One of the most common questions from new mothers is what can you eat during breastfeeding? After all, the breastfeeding diet is very strict and prohibits the consumption of most foods. Today we will talk about whether it is possible to have cake while breastfeeding, and we will figure out what types are allowed for a nursing woman.
When breastfeeding, you can eat a cake with a natural composition without obvious allergens.
The benefits or harms of sweets during breastfeeding
The main function of carbohydrates is to produce serotonin, a hormone responsible for a good mood. It also fights fatigue, insomnia, and keeps the body in good shape. A woman needs sweets to recover after childbirth and to overcome depression. However, what sweets you can eat while breastfeeding is a very important question, since they can cause great harm.
Because of sweets, the baby may develop a rash, begin to itch, eat and sleep poorly, and be bothered by colic. Also, sweets can harm the mother herself: excess weight gain, dental problems, increased sugar, which can lead to diabetes. In addition, dyes, preservatives and other chemical elements are now added to almost all sweets, which are very harmful to the body. However, many problems can be avoided if you limit your consumption of sweets, carefully select them when selling them, and prepare something at home.
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When can I start?
After the birth of the baby, the mother is constantly in a state of worry about him, sleepless nights take their toll, and the body is severely lacking carbohydrates. Breastfeeding also takes away some of the energy and depletes the body, so a woman needs to eat at least a little sweet. But why can’t you eat sweets immediately after giving birth - because they can cause severe allergies in the baby, for the first two weeks it is better to limit yourself to baked apples, crackers, bagels; dry cookies without additives will be safe to eat.
The second month is the time when you can allow yourself to eat a lot more sweets, for example, natural white marshmallows, marshmallows, marmalade slices or regular marmalade, homemade cakes, protein meringue, candied fruits.
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From the third month it is allowed to consume condensed milk, mixing it with tea. Previously, it was believed that it could increase lactation, so our grandmothers and mothers ate it in large quantities. Today, condensed milk is made with the addition of harmful fats, preservatives, and chemicals, which definitely will not bring any benefit to the baby, so it is best to prepare it yourself at home.
You can also start eating jam, marmalade, jam, and jelly while breastfeeding from the third month, it all depends on what berries and fruits it was made from. For example, apple or pear jam can be consumed after a month, but raspberry or strawberry jam after three months of a child’s life.
In the fourth and fifth months, you can supplement your diet with nuts, raisins, try oriental sweets, Turkish delight, kozinaki, grilled meats, it’s worth trying freshly squeezed juices in minimal quantities, but it’s better to start with apple juice. You can start eating halva earlier if it does not contain additional ingredients, for example, chocolate or various nuts.
After six months, a nursing woman can afford chocolate, but it must be bitter, with a high cocoa content, without impurities, and at most natural. Such chocolate is usually very expensive and tastes quite bitter.
Which sweets are best to forget about?
There are also desserts that you must abstain from until the end of lactation. For example:
- Chocolate containing cocoa. This substance excites the nervous system and can cause colic. A nursing mother will be able to pamper herself with this product only after six months. It is important to monitor the baby’s reaction. If allergic manifestations occur from a small piece of chocolate, you should postpone its introduction for another couple of months - about chocolate while breastfeeding.
- Carbonated colored drinks. They contain many harmful substances.
- Fat butter cakes with cream. You will have to give them up for a long time, since the risk of allergies is quite high. One small portion of dessert may contain cream, milk, citrus fruits, thickeners, spices, dyes - everything that is not allowed for a child in the first year of life. An exception for breastfeeding is one-component desserts prepared without allergens.
- Delicious baked goods. Some mothers have to give up these products immediately after giving birth due to a cesarean section or stitches as a result of an episiotomy. For other new mothers, puff pastry, yeast dough, and shortbread dough will also not be beneficial, since it promotes weight gain and contains allergenic foods (eggs, milk).
Why can’t you eat sweets in large quantities during breastfeeding? In addition to serious allergies, heavy foods will harm the infant’s fragile body and cause an eating disorder. Manufacturers often add preservatives and prohibited additives to sweets, which immediately penetrate into breast milk and negatively affect the newborn. As a result, the baby will often have a stomach ache, he will be irritable and whiny.
