What Not To Eat While Breastfeeding
Can you give me an idea of what not to eat while breastfeeding?
Whenever you are an expectant mother you will quickly learn that it is extremely important that you pay attention to your diet and everything that you are putting into your body. This is because you are now of course eating for two. It is not an overstatement to say that the better your diet, the better chance your baby will have to thrive.
However, watching your diet does not stop after your baby is born. This is because if you plan on breast-feeding, you will need to maintain a healthy diet and continue to watch what you are eating for the sake of your newborn.
This does not mean that you have to be overly strict about everything you eat, but you do have to be aware that some of the foods you eat could pose a problem for your baby. As an example, eating certain foods such as onions, garlic, chili peppers, etc. may cause your baby to become gassy and quite fussy. This is why you have to pay particular attention whenever you are eating foods like this to see it if they in fact cause a reaction in your baby or not.
Trying to determine which foods are upsetting your baby’s digestive system is not always an easy task. Sometimes your baby may be going through a growth spurt or having a particularly fussy day, so you can never completely rule out other factors when trying to determine which foods should be off limits. In many cases you may have to reintroduce a food into your diet that you thought was a problem, just to be absolutely sure that it does in fact not agree with your baby.
Keep in mind that when trying to determine which types of foods that could be the culprits, that it is most likely something you ate 2-4 hours before breastfeeding.
What Not To Eat When Breastfeeding
Not all babies react the same to different foods, so there are no particular foods that you should really avoid while you’re breast-feeding, but there are a number of foods that many mothers have identified as causing a problem for their babies. These include:
- fruits such as oranges, pineapples, limes, lemons, and grapefruit
- spices such as garlic, curry, and chili pepper
- vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli, onions, and cabbage
- dairy products such as cheese, ice cream and yogurt
- soy-based foods
- coffee
- chocolates
- alcohol
Again, it is not being suggested that you avoid all of these foods above entirely. This is just a list of some common foods that have caused problems for other mothers and their babies. As an example, you may find out that it is perfectly fine for you to have a glass of alcohol every once in a while when breast-feeding, whereas another mother may find it poses a problem for her baby. It is simply a matter of trial and error when trying to figure out what to eat while breastfeeding.
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