Breastfeeding Diet – Benefits of a Good Breastfeeding Diet

Depending on your height and weight, a nursing mother needs to consume between 2,000 and 2,500 calories a day. The calorie count might seem a bit extreme, but a good breastfeeding diet means you’re eating enough healthy foods for two people.

A great resource is the Food Pyramid provided by the US Department of Agriculture. It breaks down foods into groups and how many servings of those foods you should eat per day. The food pyramid helps you to follow a balanced diet, which is important for your health and the health of your child.

When a woman becomes pregnant, her obstetrician automatically puts her on prenatal vitamins until delivery. Many pediatricians have the nursing mother continue to take these vitamins as part of her breastfeeding diet. The vitamins ensure that the mother is getting the right amount of nutrients no matter what she eats on a daily basis.

Doctors recommend that breastfeeding mothers drink at least 8 glasses of water every day to stay hydrated. Drinking water also allows the body to rid itself of toxins. Drinking less than the recommended amount of fluids can decrease the mother’s milk volume.

A balanced breastfeeding diet should consist of the freshest fruits and vegetables you can find and can be eaten cooked or raw. She should consume some forms of protein found in meat and dairy. Eating grains like rice, wheat and corn in the form of pasta and bread is good for you.

A balanced diet simply means eating a variety of different foods from each of the food groups. Fresh foods like whole vegetables, fruits, and meats are more nutritious than canned or frozen foods. Canned freezing can result in a loss of nutrients and vitamins in foods. Try to find foods that don’t contain preservatives. Preservatives make the food last longer than natural whole foods. Everything a nursing mother eats is passed down to her child, including imitation flavors, preservatives, and imitation colors. You want to stick with unprocessed foods so you get natural colors, flavors, and zero preservatives.

To make it easy for you, have everyone in your family eat the same things you eat. There is no need to buy or cook special groceries for you or your family. When you choose healthier, natural foods that haven’t undergone tons of processing, you’re eating healthily. To make your meals taste better, find some easy recipes that sound delicious and give them a try. If you don’t like them, move on to the next recipe. Just making a few new food choices will keep a breastfeeding mother healthy and recover faster from her pregnancy.

Once you start breastfeeding, it is important for your child to use the food pyramid chart as a guide. It provides an overall healthy diet for everyone, but especially for breastfeeding mothers. After you wean your baby, continue these good eating habits. Eating a variety of foods gives your body what it needs to fight off germs and infections. This keeps the mother healthy and gives the baby a good healthy start.

Thanks to Niko Silvia