As a breastfeeding mother, if you have a comprehensive healthy, balanced diet, then your milk must be of high quality and very beneficial to your baby's growth. However, during breastfeeding, mothers also have some dietary taboos to pay attention to, such as the following foods can not eat:
1. Wine
Long-term alcohol abuse can lead to a decrease in breast milk supply, affecting relaxation and reflexes, and passing alcohol through your breast milk to your baby. Alcohol can also damage your ability to take care of your child. In addition, repeated exposure to alcohol through breast milk may pose a risk to your child's health and development.
2. High mercury seafood
Mercury is a heavy metal that is a naturally occurring element on Earth. A type of mercury called methylmercury is found in fish, and some fish contain more mercury than others. Fish with high mercury content include: sharks, swordfish, and square fish. Excessive amounts of mercury are dangerous for you and your breastfed child, and long-term continuous exposure can be toxic to the human body. It affects many parts of the body, including the brain, nervous system, and kidneys. Be aware that mercury poisoning can even be fatal.
Studies have found that mercury has a greater impact on the uterus and infants. Excessive mercury can cause problems in the development of the brain and nervous system, leading to problems in speech, coordination, attention, memory, and learning.
3. Caffeine-containing foods and beverages
Excessive intake of caffeine can cause problems for you and your child. It is not just about coffee. Caffeine can be found in: tea, soda, chocolate, energy drinks, headache medicine.
So if you drink a few cups of coffee, a soda, some chocolate, caffeine will accumulate quickly, and you won't even realize it. Too much caffeine can cause a decline in breast milk supply. In addition, because caffeine is another substance that enters breast milk, excessive caffeine can cause problems for the baby, including: jitter, irritability, difficulty sleeping, and symptoms of colic.
4. Processed meat and fried food
Deep-fried foods and processed high-fat meats are rich in saturated fats and salts. When you breastfeed, they don't give you the nutrients you need. Therefore, you should limit the amount of food intake, such as: bacon, sausage, hot dogs, fried foods. Foods that are high in saturated fats and salt can cause weight gain and cause health problems, including diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, and depression. Saturated fat can raise the level of bad cholesterol in the blood and make you have a higher risk of heart disease. Excessive salt keeps the body hydrated, and excess water makes the kidney work harder, which can cause swelling and high blood pressure over time.