A breastfeeding mom needs to have proper nutrition like healthy fruits, meals along with high-quality organic honey. It is important to consume honey because it is an excellent source to provide you with sufficient energy along with a continuous supply of nutrients. In addition, honey has numerous benefits; it makes you look beautiful and ensures that your baby gets the healthy nutrients required for proper growth through breastmilk. However, you must never give raw honey to your baby until he is one year old.
Have you been eating honey instead of sugar during your pregnancy to savor your taste and avoid a sugary diet? Well, you have been sensible all this time!
But after the birth of your baby, can you still enjoy a spoonful of honey? “Yes, you can” The false misconceptions surrounding the idea that breastfeeding moms eating honey can be risky are all but true.
Why is honey not safe for infants?
Honey is a natural source of high nutrients giving your body stronger immunity and proper nourishment. But when it comes to infants and toddlers, what’s the threat?
Infants and toddlers possess a direct threat with this natural food because…
Immature immune system
Raw honey contains spores of bacteria known as Clostridium botulinum. Since babies under one year of age have an immature immune system, which means their stomach does not have enough acidity to kill those bacteria and prevent them from reaching the intestine.
When these spores reach the large intestine, they began to colonize and will start producing botulinum toxin. These toxins can cause muscle weakness and loss of muscle tone.
Can breastfeeding moms enjoy honey?
Mothers are often warned that eating honey while breastfeeding will make their newborns suffer. But it is only half the truth.
Although honey is indeed contagious for infants, moms can completely enjoy honey while nursing. This is because of two reasons:
- Botulism spores are killed in the gastrointestinal tract of the mother. This restricts them from entering the bloodstream and so there is no chance those spores will find it’s way into breastmilk.
- Besides, the spores are too big and cannot pass to the baby through the breastmilk.
Benefits of eating raw honey while nursing:
If you have included honey in your daily meal plan to ensure your body gets a good supply of nutrients, you have made a wise decision.
Honey is a natural food and offers healthy benefits to a breastfeeding mom.
- It is best for treating cold and sore throat.
- Mixing honey with milk can help stressed-out moms in getting a good night’s sleep.
- It supplies iron, calcium, and Vitamins C and B to mom’s body.
- New moms need stamina and energy for balancing their lives with a newborn baby. Honey contains fructose and glucose which helps keep you energetic.
- Having anti-bacterial and anti-oxidant properties honey is a perfect natural food for boosting immunity.
- Honey is a natural sweetener. Nursing mothers can easily shed that post-birth weight by replacing sugar with honey.
As a nursing mom should I avoid honey?
Is there any specific condition when a breastfeeding mom should avoid honey?
Honey is healthy and even more nutritious when you have two people to take of: “You and your little darling.”
With no concrete scientific evidence proving that using honey could be harmful while you breastfeed your baby, nursing moms can even dive into this “molten gold.”
There are minimal conditions where mothers should avoid eating honey, such as:
- If you are allergic to pollen and celery.
- Honey extracted from the Rhododendron flowers is known as “Mad Honey”. This type of honey contains grayanotoxins making it stronger and more potent.
Honey and milk supply – is there a connection?
Honey is a good source of increasing milk production. Eating organic honey is sweet, healthy, and can give a boost to your baby’s milk supply.
You can also mix honey with other ingredients such as a mixture of honey with a tinge of cinnamon or drinking honey-lemon water is safe and positively affects the quality of breast milk.
Final thoughts
We mothers worry a lot. For example, I used to crave honey firing my first pregnancy, but after the birth of my son, someone advised me to avoid honey as it may not be suitable for the boy.
But I was smart enough to consult my physician, and he guided me on this matter. So honey may not be a good choice for born babies, but breastfeeding moms can enjoy all the hard work of the honeybees!
