Mother's milk is an ideal food for an infant. Starting from birth, it fully satisfies all the needs of a growing baby’s body, from vitamins to nutrients. In order for the mother to have full milk, she needs to introduce a whole list of healthy products into her postpartum diet. One of these products is walnuts. In what quantities can they be consumed, what are the benefits of walnuts for breastfeeding, and are there any contraindications for use, we will consider in this article.
Important: What you can eat with breastfeeding: product list
The benefits of walnuts during breastfeeding
Walnuts are a very high-calorie product. 100 grams of nuts contain 656 kcal, of which 547 kcal is derived from fat. But for all their calorie content, they are practically devoid of carbohydrates. And this suggests that it is very difficult to spoil a figure by consuming a handful of nuts daily. But they saturate breast milk with protein substances, amino acids, unsaturated fatty acids, which is only beneficial for the baby. Walnuts contain tannins, carotenoids and essential oil. They help calm the baby’s nervous system and have a beneficial effect on his sleep.
Few people know, but walnut kernels contain a considerable amount of ascorbic acid. Therefore, with a mild cold or a loss of immunity, it will be especially important for a nursing mother to enjoy walnuts.
Meanwhile, walnuts are considered an allergenic product due to the content of essential oil in the kernel (0.03%). If one of the close family members or the mother herself suffers from allergic reactions to food, has asthma, or is hypersensitive to any type of allergen, then it is worth the time to include nuts in the diet when breastfeeding. Also, an allergy in a baby can develop with the abuse of a mother in eating walnuts, significantly exceeding the allowed norm. An allergen can accumulate in the body of the baby, and manifest itself in a couple of weeks. Allergy addiction is the only contraindication to the exclusion of nuts from the diet of a nursing mother. Remember that walnuts are useful for breastfeeding, but also require moderate consumption.
Walnuts in the nutrition of a nursing mother
First of all, we will answer the question of interest to most newly minted mothers - is it possible to eat walnuts when breastfeeding? Answer: it is possible, but a certain measure should be observed. In the diet of a nursing mother, the use of these nuts we love is reduced to 4-5 cores per day. Best if it is a snack between breakfast and lunch. It is good to eat walnuts in combination with other nuts, nut mixes.
It is worth avoiding the use of fried walnuts, hazelnut jam or pastries with a filling-paste of nuts and sugar. In this form, nuts will bring little benefit, but the baby can cause anxiety, becoming the cause of childhood colic.
But without fear, you can add natural walnut oil to your food. This is a rare product on our table, but you can purchase it at almost any supermarket. This oil is not suitable for frying (and it is undesirable for a nursing mother to use fried dishes), but for dressing salads, and even a side dish made from cereals, it is ideal. The concentration of vitamins in oil after squeezing nuts is maximally preserved. The use of walnut oil will help mom to fix stool after childbirth, the child will prevent the occurrence of constipation.
There is a misconception that walnuts have a powerful lactogenic effect, contribute to a flush of milk. Nuts do not actually have this effect. They only increase the nutritional value and calorie content of milk, which helps the baby to stay full longer. But walnuts do not radically affect the ducts of the mammary glands. Therefore, they can not cause lactostasis or mastitis.
In conclusion, I want to say that walnuts are a valuable food product, which is desirable for the presence in the diet during breastfeeding. It is only wise to use it, and then this product will only benefit.
On the topic of nutrition of a nursing mother:
Who benefits from walnuts
Having already had a little experience (I’m a mother of two children), I can say that I managed to support the process of breastfeeding with one baby up to 3 years old precisely thanks to walnuts. At the moment, the youngest child is 1 year old, and we also eat milk. I eat a few nuts a day, which is enough. Not one, not a second child was poured out, maybe you just need to know the measure.
I eat a little and they cause me to gas, which is very unpleasant.