Does What You Eat Affect Your Breast Milk?
What a mother eats may affect the taste as well as the composition of her breast milk. Generally, eating a variety of foods with a variety of flavours is beneficial and may influence a child to be a more adventurous eater. When infants are exposed to the foods first in breast milk, they tend to be more likely to want to eat the food in solid form once that is introduced. Breastfeeding mothers should primarily focus on eating a balanced diet, for the benefit of themselves and their babies.
Trans Fat
Mothers who consume high amounts of trans fats may be passing those trans fats along to their babies in their breast milk. A study in the November 2010 issue of the “European Journal of Clinical Nutrition” reports that breastfeeding mothers who consumed more than 4.5 grams of trans fat a day doubled the chances that their infants would have high levels of body fat. Trans fat is often in margarine and shortening, fried foods and commercially baked goods. A large serving of French fries at some restaurants may contain 5 grams of trans fat.
Caffeine
The mother should limit her caffeine consumption to fewer than 300 mg per day.
Usually, less than 1 percent of the caffeine you consume ends up in your breast milk. But the body of a newborn baby can’t easily break down the caffeine, so it may accumulate in your baby’s system. Some babies may be more sensitive to caffeine, but for the average baby, the mother should limit her caffeine consumption to fewer than 300 mg per day. A 1.75 ounce- bar of dark chocolate contains about 31 milligrams of caffeine, a cup of coffee contains 100 to 200 milligrams of caffeine, chiliand a typical cola soft drink contains between 35 and 40 milligrams of caffeine.
Herbs and Spices
Go ahead and enjoy that bowl of chilli or that spicy curry. Typically, such foods won’t adversely affect breast milk, though the seasonings may flavour the breast milk for up to eight hours. One study found caraway seed and licorice flavours appeared strongest in breast milk about two hours after a mum ate them, while mint peaked in milk about six hours after ingestion. The herbs in foods should be distinguished from herbs in medicinal doses, which may not be safe for nursing mothers. Consult your health care provider before taking any herbal supplement while breastfeeding.
Dairy Products
If your baby displays signs of a food allergy, you may want to eliminate dairy products
The food a mother eats is usually not the cause of a baby’s digestion problems or gas, but there are rare instances where the baby may have a food allergy. In such cases, changes to the mother’s diet may help alleviate the problem. One of the more common culprits is dairy protein. If your baby displays signs of a food allergy, such as a rash, diarrhoea, gas, fussiness, cough, congestion or a runny nose, you may want to eliminate dairy products.