What to eat while breastfeeding and what to skip

883. You've probably been told to skip broccoli, garlic, spicy food, sushi, peanuts and even your morning coffee while breast-feeding. How much of that advice holds up?

Monica Reinagel, MS, LDN, sorts fact from folklore on what to eat and what to avoid while nursing. She covers the colic theory about cruciferous vegetables, the open question of whether eating peanuts during breast-feeding affects a baby's allergy risk, and the NIH ESCAPE trial now testing it.

In this episode, Monica explains

• Whether cabbage, broccoli and garlic really cause gas and colic in breast-fed babies
• Why spicy food doesn't harm breast milk, and how your diet shapes your baby's food preferences
• What the research says about peanuts during breast-feeding, and why early peanut introduction cuts allergy risk
• How much caffeine and alcohol are considered safe, and how long to wait before nursing
• Why the pregnancy rules on sushi and soft cheese don't apply while nursing
• Which fish to choose, how many extra calories and fluids you need, and what to know about vitamin D for baby

References

Maternal Versus Infant Vitamin D Supplementation During Lactation: A Randomized Controlled

Trial - PubMed

Randomized trial of peanut consumption in infants at risk for peanut allergy - PubMed

Prevention and Treatment of Peanut Allergy - PubMed

Related episodes

• 261: Can diet and nutrition help you get pregnant?
• 281: How much weight should you gain during pregnancy?

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