Fasting & breastfeeding, anyone?

[raw-mommy]

i would like to know if any one has done fasting while breastfeeding? i know it seems like it doesn't go hand in hand, but i am hoping i am wrong. i would LOVE to do The Master Cleanse for at least 10 days but my husband tells me i'm nuts and he thinks i might loose my milk. any suggestions? please help?

i can't imagine not being able to fast as long as i continue to breastfeed. my daughter is 14 months old and now she eats solids very well :-) i don't want to loose my milk, but at the same time i would like to take a little care of myself. overall i just need a boost in my health and i know fasting will give me that. i read Stanley's "The Master Cleanse" book i didn't see anything regarding nursing mothers so i am assuming "the Master Cleanse" is safe while nursing? also, i read that with the "lemonade" your body receives all the nutrition it needs. so will my body have the appropriate nutrition to continue to make milk?

also, question - does anyone use the organic cayenne pepper drops or only dry HOT cayenne pepper powder. which way is better? it seems like the powder would be a messy way to go. can i use the cayenne pepper tincture when preparing my lemonade drink?

thank you! i hope i receive some advice on this matter!

thank you! thank you!

julia :)

[Bananna]

Well, ok, first I will just say that I have 6 kids and nearly a decade of BF experience!

First off, fasting will definately affect the quantity of milk you produce....as even eating poorly will do the same. It likely won't dry you up though, nature's not that stupid ...but you will have to deal with a cranky baby because it's not getting it's usual amount from you....which is very frustrating....which doesn't lend itself well to fasting.

Fasting can be a demanding thing on your psyche afterall.

That being said I COMPLETELY understand your impatience. And your baby is quite old in baby terms that is, how long were you planning on BF or are you just playing that out?

I ask because if you don't plan on going much longer I would just wait.

I have fasted during one pregnancy and while nursing the same baby, but I had a LOT of problems at that time that just made me lose my appetite. I had Severe morning sickness with her as well, really, really, bedridden couldn't hold nearly anything down for two whole months. I wish I could say she turned out fine, and pretty much she did, lol...she is small though, only in the tenth percentile for height, and she also wears glasses. I cannot say whether either of those things would be different though.....there is never a control group!

That all being said, I didn't do a master cleanse so I don't know how the ingredients would affect the nutritional value of the milk. The thing to consider otherwise would be the released toxins that would be in your milk. Especially in such high doses....and besides the health risks of that, assuming it's moot for a moment, it will likely also contribute to crankiness of your babe.

That's all just my opinion though, as for the red pepper, I can't say, but would think the drops would be better as far as negotiating it in the mouth.

Cheers,

Ok

[Bananna]

Fruit is supposed to be cleansing too, perhaps you could do a smoothie type fast?

[heabrook]

I can understand where you are coming from but I don't really know about fasting and breastfeeding. Though, I am basically fasting right now and I am breastfeeding my 12month old daughter.

I have recently discovered that I am celiac, and right now I am unfortunately not able to eat much of anything so I have started drinking fresh raw juices and eating some raw pureed "soups." My daughter is celiac too and she is not on solids, just my breastmilk.

I am doing child-led weaning so that means I will be breastfeeding my daughter until she is ready to end her nursing career. Obviously I will be introducing solids to her before then though :) The main reason she is not on solids is because a lot of foods were causing her to have rashes, etc... now that we now we are both celiac we can heal and eat what is not going to harm us. She was getting gluten through my breastmilk because I did not know that we were gluten intolerant.

If I were you, I might try light fasting. You could do the master cleanse but still eat food as well, just less than you normally would. Just a thought! Kudos to you for breastfeeding your daughter

[Aleesha Sattva]

fasting and breastfeeding do NOT go hand in hand. remember, when you fast you are releasing toxins... and your breastmilk is one of the ways your body will release the toxins... and where does your breastmilk go? into your baby!

personally i wouldn't even consider dumping my X number of years of toxins into that little baby's system...

wait until your babe has weaned and THEN do a fast or cleanse... but not before.

[Aleesha Sattva]

Pregnant or nursing mothers should NOT do the MC
Since the Master Cleanse is a detoxifying cleanse, it mobilizes toxins in the body. Pregnant and nursing mothers run the risk of these toxins going into their infants.

Although one nursing mother did have an ingenious solution to this problem. She pumped enough breast milk in advance to feed her infant while she was on the cleanse and coming off it.

Then while on the cleanse and coming off it, she pumped her breast milk and threw it out. So, there was no possibililty of passing toxins to her infant.

Peter Glickman

from the Master Cleanse Website Forum
http://www.therawfoodsite.com/

[Anastazia]

Just wondering what happened to my response to this post?

