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During pregnancy, it is important to be careful with certain foods, as the growing baby cannot handle the bacteria that can be found in raw dairy products or alcohol. By contrast, breastfeeding does not require as much attention to diet as pregnancy; however, it is still necessary to watch the diet to feed the baby safely. Fortunately, the human body is designed to make the best of what it receives. Even if a diet is poor, studies from around the world have shown that breast milk still has the right combination of nutrients to effectively feed the baby. If the mother’s diet is poor, the body’s own nutrient stores will replace what is missing in the milk, as long as stores allow.
However, for the sake of mother and baby, it is important to eat healthy. A wide dietary variety is also beneficial because babies experience different tastes and smells of breast milk. It helps develop taste buds and can also help create the foundation for cultural preference in the kitchen. This explains why a breastfed baby on a bland diet may refuse a curried dish of food, for example. Studies have shown that a mother’s food preferences during pregnancy and lactation affect the baby’s taste buds in the same way.
On the other hand, several mothers have confirmed that there may also be some foods with adverse effects on the baby’s health. They find that their babies have gas after eating cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, onions, or cauliflower. This point of view has not been scientifically proven. Additionally, some babies may even show allergic reactions to the mother’s diet, most commonly dairy products. There may also be more accounts of reactions; therefore, every breastfeeding mother has to find out what her baby can swallow easily and what cannot. It takes between 2 and 6 hours from when a certain food is ingested until it affects the taste and smell of the milk. Therefore, if the baby shows signs of discomfort while she is digesting the milk, it is worth eliminating the suspected food for a few days and seeing if there is any difference in the baby’s symptoms.
What foods are best to avoid
Nursing mothers should limit their alcohol intake as much as possible. Ideally, they should not drink any alcohol because it can be detected in the milk, albeit considerably less than what was drunk.
Caffeine in coffee and theine in tea should be limited to no more than a cup or two a day. If you drink too much, it can affect your baby too. It should be noted that caffeine cannot pass through their bodies as efficiently as adults and can actually build up in their systems. Caffeine-free alternatives are worth considering while breastfeeding.
If there is a known history of food allergies in the family, it is best to avoid peanuts. Peanut consumption has been shown to leave traces of allergens in breast milk and may increase the baby’s risk of developing allergies in the future.
Try to avoid processed foods that display long lists of additives. The so-called electronic numbers affect the health of the mother and the baby and should be avoided at all times. However, some electronic numbers have natural origins and are allowed (visit The Soil Association for more information)
It is important to keep the amount of fish to no more than 340 g (12 oz) per week to minimize mercury exposure. Additionally, the FSA recommends limiting canned tuna to 280g (drained) and fresh tuna to 170g per week.
Lastly, the sweetener known as saccharin should be consumed with great care because the long-term effects are still unknown. The best option is sucralose (Splenda), which offers a safe, zero-calorie substitute for sugar.