Foods for a Nursing Mother

It was once thought that adding 500 calories a day to a nursing mother's diet would help her body produce an adequate milk supply. Doctors now agree that the kind of food she eats is much more important than caloric intake for making nutritious breast milk. Eating too much junk food, sugar and bad fats can make the baby less healthy. The baby may not get enough nutrients from the breast milk to wet and soil the appropriate number of diapers each day. Eating the right foods while nursing is essential to a healthy baby and mother.

Complex Carbohydrates

Complex carbohydrates come from fruits, vegetables and whole grains. These types of carbohydrates help the body by creating energy and breast milk without turning straight into fat like the carbohydrates in sugars and grains that come from corn and white flour. An example of complex carbohydrates would be leafy greens, broccoli, beans, squash, apples, berries, melon, whole wheat bread and brown rice. Five to six servings of fruit and vegetable complex carbohydrates a day will help nursing moms meet the nutritional needs for their baby. Whole grain servings should be about four to six each day.

Proteins and Calcium

Protein can be found in nuts, lean meat, poultry and eggs. Since protein foods are often higher in fat, the recommended number of servings for nursing moms is three a day. Protein can also be found in dairy foods. Dairy foods will also give nursing moms the calcium requirements they need. Five servings of calcium are required each day during breast feeding. This is more than during pregnancy due to the body needing more calcium to produce milk. If dairy is not an option, calcium can also be found in spinach, soy and asparagus.

Fats

Fat is actually very important to a nursing mother's diet. Fat is required to produce the hind milk that helps fill the baby up. Nursing moms need three to five 1 oz. servings of fat each day. This can include oil, nuts, butter and mayonnaise. Watch out for greasy fats like fast food and fried food. It will be tempting to eat whatever you want when nursing since it's believed that nursing helps women lose weight quickly. Eating fats and sweets will ultimately slow down weight loss and create less nutritional milk for the baby.