Vegetables To Avoid While Breastfeeding – How To Tell If Your Diet Is Affecting Your Baby?

During breastfeeding, a mother should consume a healthy diet with a little bit of everything from fruits to vegetables. This will provide complete nutrition to the baby while providing a taste of everything. Sometimes a few veggies can prove to be intolerable to a baby’s stomach. Veggies such as cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, beans, garlic, bok choy, Brussels sprouts, and arugula can cause gas in babies. It’s vital to check your baby and how they react to different foods in your diet. If eliminating veggies can help, then do exclude them.

In the nursing period, taking care of your diet is crucial. Whatever you eat is directly a part of your baby’s diet through the breastmilk offered to them.

While it’s tempting to start eating things you couldn’t during the pregnancy, you still have to keep the streak going during the initial 6 months after birth.

If you think eating green and veggies will be okay, then you’re in for some news, as not all vegetables might suit your little one. While some are considered good, others should be avoided to provide comfort to your baby.

Watch what you eat during breastfeeding

Eating a well-balanced diet is highly recommended for breastfeeding moms. It’s essential not only for your baby’s nutritious-filled milk diet but also for the recovering mother who’s providing the nutrients.

About 400 to 500 extra calorie intake is required during this time per day.

Nutrients such as iron, calcium, potassium, and vitamins A and D are beneficial. So, a wide variety of foods should be included.

Benefits of eating vegetables during breastfeeding

Vegetables are among a vast list of food items that new mothers should be making part of their diet. These are essential as vegetables are a good source of vitamins and antioxidants.

The USDA recommends the following veggies for they are rich in potassium and vitamin A content:

• Spinach
• Cooked greens such as beans and collards
• Carrots
• Sweet potatoes
• Pumpkin
• Tomatoes
• Red sweet peppers

Parents solely focused on breastfeeding for the first 6 months should aim to eat about 3 cups of vegetables a day.

If you opt for a combination feeding, you can take about 2.5 cups of veggies.

Vegetables to avoid while breastfeeding

Of course, eating veggies and fruits has its benefits during the nursing period and is highly recommended. But not all veggies will do your baby good.

While there’s no issue if you consume these items, it could be problematic for your little one through breast milk.

Cruciferous vegetables are highly nutritious for the human body as they are highly nutritious and have fiber, vitamins, iron, and potassium.

Most people aren’t even affected by eating them, even though, in some people, it causes gas.

Similarly, it could be a potential reason for causing tummy troubles in your little one by giving them gas or colic. While some babies can handle them, others might not.

It’s because the stomach and small intestine don’t entirely digest certain carbohydrates, such as fiber, found in broccoli.

When these reach the large intestine, they get digested by gut bacteria that, in turn, produce gas.

These veggies include:

• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Bok choy
• Brussels
• Sprouts
• Arugula
• Cabbage
• Beans
• Garlic

Since it can cause gassiness in your little one, avoiding these veggies can help them somehow. Many parents feel that eliminating these veggies from the diet will help.

But at the same time, pay attention to your baby before making any changes. Since most babies are unaffected by these veggies and don’t produce gas as you think they would.

In fact, introducing them to various veggies through your breastmilk is a chance for them to get the flavor of a variety of items.

All you have to do is monitor your baby and how they react to your diet. If you see eliminating certain veggies is comforting for them, you could eliminate them.

How to tell if your diet is affecting your baby?

When you think a particular food item you’re consuming during the nursing period is causing an issue for your baby, you’ll probably arrive at this conclusion after seeing your little one suffer in some way.

Signs and symptoms of issues include:

• Eczema
• Bloody stools
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Gassiness
• Hives
• Constipation
• Wheezing
• Congestion
• Abnormal fussiness
• Anaphylaxis

It could be that some of the items are intolerable to your baby’s stomach, or they are allergic to them.

You can handle the situation by eliminating certain food items if you see minor signs such as gas. But if there’s a severe reaction, immediately visit your pediatrician for a consultation.

Other foods to avoid during breastfeeding

Other than some vegetables, there are other food items that you should limit or totally avoid consuming during breastfeeding.

While rules aren’t as strict as during pregnancy, there still might be a need to tread carefully.

• Fish high in mercury should be avoided. Exposure to high levels of mercury can permanently affect your infant’s central nervous system.
• The Food and Drug Administration doesn’t regulate herbal supplements in the United States; some could be contaminated with potentially heavy metals.
• Drinking alcohol during this time might seem totally outrageous, but you can occasionally have a glass of wine or two. The amount of alcohol your baby can get from breast milk depends on the quantity and time when consumed, and CDC recommends limiting it to one standard drink per day and waiting at least 2 hours after that drink to breastfeed.
• Large amounts of caffeine intake from teas, coffee, and energy drinks can cause irritability and sleeping issues in babies. CDC recommends limiting it to two to three cups (300mg) a day.
• Highly processed foods are high in calories, unhealthy fats, and added sugars. It’s low in fiber, vitamins, and minerals, so the intake should be minimal.
• Spicy foods could cause gas and diaper rashes in breastfeeding babies.

FAQs