Diet While Breastfeeding: What To Eat?
Diet during breastfeeding is of the utmost importance to keep your baby healthy and you compensated with the vitamins and minerals your body needs to function properly. We offer you some recommendations for this stage of your life.
Many mothers worry about thinking about what to eat when they are breastfeeding. Others, on the other hand, want to lose the kilograms acquired during pregnancy as soon as possible, while maintaining good health.
If these doubts are present in your head, this article will bring you very good news; you will know the enormous amount of food that you are allowed to consume. In turn, you will see how easy it will be to gradually lose weight just by eating healthy.
Diet while breastfeeding: what to eat?
When a mother is breastfeeding, her body needs a large number of nutrients in order to maintain her health in optimal condition. This is because much of your vitamin store is passing to the baby.
From there we infer that the mother’s diet, rather than quantity, must be of quality. Although it is a reality that when women are breastfeeding they feel more hungry, with adequate and healthy foods they can be healthy and, at the same time, they will regain their weight.
To achieve this double objective and also feel satiated, specialists agree that the mother should eat five servings of food a day. This helps keep energy levels high and also speeds up metabolism. The result is a natural and balanced consumption of the stored kilograms.
Now, what are those foods that you can eat? Next we will talk about each of them, the benefits they provide and the recommended amounts for the diet during breastfeeding.
Fruits and vegetables
They represent the group of foods that must be present yes or yes in the five food servings. Ideally, you should eat them fresh and in season. It can be in the form of salads or steamed vegetables. Of course, in the case of fruits that allow it, you can ingest the skin, which also adds fiber to your diet.
If you eat sufficient amounts of vegetables and fruits, you will not need supplements regarding folic acid and vitamins C, A, B1, B2, D and E.
Dairy products
Dairy intake ranks second on the list of recommendations for breastfeeding mothers. They should be present in three or four of the five daily servings.
By consuming dairy, you not only collaborate with the formation of the baby’s bones, but also provide him and your body with vitamins B1, B2, A and D. Important: preferably choose the low-fat presentations.
Fish
Including fish in the diet during lactation is relevant since it provides iodine to our body and, when passed to the baby, stimulates their brain development. Its consumption is recommended three or four times a week.
The types of fish suggested are the so-called blue ones, such as sardines, anchovies or mackerel. In addition to the contribution of iodine, they offer omega 3, which also benefits neurological development.
Lean meats and eggs
On the other hand, it is also recommended to consume lean meats, which are all those composed of muscle fibers without fat. Some examples of this type of meat are chicken and turkey breast, rabbit and some cuts of veal. Remember to consume them without the skin and in the oven and on the grill, for fats.
With regard to the egg, you can consume it three times a week: it is a good source of protein.
Water
It is important that the mother consumes at least 2 liters of water a day, since 87% of breast milk is made up of water. Anyway, this liquid will be very requested by the mother; oxytocin in the body, generated by breastfeeding, stimulates the feeling of dehydration.
Good fats
We will call good fats those from nuts, avocado, extra virgin olive oil or the so-called blue fish. The consumption of fats that do not provide any nutrients such as mayonnaise, palm oil, or refined oils should be stopped. In any case, the consumption of “good fats” should also be reduced.
You can already see that the diet during lactation includes multiple options. And best of all: they are included in almost all the best healthy diets to reduce kilograms.
As a final tip, remember that pastries and fried foods only provide calories without nutrients. Also, products with excess coloring or chemicals, liquor and coffee are prohibited when you breastfeed.
