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WHEN BREASTFEEDING WHAT SHOULD I BE EATING?
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Food absorbed by a nursing mother not only fulfils her own nutritional needs, which are greater during the postnatal period, but also enables her to produce milk. A woman who does not feed herself properly may still have a healthy baby, but it will be to the detriment of her own health.
If you lack sufficient nourishment, your body will make milk production its first priority and your needs will go unmet.
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• Eat as many of the superfoods as possible in your daily intake
• Eat primarily unsaturated fats. Sunflower seeds, nuts, corn, rapeseed, and olive oil provide essential fatty acids (omega 3 and 6) that are essential for building the baby's nervous system.
• Eat food containing vitamin B 9 - Folic acid also can be found abundantly in asparagus, cabbage, corn, chick- peas, and spinach
• Calcium needs can also be partly met from dairy products, raw vegetables, almonds, and hazelnuts
• Stick to ‘real’, organic, non processed foods as much as possible
• Eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables
• Use only the minimum of spreading fats and vegetable oils
• Choose low fat varieties of dairy products and meat, fish and alternatives
• Ensure you stick to organic as processed low fat products use a lot of chemicals
• Drink at least 2 litters of water a day
For comprehensive nutritional advice for pregnant woman please visit New Zealand Food and Nutrition Guidelines from the Ministry of Health. Alternatively please talk to your doctor.
When breastfeeding what foods should i be avoiding?
Each baby reacts differently to the foods his/her mother consumes. If your baby is particularly unsettled for a period of time, try to remember what you have eaten in the past twenty-four hours. If one food seems suspect, eliminate it from your diet for a while. When nursing, observe your baby so you can eliminate from your own diet any food that seems to bother him.
Stay away from tobacco. Nicotine passes directly through breast milk to the baby. Avoid alcohol and caffeinated beverages.
For comprehensive nutritional advice for pregnant woman please visit New Zealand Food and Nutrition Guidelines from the Ministry of Health. Alternatively please talk to your doctor.
What is the gylcemic index and how does it affect weight loss?
Basically the GI rates carbohydrate based foods (energy producing foods) on a scale from 1 – 100 (with low, medium and high classifications). This rating is based on how quickly carbohydrate based foods are broken down into glucose (sugar) within the body and then used for energy. We want to consume low GI foods. Eating moderate to high GI based foods can lead to a hypoglycaemic response, putting on and having trouble loosing weight, low energy levels, mental lethargy and is quite often associated with roller coaster emotions and a myriad of other health related illnesses like Type 2 diabetes.
It’s all about speed
We want to consume low to moderate based GI foods, keeping our energy levels balanced. This means we’re avoiding that quick spiking of glucose within the blood stream that sends us into a hypoglycaemic response. You know the jittery highs followed by the troughs and lows, where it leaves you craving sugary snacks or reaching for the coffee pot to bring you back up.
Tips for making the right choices
Become familiar with the GI and use it as a reference when food shopping, eating out or preparing your day to day nutrition.
Low GI: Less than 55
Medium GI: 55 - 69
High GI: 70 and over
The following link provides the GI rating of foods and is a superb tool to use www.glycemicindex.com . And remember to monitor portion control, just because its low GI doesn’t mean you should over eat.
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