Are there any raw foods a nursing mother should not use?

[Tirza]

I have a friend who just gave birth (caesarian). She is home now and is feeling weak. She would like me to make her green smoothies. I am happy to do that but I thought I should ask. She is nursing of course. I have heard that some of the stronger foods should not be consumed in case of gas or allergies. Here is what I will put in the smoothie. It is really pretty much the Ann Wigmore Energy Soup.

To fill the blender:
2 cups pineapple juice
1 red apple with skin
1 banana
1/2 avocado
1 cup parsley
1 cup cilantro
2 or 3 cups spinach
sprouts (alfalfa, sunflower)
a stick of celery
2 large tsp. dulse

To that I sometimes add wheat grass juice, barley grass juice, bee pollen, green tea powder.

Does anyone see a potential problem here?
Thanks

[bluedotsmom]

From The Nursing Mother's Herbal by Shiela Humphrey. Herbs are listed as Category A is safest and down to Category E for Toxic

parsley can be an antigalactogogue (can reduce milk supply), may be allergenic
cilantro - coriander seed is safe and the book refers to coriander when I looked up cilantro, so it should be okay
sunflower seeds are okay, doesn't mention sprouts specifically
alfalfa, it shows the plant (flower, leaf, stem) to be safe (category A) but the seeds are not very safe (category C) so I'm not sure about sprouts
celery seed is listed as Category C, but the plant is not listed. Guess it's safe?
Dulse is a Category B (may not be appropriate for self-use by some individuals or dyads, or may cause adverse effects if misused)
barley, green shoots and seeds are safe

The other stuff is not listed. The Nursing Mothers Herbal also just cautions to watch for allergic reactions.
What a good friend she has to do this for her! I hope she gets her strength back soon! Anne

[Tirza]

How kind of you to look this up and give me the information! As a 58 year old grandmother, I am very unlikely to have The Nursing Mother's Herbal or even to know of it. Back when I was nursing, I wasn't aware that there were herbs that could be harmful to nursing mothers or babies. I only heard that you could trigger allergies by eating strawberries and you could give your(self) and your baby painful gas if you ate cabbage, brocolli, etc.

Yael's situation is that she needs her blood built up since she bled a lot. They were THIS close to giving her a transfusion, but held off. So I am going to look up ingredients that could increase her iron and build up her blood.

Thanks again.

[dreamrawalwz]

seeds (sunflower, sesame, ect.) can be allergenic so I would hold off in introducing them or do it slowly and watch the baby to see if there is any sort of reaction.

[chamomile]

I am a nursing mom. My babies are usually VERY sensitive to gassy foods,like cabbage. Oh yeah and they don't like when I eat alot of garlic. But I do know others that eat these things w/o a problem. My suggestion would be to eat non-gassy, non-spicy foods for a while and then to try adding other foods one at a time to see how the baby reacts. Good Luck, you are a good friend to have to help her like this.

I started eating bee pollen when my baby was almost one. It gave me lots of energy and an over all good feeling, but it also gave my baby LOTS of energy!!! He started waking up at night from 2-4am and wanted to play with someone and would nap for shorter. It took a while for me to make the connection, but once I stopped the bee pollen his sleeping pattern went back to normal.
I had the same problem with wheat grass. unless I have alittle once in a while
btw tahini has lots of iron and calcium.
grapes help with milk production, maybe fennel too?

tirza i e-mailed you about the fig leaves, did you get it?
thanks

[Tirza]

tirza i e-mailed you about the fig leaves, did you get it?
thanks

Thanks for the good reply, chamomile and others.

No, I did not get the email. I was wondering.... try me at tdbmgroups@gmail.com

Looking forward.

[Sharon in Colorado]

I would keep a fruit smoothie to fruit and greens due to food combining. I'd personally ditch the avocado, but make a nice guacamole with the avocado and some of those herbs and just stick with one kind of green in the smoothie, such as the parsley or spinach. There may just be too much stuff in there, is all.

[NuttyRawMom]

My standard smoothie is using spinach and/or kale and parsley. Blend that with just enough orange juice to blend. (I don't have the high powered kind that I can throw it all in at once.) Add the meat of 1 young coconut, 1 TBSP tahini, and 1-2 bananas. When it's all blended, add in the coconut water and more OJ to desired consistancy and taste. It makes a blender full and goes quick in my house! Power packed with calcium, iron, vitamin C and lots of other wonderful nutrients. Look up in the search section for threads on young coconuts. There are many great benefits from these, especially in helping her regain her strength and recover from blood loss. I would even blend the water and meat of one and let her drink that straight!

My baby is 15 1/2 mo. now and loves this. I nurse her and she has never had any reactions to the foods I eat, but every baby is different. We started on green smoothies when she was 13 months, so she was definitely old enough to have it, both straight in her own cup, and through nursing.

I also bled a lot and was weak with my first baby. (He is now 6!) I had an episiotomy and then still tore! Ouch! Afterwards, a blood clot developed under my stitches that grew to the size of a tennis ball and had to be surgically removed. All my effort to have the baby naturally without drugs and then I had to go under full anesthesia! I might as well have scheduled a C-section! :( J/K, I know he was better off anyway, no matter what happened afterwards! They also wanted to give me a transfusion, but I refused. Needless to say, the beginning was a bit difficult with delayed nursing from the operation and my pain. I had the most awful pains in my lower back! Have you ever felt a tightening pain sensation in your when you lay down after a long day and try to relax? (Does that make sense?) I had those feelings throughout the day, and even more when I was stressed, for quite a while. Unfortunately, I was a huge SAD eater with no clue of vegetarian, much less raw, benefits!

Oh, to know then what I know now!! What a treasure you will be to your friend! Encourage her to rest as much as possible. Is she interested in raw? Have her eat as much raw as possible, as this is the best start for her and the baby. It is never too late. If not, then any help and goodies you can get into her, the better!

Good luck, and let us know how she is doing!

[chilove]

Yes, if I were nursing I would stay away from all spicy, hot and "sharp" tasting foods (onions, garlic, mustard, peppers, vinegar etc)

Take care,

Audrey
www.rawhealing.com

[faith4u]

I had this same thing happen with cacao lately. I just tried it and LOVED it. BUT it has been keeping my baby up and he won't take naps either. I also started getting the shakes really bad after a few hours of having it. I was under the impression that the caffeine in it is such a small amount and not noticable but it sure was to me. :o

I also can not eat broccoli, onions, garlic, heavy greens like collards and kale without my baby getting extremely gassy and fussy.






I started eating bee pollen when my baby was almost one. It gave me lots of energy and an over all good feeling, but it also gave my baby LOTS of energy!!! He started waking up at night from 2-4am and wanted to play with someone and would nap for shorter. It took a while for me to make the connection, but once I stopped the bee pollen his sleeping pattern went back to normal.
I had the same problem with wheat grass. unless I have alittle once in a while
btw tahini has lots of iron and calcium.
grapes help with milk production, maybe fennel too?