 |
Cooking | Health | Nutrition | Weight Gain | Weight Loss | Women | Baby | Social Planning | SITEMAP
Food Pattern for a Nursing Indian Mother
Nursing mother needs a minimum of 1,800 calories per day consisting of balanced and varied foods
General Guide lines
1. Increase your water intake by 4 cups a day.
2. Nursing mother produces milk continuously. Therefore you should spread your caloric intake over five or six periods such as breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner, snack, snack.
3. Cook at home. You know exactly what you are eating.
4. Avoid fat, spicy foods and deserts.
5. Include a light physical activity like walking.
Whole-Grains (Roti, Naan, Basmati Rice), 6 to 11 servings per day
Use whole-grain flours and brown rice. Incorporate variety of grains such as wheat, Bajra, corn, Ragi, Amaranth. Whole-grains provide Carbs, B vitamins and iron.
The whole grains will help with constipations and weight loss.
Vegetables 3-5 servings/day
Green leafy vegetables (Chopped broccoli, Spinach (Paalak), Mustard Greens (Sarson ka saag), Okra (Bhindi), Cauliflower (Gobi), Green Peas (Mattar), Aloo (Potatoes), Bitter melon (Karela), deep orange sweet potatoes and red sweet bell peppers. Choose the vegetable for color, brighter and vivid the color, more nutrients it has. Apparently, white potatoes (Aloo) have the least nutrients. Ideally, one of the servings should be raw Spinach as a salad. The vegetables provide vitamins, trace minerals and dietary fiber. Calcium is also found in leafy green vegetables
Fruits 2-4 servings/day
Select a variety of colorful fruits Mangoes, Cantaloupes, Banana, Oranges. Fruits provide Carbs, vitamins, trace minerals and dietary fiber. Orange juice is also a good source of Folic acid.
Dairy Products 3 servings/day
Milk, Dahi, Buttermilk, Paneer
Dairy products tend to be high in saturated fats. So limit the consumption of milk to low-fat variety. A nursing mother loses 240mg of Calcium per day. The dairy products provide calcium and proteins. If the nursing mother has food allergy, try fortified soy milk, almond milk or rice milk.
Proteins 5 to 6 servings/day
Dal (Mung beans, Urad, Red kidney beans, Garbanzo beans) Tofu, Chicken, seafood, nuts (Almonds contain Folic Acid) and seeds.
Always remove skin from Chicken, trim meats of fats as much as possible.
Proteins provide iron, zinc, and B-vitamins. Folic acid is important during pregnancy as well as nursing. In addition, vegetable proteins also include dietary fiber.
Fats 3 to 5 teaspoons/day
This is a tricky area. Fats are needed to absorb fat-soluble vitamins such as Vitamin A, E and D. Avoid transfats such as Vanaspati. Reduce amount of saturated fats such as Ghee, Butter, and Coconut oil. Use un-refined plant oils such as Mustard seed oil, Olive oil, and Canola oil. Canola oil and Mustard seed oils are preferred.
Cautions
1. Avoid Caffeine, Alcohol as they are passed to the mother's milk.
2. The American Academy of Pediatrics has found the following drugs to be hazardous to both mother and infant: Nicotine, Amphetamine, Cocaine, Heroin, Marijuana, and PCP.
3. The FDA has found most prescription drugs taken in moderation as safe to include:
Acetaminophen (Tylenol), Many antibiotics, Anti-epileptics, Most antihistamines, Most anti-hypertension, Aspirin, Codeine, Decongestants, Ibuprofen, Insulin, Quinine, and Thyroid medications.