After having a baby, the first thing that keeps crawling up at the back of your mind is losing those pregnancy pounds, but this time you also need to be worried about your diet that does not just make you feel chirpy but contributes to the growth of your baby.
Mother feed is crucial for a baby for the first six months. Therefore, you should take in a highly nutritious diet. Your eating habits will affect the health of your baby as well as yours. You cannot avoid a healthy nutritious diet especially if you are recuperating from labour.
You will have to take in enough calories because, otherwise, breastfeeding can make you slow and weak. However, it is necessary to ensure that they come from whole food when taking calories. Stay away from processed food and fad diets.
They have empty calories. Whole grains, lean meats, proteins, fresh fruit and vegetables, nuts, beans and legumes are the essential source for absorbing vitamins and minerals. Here is what you should include in your diet if you are a breastfeeding mother.
Keep your body hydrated
You may feel thirstier while breastfeeding. Many mothers report that they have the urge to drink water after breastfeeding this instant. Drink plenty of fluids. It can be in any form, including milk and juice.
Ensure that you do not rely on soda and caffeinated drinks because this can affect your baby’s health. Instead, a rule of thumb says that you should drink water to keep your body hydrated because no source is better than water.
It is suggested to avoid excess intake of fruit juice because it can increase the risk of diabetes. Alternatively, drink when you feel thirsty and when you are dehydrated; make sure that you drink water..
Have a balanced diet
Gynaecologists and obstetrician suggest that you should take a balanced diet after becoming a mother.
Just because you know that you should consume more and more calories, it does not mean that you will prefer having a high-fat diet.
Instead, you should consider a balanced diet. When doctors suggest a balanced diet, they mean that they should focus on each source of nutrition.
For instance, you must have legumes, beans, pulses, veggies, fruit, and seeds. A variety of food is essential during breastfeeding.
You do not know which nutrients are found in which food, and therefore you should have a balanced diet.
Make sure that your diet includes meat, green leafy vegetables, whole fruit, fruit juice (100% real, not the one with artificial ingredients and preservatives), milk, cheese, whole grains, cereals, and beans.
If you do not eat meat and eggs, you should increase the intake of green veggies and fruit. Nuts are rich in ALA, a type of omega 3 fatty acids. You can add them to your diet if you are vegetarian.
Avoid alcohol, smoking and caffeine.
You should not drink caffeinated beverages until your baby weans. Such drinks can make your baby cranky because they can disrupt their sleeping behaviour and patterns. In addition, it can affect your baby’s health badly, so try to avoid caffeinated drinks.
It is continually proposed that you should avoid sipping alcohol while breastfeeding. However, you should try to limit the intake, at least if you cannot give it up.
It can affect the milk supply and can misbalance the nutrients that can undoubtedly impact your baby’s health.
Try to cut back on your alcoholic beverages during breastfeeding completely. Tobacco is more harmful than alcohol. It can affect the heartbeat and cause restlessness, vomiting, and diarrhoea. In addition, It can influence the amount of milk you provide.
If you are concerned about your baby’s health, you should stay away from caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol unless your baby weans.
Take supplements
Even if you take a healthy diet, it may still lack some nutrients. Hence, a satisfactory amount of nutrition is required. However, despite a balanced diet, you may not be able to take in nutrients in a sufficient quantity, and therefore, you may need to take supplements.
Various supplements may provide you with enough omega-three fatty acids, folic acid, vitamin D, and calcium. However, it is constantly recommended that you should not commence taking supplements on your own.
It would be best if you talked to your doctor. This is because excess of a particular vitamin or mineral can affect your health badly.
For instance, you may not get sufficient vitamin D from your food, an essential vitamin that boosts calcium absorption.
Vitamin D deficiency will lead to poor calcium absorption to your bones. Therefore, your doctor may recommend some vitamin D tablets.
However, over consumption can lead to vitamin D toxicity. That’s why make sure that you advise your doctor before using any supplements.
The Food you can eat for multiple vitamins and minerals.
- Vitamin A – sweet potatoes, dark leafy greens, carrots, eggs
- Vitamin B1 – fish, seeds, nuts, beans
- Vitamin B2 – almonds, nuts, cheese, meat and eggs
- Vitamin B6 – nuts, poultry, potatoes, fish, bananas, dried fruit
- Vitamin B12 – liver, yogurt, oily fish, eggs
- Vitamin C – strawberries, broccoli, citrus fruits, green veggies
- Vitamin D – oily fish, cod liver oil, mushrooms, fortified foods
- Calcium – milk, cheese, yogurt, leafy greens
- Iron – red meat, poultry, green veggies, dried fruit
- Folate – leafy greens, legumes and beans, asparagus, avocados
- Copper – nuts, whole grains, beans, potatoes
- Zinc – oysters, beans, cashews, dairy
Health is essential, and a healthy balanced diet is the only way to maintain it. Many new moms have medical issues, and they are relying on personal loans to fund their medical treatments. Still, you all can improve your health by following a healthy diet.
