PROPER NUTRITION WHILE LEEING WHAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT

• High-calorie foods are recommended while breastfeeding. Your calorie requirement may be comparatively higher.
• Foods high in fiber like whole wheat pasta, bread, potatoes, or rice can keep you full for longer.
• Many protein products can have a positive effect on your milk production.
• Strawberries, oranges and grapes have a high content of folic acid. This can be important not only during pregnancy but also during breastfeeding.
• To meet your need for healthy fatty acids, nuts or fatty sea fish are good options.
  
• Eating raw meat is no longer a problem when breastfeeding.
• As a vegetarian or vegan, you should pay attention to your iron and vitamin B12 content.
• We recommend this dietary supplement during breastfeeding.

When breastfeeding, you should avoid foods with an increased content of harmful substances. This means that innards such as kidneys or liver are not recommended when breastfeeding.

Read our tips for a healthy diet while breastfeeding here.

• Cabbage and other flatulent foods – some foods can make the baby gassy when breastfeeding. These include cabbage, leeks, legumes, garlic and onions. Kohlrabi, cauliflower and broccoli are less likely to cause flatulence.
• Hot foods and spices – Curry, chili, ginger and other hot spices and foods can cause skin irritation in the child.

Caffeine can make children restless. As a breastfeeding woman, you can drink black tea, but no more than one or two cups. The same applies to coffee, although it is advisable to use decaffeinated coffee while breastfeeding.

If you drink alcohol while breastfeeding, you harm your baby. Even small amounts can affect the swallowing and sucking reflex. Parents have a responsibility to the child. For this reason, it is recommended that you do not drink alcohol while breastfeeding. In exceptional cases, you can drink a very small amount. Then you have to make sure that the alcohol has broken down before you next breastfeed your child.

Extra calories are important when breastfeeding because you have a higher need for energy and nutrients. After giving birth, you need about 500 to 600 additional calories a day.

Since you built up reserves during pregnancy, you draw on them in the first few months. You can therefore eat more and the weight loss should be slow.

Dieting while breastfeeding can affect not only your health but also breastfeeding. It's possible that your weight is affecting milk production. Too few or too many pounds can reduce milk production. Furthermore, the energy content of the milk is lower. It is therefore important that you eat enough but not too much and that you eat a balanced and healthy diet because of the nutrients.

Your nutritional and calorie needs are higher when breastfeeding. However, be careful about the calories you eat. About half of your diet should consist of high-fiber foods. 

Foods high in fiber make you feel full longer and can prevent constipation. You may enjoy cakes and other sweets, but in small amounts. Products containing sugar are high in calories, but they do not contain high-quality minerals or vitamins.

In order to produce enough milk, your body needs a higher amount of protein. You can cover the increased protein requirement with sea fish, low-fat meat, whole grain products, nuts and dairy products such as cheese, yoghurt or milk.

Breastfeeding women need to consume more vitamins and minerals. You can cover your increased needs with the foods already mentioned and the foods in the following list. Folic acid is particularly important during breastfeeding. 

You should also pay particular attention to getting enough iron, calcium and iodine. A sufficient supply of iodine is relevant for the mental and physical development of your child

In general, fresh fruit and vegetables are part of a balanced and healthy diet. The list will help you to ensure breastfeeding-friendly eating.

The types of fruit and vegetables we have listed are particularly suitable when you are breastfeeding. Incidentally, the food you eat while breastfeeding influences your child’s later eating preferences. If you eat a lot of fruit and vegetables while breastfeeding, there is a very good chance that your child will later enjoy certain types of fruit and vegetables.

Here we list vegetables that are recommended for you as a breastfeeding mother.

Here we list fruits that are recommended for you as a breastfeeding mother.

There are other foods that should not be missing from your diet. For example, low-fat meat zinc, protein and iron and fish provide high-quality fatty acids.

• Fatty sea fish – Fish such as mackerel, herring or salmon contain polyunsaturated fatty acids. Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids can have a positive effect on the baby's immune system.

