What to eat during breastfeeding?

Breastfeeding is one of the periods of the greatest nutritional requirement in a woman's life. Through it is feeding another human being, and this implies that the mother should not neglect what she eats. Although the recommendations are not far from those that should be followed at any time of life -do a varied and balanced diet, following the guidelines of the Mediterranean diet- yes it is true that there are some specific keys that should be taken into account, and that will benefit both the mother and the baby.

Many mothers who breastfeed their children wonder about the diet they should follow during breastfeeding. For example, what should be eaten, what are the necessary vitamins or what amount of food should be served on the plate? However, with rare exceptions, the mother's diet does not alter the quality or quantity of milk produced. Other habits, on the other hand, do. Therefore, to care for the health and welfare of the baby is more important to worry about what to avoid: caffeine, tobacco, alcohol, and medication.

One of the main recommendations is that you have to eat more. The nursing mother should increase her caloric intake by approximately 500 kilocalories a day. That is, taking into account that a woman who does not exercise too much, would have to take, under normal conditions, between 2,300 and 2,500 kilocalories a day, the one that is breastfeeding "would have to ingest almost 3,000 kilocalories", explains Carolina Moro, responsible of nutrition and health of the Federation of the Food and Beverage Industry (FIAB). However, if the mother is doing some exercise during breastfeeding, "we would even have to go to 3,400 kilocalories," she clarifies.

Do not forget about iron, to avoid anemia or iodine, "so that the newborn maintains optimal levels of thyroid hormones," says Muro. "A good idea would be to buy iodized salt," says this expert. Finally, of course, vitamins are also essential, especially those of group A and B, present in fruits and vegetables. The latter should be increased by 30 to 50% compared to the normal levels of a non-lactating adult woman.

In short, if the mother eats everything, she should not have any problems. Although we must take into account, as highlighted by Muro, "that breastfeeding is not a period to get thin, it is a very important time for the child in which we even have to eat more." According to their indications, the mother who is breastfeeding should do "between five and six meals a day" and also, increase the amount of the intake.

However, these tips should not make mothers who want to start their postpartum operation shortly after having their child rule out breastfeeding " pelancar ASI" , since, as pointed out by Muro, it is shown that "breastfeeding mothers lose weight much more than those that do not. " We must not forget, stresses that the fact of being breastfeeding consumes a lot of energy from the mother, between 3,000 and 3,500 kilocalories a day, with which "weight is lost in a natural, progressive and - what is more important - healthy".