While stimulating breast milk production is not often associated with one specific food, increasing milk production can be accomplished by adopting eating habits that may promote an increase in breast milk production. Let’s first start by making one point very clear; your diet is an essential key component that is often overlooked when assessing your breast milk production. Many mothers neglect their food and nutritional needs due to the high demands of having a new born baby. It’s all to common for mothers to be overwhelmed with changing diapers, doctor visits, comforting the baby, etc., that by the end of the day the mother is left exhausted and under nourished. Pointing out this major fact above shows how valuable a mother’s diet is. An estimated 500 additional calories per day are needed by a nursing mother. Answer this question; “What do most first time mothers have in mind before they even give birth to their new born”… Hint: “How am I going to loose all this weight so I can fit back in my regular size clothes.” Does that sound like an expecting mother you know or have known? The new mother ends up going on a diet to lose weight in the shortest time possible, causing loss in energy and you guessed it, a possible loss in breast milk production.
Water is a key essential liquid that all nursing mothers need to drink in order to replenish fluids loss during breast feeding. Urban legend will lead you to believe that drinking beer can increase breast milk. Could this be true? If you where to investigate what key ingredients in beer could promote breast milk production, you might find that it’s not the alcohol, which by the way is not good for the baby, but the Brewers Yeast that’s used to make the beer. Taking Brewers yeast can help increase breast milk production. Drinking beer has actually been shown to decrease breast milk production because breastmilk flavored with alcohol is not something a baby is going to like, which means the baby is not going to breast feed often, therefore resulting in less breast stimulation.
Soda, coffee and other caffeinated drinks have been shown to stimulate production of breast milk in nursing mothers. The main ingredients in the mentioned list of drinks all contain caffeine. Beware that caffeine in large amounts can have negative effects on you and your baby; moreover the caffeine can stay in the system of babies much longer than that of an adult. So, if you’re going to drink caffeine, drink in moderation, i.e. one cup at most. Caffeine can constrict blood vessels causing stress; therefore if it stresses adults guess what it will do to your baby. Just take it easy on the caffeine.
These are foods to help increase breast milk production:
Brown Rice – contains B vitamins, selenium, iron, fiber and manganese.
Avocados – contains potassium, vitamin B6, and Pantothenic acid
Beets – high in potassium
Carrots – high in vitamin C
Barley – high in phosphorus, magnesium, and vitamin B6.
Dulse – a red algae high in B vitamins, iron, and potassium.
Kombu – edible kelp rich in glutamic acid, which is responsible of one of the five basic tastes.