A lot of sweets will harm mommy herself. By consuming it in large quantities, she can gain extra pounds, which will then be difficult to get rid of. In order not to risk your figure and preserve the health of the baby, you need to carefully choose treats, and it is better to prepare them yourself. This way, sweets will not only be tasty, but also healthy.
Interesting! If a woman ate sweets while carrying a child, then during lactation they are unlikely to harm the baby.
Oriental delicacies
Among the permitted sweets during breastfeeding, oriental ones take pride of place - Turkish delight in sugar sprinkles, kozinaki, sunflower halva. But they are allowed to be eaten only if the child does not have an allergic reaction to the components of these delicacies, that is, to nuts and seeds. Also, halva, due to the content of unsaturated acids, helps restore the body after bearing a child and labor, and increases milk flow. Nuts and seeds help improve the condition of hair, nails, skin, and strengthen blood vessels.
Oriental sweets should be eaten in small quantities, since nuts and seeds, in addition to strong allergens, are also quite difficult to digest.
What are the benefits of Turkish delight?
The Turkish Delight recipe includes the following ingredients:
- sugar;
- starch;
- flour;
- nuts;
- fruits and berries.
The combination of sugar and starch is a source of glucose, which promotes the production of serotonin, which improves mood and helps fight postpartum depression. In small quantities, glucose has a beneficial effect on the body of a woman recovering after the birth of a child - her immunity to viral diseases increases and her skin condition improves.
Nuts are a source of useful substances; they are superior to fruits in terms of microelements. Regular consumption of nuts allows you to:
- improve metabolism;
- remove toxins from the body;
- provide the body with omega-3 fatty acids;
- strengthen the immune system;
- eliminate protein deficiency in the diet and obtain essential amino acids;
- fight depression and loss of strength, relieve nervous tension;
- improve brain function;
- prevent the development of many diseases, including cardiovascular diseases;
- reduce the level of bad cholesterol in the blood.
Each type of nut has its own set of beneficial properties, but all of them are healthy when consumed wisely. Read about what nuts a nursing mother can eat here. Heat treatment practically does not reduce the value of nuts.
Fruits are a complex of vitamins and minerals. In the preparation of Turkish delight, the pulp of fresh fruits or berries, as well as citrus zest, is used. Pectin and other beneficial substances contained in Turkish delight make the skin elastic and smooth, hair silky, and nails strong.
Chocolate and cookies
Some pediatricians advise giving up sweets during the first months after birth while breastfeeding, this especially applies to chocolate. Cocoa, like all products made from it, for example, chocolates, cream, paste, contain an allergen. Consuming an excessive portion of chocolate will lead to stimulation of the entire nervous system and restless sleep not only for the mother, but also for the baby. In addition, chocolate is quite difficult to digest and can cause colic and increase bloating.
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True, if a nursing woman really wants to eat chocolate, then she can allow herself a small piece. At the same time, it is important to monitor the child’s reaction; if redness or itching does not appear, then you can introduce chocolate into your daily diet in small portions.
You should try chocolate at least three months after the baby is born, and preferably six months later. You should eat natural dark chocolate, not milk or white chocolate, which does not contain cocoa at all.
Is it possible to have sweets during lactation? This is also an interesting question. It is not prohibited to eat chocolate ones if the baby is not allergic to cocoa, but it is better to replace them with caramel, jelly, toffees, such as “Korovka”, lollipops, and dragees. The main thing is that the composition is environmentally friendly, there are no harmful chemical elements or flavorings. Also, you should not overuse treats; it is enough to eat two or three candies per day.
Cookies will be less critical for a nursing woman. But it is important to choose the right type of cookies, for example, you should exclude cookies with the addition of jam or jam, chocolate chips, cinnamon, vanillin, avoid dyes, flavors, preservatives, since all these ingredients can cause allergies or colic in the baby.
It is best to buy or prepare biscuits yourself; in stores they are presented as “Maria”, “Yubileinoe”. They contain a minimum number of ingredients: oil, flour, eggs, water. Doctors also advise eating oatmeal cookies, which are a source of nutrients and rarely cause allergies in a child; if desired, you can add dried fruits and nuts to them.
