splurge every now and then, but for the most part, you should try to eat and drink healthy for your baby.
The more you know about how your diet affects your breast milk, the better equipped you are to provide for and nourish your baby. Are there any other tips you would add or any foods you would put on our list?