• Nuts – As long as you are not allergic to nuts, these foods are good sources of healthy fatty acids.

Raw meat is taboo during pregnancy, but not anymore when breastfeeding. During pregnancy, infections such as toxoplasmosis or listeriosis, which are transmitted by bacteria, are the reason not to use them. However, these are not passed on to the baby via breast milk.

A sufficient supply of liquid should always be ensured. When breastfeeding, not drinking enough fluids can have a negative effect on milk production. Drink 2 to 2,5 liters daily.

Suitable drinks are water, juice and sugar-free fruit and herbal teas. Make sure you choose a still or at least a non-carbonated mineral water. 

By the way, you can drink coconut milk while breastfeeding or otherwise use it in the kitchen. It is a good supplier of vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid). The vitamin is important for the entire protein, fat and carbohydrate metabolism.

It used to be said that breastfeeding mothers should not eat certain foods because they can cause bloating in the baby. According to new findings, this is not necessary. If you want to avoid flatulence in your baby when breastfeeding, you should avoid foods such as cabbage and other types of cabbage, onions, garlic and legumes. 

However, garlic promotes milk production, like in a study could be explored. The scientists found that the duration of breastfeeding increased if the mother ate garlic beforehand. If the baby stays at the breast longer, this has a positive effect on milk production. 

If your baby has bloating, you need to monitor it closely to see if it's related to the foods you're eating. 

If you need to take medication while breastfeeding, you should always discuss this with your doctor. Some medicines pass into breast milk, so taking them can have a negative effect on your baby. Your doctor knows which medications are safe to take while breastfeeding. It is also important to keep a time interval between meals and medication.

If expectant mothers eat vegan or vegetarian food, they should obtain information from their gynecologist during pregnancy. For example, iron is best absorbed from meat.

It is also possible that women have a vitamin B12 deficiency if they have been without meat or animal foods for a long time. A vitamin B12 deficiency in the mother can cause neurological damage in the baby. So that you do not endanger the development of your child, you should seek advice from your doctor before the birth. Have a meal plan set up for you.

It can also be useful to take dietary supplements.

During breastfeeding, there is an increased need for nutrients and calories. A diet while breastfeeding can trigger deficiency symptoms in the mother, so that the child is not supplied with enough nutrients either. You should lose a maximum of 2 kilograms per month. If you lose weight too quickly and eat too little, this can also have a negative effect on the milk supply.

Nicotine is a neurotoxin. It protects the tobacco plant from pests. If you smoke while breastfeeding, your baby absorbs the substance through breast milk. Nicotine can delay your child's development. Smoking while breastfeeding can also lead to vomiting, restlessness, colic and an increased risk of respiratory diseases in infants. 

In addition, smokers' bodies are constantly detoxifying. He needs more vitamins for this, so that you have a greatly increased need for vitamins. So it's best if you give up smoking completely. In addition, the rest of the family should never smoke around the baby, but should go to another room or outside.

According to current knowledge, you cannot protect your child from allergies by not eating cow's milk or other foods. With fish it could be different. Eating this food could reduce your baby's risk of allergies

Sources:

• Peanut allergy risk reduction study: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28916221/
• Carrots and Effect on Health: https://www.tk.de/techniker/magazin/ernaehrung/essen-und-wissen/moehren-karotten-2005108?tkcm=aaus
• Caffeine while breastfeeding: https://www.kinderaerzte-im-netz.de/news-archiv/meldung/article/koffeinhaltige-getraenke-beim-stillen-nur-in-massen-geniessen/
• Book “Eat right during pregnancy and breastfeeding”: https://www.amazon.de/Richtig-essen-Schwangerschaft-Stillzeit-Gesundheit/dp/3833822651/ref=sr_1_4?crid=2UYG6CDNHDTSC&keywords=ern%C3%A4hrung+stillzeit&qid=1661348995&s=books&sprefix=ern%C3%A4hrung+still%2Cstripbooks%2C141&sr=1-4