How is Turkish delight beneficial for breastfeeding women?
Starch and glucose are an excellent combination to strengthen the immune system and not become infected with viruses. This is important during breastfeeding, when the mother is especially weakened. Glucose has a positive effect on:
- hair structure, strengthens it and makes it strong and silky. Indeed, in the postpartum period, hair deteriorates significantly and ceases to shine (see Why hair falls out during breastfeeding).
- strengthening nails and improving facial skin.
Marshmallows and cakes
It is better not to eat cake while breastfeeding, because, as a rule, if it is not homemade, it contains too many harmful components, that is, preservatives, dyes, and various chemical additives. All this can trigger allergies.
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To prepare a cake at home, you should not take milk, bright berries, for example, strawberries, raspberries, cherries, exclude citrus fruits, cream, chocolate-based cream, vanillin, butter cream, it contains too much fat and calorie content. If you really want something sweet, you can make the cake with green apples, use berries like currants without mixing them with others, you can add nuts if the child is not allergic to them. Cakes based on yogurt, cottage cheese, and regular sponge cake will be suitable for the diet. Even Napoleon cake is not forbidden to eat while breastfeeding, but you need to make sure that the cream is prepared without oil.
A nursing mother can eat marshmallows during lactation, but it is better to choose white ones, since they are unlikely to contain dyes or flavors. Marshmallow, among many goodies, is really safe, since it is prepared without adding milk. It consists of fruit puree, jelly, sugar, and protein mass.
It is safe for your baby to eat meringues; they require proteins and sugar to make them. In addition, they are easy to prepare yourself: you need to beat sugar with egg whites, bake the mixture for about two hours at a minimum temperature of 80 degrees.
Marshmallows during breastfeeding, like real healthy marmalade, are not prohibited by doctors, only these products must be organic, based on pectin, not gelatin.
Benefits for nursing mothers and babies
Turkish delight is a tasty and healthy delicacy. The traditional recipe involves the use of flour, sugar, starch, nuts and fruit additives. Since the composition may differ in each case, the properties of Turkish delight also vary. The delicacy is rich in vitamins A, B, C, calcium, iron, potassium and other beneficial substances. Positive properties include the following:
- synthesis of serotonin, which helps cope with depression and stress experienced by new mothers;
- improved mood;
- strengthening the immune system;
- improving the functioning of the cardiovascular system;
- assistance with viral and infectious diseases;
- replenishment of vitamins and minerals that a woman loses during pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding;
- improvement of skin and hair condition;
- strengthening the nail plate;
- stimulation of brain function;
- improvement of metabolism;
- replenishment of energy reserves, etc.
How to eat sweets correctly during lactation
Doctors say that completely eliminating desserts is not at all necessary, and that sweets just help a woman relax, calm down, and evoke positive emotions.
However, you should not eat sweets with added dyes, preservatives, or other chemicals. It is also worth giving up products containing honey and milk at least in the first three months after birth. First, try a small piece in the morning, observing the child’s reactions to the new food. If you have a strong desire to eat something sweet while breastfeeding, sweets can be replaced with dried fruits, candied fruits, fresh fruits, and berries.
Important Tips
- For the first time, try only a small piece, and then observe the baby’s reaction for 1-3 days.
- New sweets during breastfeeding should not be introduced in quantities of several pieces: one delicacy will be enough.
- A healthy alternative is fruit and bifidokefir (for example, “Snowball” sweet). In general, any dairy product will sometimes be a better choice than sweets.
- Remember that the best sweets for a nursing mother are those prepared at home and with love. This way you satisfy your need for something sweet, and at the same time prepare a delicious dessert for the whole family.
- The least safe time for enjoying sweets would be when the baby is 3 months old; it is best to try jams and jams only after 6 months.
When deciding whether you can eat sweets during breastfeeding, you should think about whether you can control yourself. Dr. Komarovsky advises not to strictly limit yourself during feeding, but still not to eat too much. Among all the prohibited sweets, he is categorical only about chocolate and cocoa-containing products. And he recommends consuming other tasty treats without fanaticism.
