How Maternal Diet Influences the Quality of Breast Milk

Are you a nursing mother who follows a restricted diet? Do you want to follow the right diet to provide quality, nutrition-rich breast milk to your infant? If yes, learning how maternal diet influences the quality of the breast milk can help you a lot. Breast milk is the most wholesome food for your newborn provided by nature. Even though your diet is not completely responsible for the quality of your milk, it does affect the quality of your breast milk significantly. And, your infant’s immunity, metabolism, and physiological health greatly depend on the quality of your breast milk.

So, here we help you learn how your diet affects the breast milk and how you can modify your diet to provide quality, nutritious breast milk to ensure good health, growth, and development of your newborn.

1. Vitamins In The Breast Milk Are Affected By Mother’s Diet

The concentration of vitamins in the breast milk is altered by your diet. You may need to have a balanced diet or have supplements to have appropriate amounts of crucial vitamins in your breast milk. For instance, if you are a vegetarian then your breast milk might be deficient in vitamin B12. Little exposure to sunlight might make your breast milk vitamin D deficient. Choose to eat a diet rich in water soluble vitamins to ensure good levels of vitamins in your milk. Seek your doctor’s guidance for appropriate vitamin supplements for the right vitamin supply in the milk.

2. Macro-nutrients In Breast Milk Remain Unaltered

Your diet hardly affects the composition of macro-nutrients, such as proteins, fats, lactose, and carbohydrates. So, regardless what you eat, your breast milk will comprise of the right proportions of proteins, calories, fats, and carbohydrates that help promote the growth of your infant appropriately. ||

3. Certain Minerals In Milk Is Affected By Your Diet

Your diet affects only certain minerals in your breast milk, particularly iodine. If your diet is iodine deficient then it can affect the concentration of iodine in your breast milk. Consult your doctor to include this supplement in your diet.

4. Probiotics In The Breast Milk Are Altered By Your Diet

Probiotics are crucial for a number of health benefits. Good bacteria in your gut are always beneficial for your overall health and your baby’s too. If you are following a healthy diet rich in probiotics, you are bound to pass your infant more beneficial bacteria through your breast milk. Medical researches reveal that if you have the right intake of probiotics in your diet while lactating, it helps minimize your newborn’s risk of developing eczema by 40%.

5. The Flavor Of Breast Milk Is Influenced By Your Diet

Depending on what you eat, various flavours pass into your breast milk. Thus, your diet influences the taste of your breast milk for your baby significantly. Binge eating only one type of food group may cause your child to become a fussy eater in the future.

Healthy Foods To Eat For Quality Breast Milk

It is clear that your diet impacts your breast milk to some extent. So, it is best to eat well, have balanced diet, and consult your physician for guidance to ensure quality breast milk supply to your infant.
Here, we list some nutritious foods that you can add in your diet to offer your baby quality breast milk.

• Fruits
• Berries
• Eggs
• Nuts and seeds
• Avocados
• Yogurt

Mother’s milk is well-designed to provide for and protect baby even in times of hardships like famines. The one who’s affected due to poor diet is more likely is the mother than her breastfed baby. Hence, it advisable to follow a balanced diet so as to not compromise on your nutrient stores.