(It was the first one after it was posted...& just dissapeared...not the first time I've had a post dissapear...are we being edited? Do we get notified if our posts are deleted? Jes' wonderin'...)

~Anastazia~

[Anastazia]

Ok, that's weird...the same post is also on page two of new posts...(which is also where my response is...)
Was it posted twice, or did it multiply all by itself?
~Anastazia~

[Aleesha Sattva]

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=38019

[NYbutterfly]

Yeah, I've read in several places that fasting while breast feeding is not recommended due to the outpour of toxins that are released into your body... it will come out in the milk. Hold off until your baby girl no longer feeds from you!!!

[saralin]

in regards to fasting while breadfeeding...
From the time that my little guy was 5 months old and exclusively breastfeeding I fasted one day each week (Wednesdays) on green juice made largely of celery, lettuces, collards, and root vegetables.
At this time I was also eatting a 100% vegan raw food diet which I transitioned onto from a cooked vegan diet when my son was only 3 months old. And how did it go?
Well the first time I did the juice fast my boobies had all but drained themselves of milk by mid-afternoon and I was exhausted, sore and cranky. I abandoned the fast and ate a very large bowl of salad.
Realizing that my body was already putting out so much with producing milk for a very hungry boy, the lack of food was depleating me more than serving revitaize me. So why did I fast the following week when Wednesday came around?
I didn't approach it as a 'fast' per se. I took this day to treat my body very gently, a day set aside to rest and absorb the more subtle rhythms of life. I continued with the green juices and I supplemented with Pure Synergy (oh what a lovely product), Vega smoothie infusion powder, bee pollen and a nutritive tincture. Rather than a fasting day it was more of a liquid nourishment day and I did feel great, do feel great. My son is now 18 months old and he is eatting solid foods and he is still breasfeeding. My moon blood just returned this past week and that has signified the beginning of an internal cleanse. I would love to juice fast for a week but I am not confident that my energy levels or milk supply would survive the transition and the little man is not ready to wean yet, that is for certain.
I would caution any mama's from jumping on the fasting train too quickly. Every body is different and some of you may fare easier in a day fast each week than others. Even transitioning from a cooked vegan diet to a raw vegan diet while breastfeeding could be too much for some. The best medicine (energetics of food and drink) for our individual constitutions will not be found on a blog chat site, it will be discovered by listening deeply into your own body and adhering to the innate intelligence of who you really are.
With light and love to you all,

[Hygeia]

I wouldn't do the MC while breastfeeding. The purpose of the MC is to detoxify your body, so these toxins are released from your body while on the fast. You certainly don't want to pass that onto your baby.

How much longer are you planning to BF? I would recommend waiting but that's just my opinion.

I'm sure you'll chose wisely.

[Blazin'Jane]

I am very pro breastfeeding and pro raw food eating. I would hold off on the fancy stuff like fasting until the baby is weaned. If you are eating raw mostly, you are doing the absolute best for the two of you now, I believe, and I am against anything that interrupts a good nursing relationship. I have 7 grown children all breastfed forever (it seemed, somedays), and they have 16 breastfed children among them. It's just the best! And it's the most healthy now for the baby, and probably you, too. You'll have lots of time to fast later. Enjoy that baby and all the good you are doing now!

[firefaery]

fasting and breastfeeding do NOT go hand in hand. remember, when you fast you are releasing toxins... and your breastmilk is one of the ways your body will release the toxins... and where does your breastmilk go? into your baby!

personally i wouldn't even consider dumping my X number of years of toxins into that little baby's system...

wait until your babe has weaned and THEN do a fast or cleanse... but not before.

Brilliant advice. Changing your diet to include healthy foods straight from the earth is always a good move, though the baby should be watched and most really should take it slow. Fasting, however is a totally different ball game (especially in the case of an autoimmune disease!) all the toxins stored in your fat directly enter your bloodstream and breastmilk is made from your blood. The breasts do not filter nearly as well as the placenta. You will be dumping all of this into your milk.

That said there are measures you can take to protect the breastmilk...glutathione is one thing that will help open detox pathways and protect the milk. There are many others too.

Fasting should wait. I get your impatience. I have been nursing for years and will be for several more. My four and two year old are both still at it. I fully expect my 2 year old to go another year or two. I would love to do a juice fast!!!! I know this relationship is finite however and far more important in the grand scheme of things.

I was diagnosed with celiac as was my dd when she was 16 months and failure to thrive. It was very scary. We were both extremely ill. I know it's hard with impaired digestion, but there are things you can do. I would be happy to help by sharing what I went through if it would be of any help!