Healthy breastfeeding diet
Windy foods consist of milk and dairy products, dried beans, cucumbers, onions (all varieties), brussels sprouts, peas, spinach, bok choy, cabbage, broccoli, radish, lettuce, cauliflower, asparagus, green peppers, celery, carrots, garlic, sweet potato, corn, yeast, sweet melons, nuts, sugar, sweets, gas drinks and sweetened drinks. I would also be mindful of any spicy foods and tomatoes as they are acidic. Reducing if not eliminating caffeine aids sleep too.
Now if you eliminate all of these there isn’t much left to eat. So when it’s comes to the list err on the side of caution while maintaining a healthy, balanced diet. Have only two of the foods in a 24-hour period. Some of these create more wind than others too. Garlic, sugar, peanuts, sweet potato and sweet melons are not as windy as the rest on the list. However, if you are in the midst of the 3rd DDC (3rd Degree of Digestive Communication - all or one of these behaviours to a large degree: colic, reflux, lactose and dairy overload), stop all of them and slowly re-introduce the foods one at a time, at the same time each day for at least five days, gauging the effects and taking out what doesn’t work well.
Foods that you can eat without creating wind are bananas, water melon, apricots, peaches, pineapple, nectarines, mangoes, plums, pears, cranberries, parsley, basil, corn, avocado, kumara, butternut squash, pumpkin, betroot, quinoa, rice, orzo, pasta, ham, bacon, fish, chicken, venison, duck, brazil nuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, popcorn, rice milk, Olivani, coconut oil, coconut water and mango juice.
What is considered to be a simple, healthy breastfeeding diet?
La Leche League International maintains that ‘an ideal diet for breastfeeding women is simply the healthiest one for all human beings’. This includes fresh vegetables and fruits (preferably those in season), different grains, protein foods from animal sources (dairy products, eggs, meat and fish) and/or plant sources (lentils, beans) and small quantities of fats – preferably uncooked, cold-pressed vegetable oils.
This diet does indeed sound healthy and is one I too advise on the whole. However, newborns are sensitive to even very small quantities of ‘digestively reactive’ food like dairy, too many carbohydrates in one day and windy vegetables and fruit. Therefore maintain a diet where you are aware of limiting your intake of these foods. This advice moves through into solid feeding too.