If you choose to breastfeed your infant, you are making the best choice because breast milk is indeed a perfect food. It is filled with antioxidants and nutrients that provide everything the baby needs to thrive, not to mention the fact that it builds up the baby’s immune system. This being said, what you eat directly affects not only how nutritious your breast milk is, but also how much of it you make. Fortunately, there are breastfeeding superfoods that can help with both of these things.

What Are Superfoods, and Do They Work?

Superfoods are foods chock full of vitamins and minerals that make breast milk super-nutritious, but they do more than that. The foods that can help increase your breast milk supply and make it healthier include foods with the right combination of healthy fats, vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, and phytonutrients. If you’re not sure what these foods are, here is a list of some of them:

1. Seeds

In addition to protein, seeds contain a lot of calcium, iron, zinc, and healthy fats. Some of the best seeds to eat include hemp seeds, which also contain a lot of amino acids; flaxseeds, which can help you maintain a healthy weight; and chia seeds, which have a lot of fiber and omega-3 fatty acids.

2. Legumes and Beans

All beans and legumes are healthy for you, but some are better than others when it comes to lactation. This includes both soybeans and chickpeas, both of which have been used for centuries to increase milk supply and make it healthy.

3. Oats

When it comes to the best natural foods to increase breast milk supply, oats are right there on the top of the list. Oats are a whole-grain product that provide good carbs, help fill you up so you don’t eat as much, help prevent constipation, and help lower blood sugar levels, in addition to other benefits.

4. Orange and Red Root Vegetables

Orange and red root vegetables such as yams and carrots do a great job of nourishing both mom and baby. They are nutrient-dense foods that both increase and improve your breast milk. They have been used for centuries by many different cultures for that purpose.

5. Leafy Green Vegetables

Leafy green vegetables are some of the best power-packed vegetables to boost breast milk production, and the best ones are cabbage and broccoli. In fact, because leafy green veggies contain phytoestrogens, they, along with lots of other vegetables, are smart foods to eat if you feel that your supply of milk is low.

6. Mushrooms

Not all mushrooms are good for lactating moms, but the ones that contain beta-glucans are. These include oyster, maitake, reishi, shimeji, and shiitake mushrooms. The higher the beta-glucan count, the better they are at helping your milk supply and its healthiness.

7. Avocados

We’ve all heard that avocados contain a lot of healthy fats, but they can also help you feel fuller for longer periods of time, which is perfect for new moms who don’t always eat right. Avocados also have a lot of vitamins C, E, and K, B vitamins, potassium, and folate. Plus, they’re yummy!

8. Nuts

Nuts have tons of important minerals, including zinc, iron, and calcium, but they don’t all have the same nutritional value. When shopping for nuts, aim for almonds, macadamia nuts, and cashews for the best results. You also get lots of protein, essential fatty acids, and both B and K vitamins when you consume nuts.

9. Ashwagandha

Also called winter cherry or Indian ginseng, ashwagandha is an herb that helps your endocrine, neurologic, reproductive, and immune systems. It can reduce stress, which can negatively affect your ability to breastfeed, and taking 300 mg twice a day can also increase your energy level and decrease your cortisol levels.

10. Turmeric

In studies, turmeric hasn’t been proven to help a lot with breastfeeding, but it does have excellent anti-inflammatory properties. This means that it can help prevent mastitis (breast infections) and even ease the symptoms of overly engorged breasts.

Tips to Keep in Mind

Keep in mind that when it comes to these foods, you still need a good nutritional balance when you are breastfeeding. In other words, choose a good balance of veggies, fruits, protein-rich foods, nuts, and herbs to both increase your milk supply and help it be more nutritious for the baby.

There are also drinks that you can consume to help with these things, including:

• Water: A simple way to increase your milk supply.
• Nursing or lactation teas: These are usually filled with herbs that help improve and increase breast milk, including milk thistle, fenugreek, blessed thistle, and fennel.
• Oat milk: This type of milk is naturally sweet and you can drink it, add it to cereal, or use it in recipes.

You should also try to eat fresh foods instead of trying to take a supplement. Supplements are good when it comes to things such as ashwagandha, but stick with fresh or frozen varieties when it comes to the foods you’ll be eating.

Conclusion

When it comes to both increasing your milk supply and improving its nutritional value, certain superfoods can help a lot. These include foods such as leafy green veggies, nuts and seeds, certain root vegetables, mushrooms, and numerous others. Make sure that the foods are either fresh or frozen, and don’t forget to drink a lot of water, lactation tea, or oat milk to have the healthiest breast milk in the end.