Are there supplements to increase the quality of breast milk?

Nutritionist Del Millers, PhD, shares advice for breastfeeding mothers on the best supplements to increase the quality and quantity of your breastmilk
Best Supplements to Increase Quality of Breastmilk
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Are there supplements to increase the quality of breast milk?

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Are there supplements you can take to increase the quality and quantity of breast milk? The best supplement you can take is food - eating natural whole foods, because those natural whole foods have built in to them all the natural nutrients that are necessary for lactation and for helping the body with that milk production. Developing, increasing the hormones that are necessary for that milk production and to lead to healthy milk production and the quality of your milk depends on the quality of the foods you eat. What you eat is what goes into that milk production. So that would be the first place I would encourage you to start is to really continue on that path of eating whole foods and whole grains, lots of fruits and vegetables. And fruits and vegetables, you have what we call phyto-estrogens. Those are plant estrogens. And those are natural compounds that your body need in order to boost that milk production. You have other hormones that are released based on the kind of foods you eat when you're relaxed and you're getting into comfort foods. A nice bowl of oatmeal or brown rice. Studies have actually shown that because you're relaxed and you're eating those comfort foods that it leads to the release of things called oxytocin and other hormones in the body that help to boost milk production. So the best thing you can do is to start eating more whole foods, start eating more Omega 3 fats, because that assists in the quality of fats that's in the milk. Are there other ingredients like Fenugreek and fennel and red raspberry and things like that that people have used for centuries to boost milk production? Yes. Would I recommend them? No I wouldn't personally recommend them because I don't know enough about them. I don't know how they're going to affect your baby. I don't know how they're going to affect the milk supply. So I can't really recommend those, as much as they've been used for a long period of time. So I would caution against things like that. Because is it really necessary? No. Food is your medicine. And that's where your baby is going to get the most nutritious stuff from.

Nutritionist Del Millers, PhD, shares advice for breastfeeding mothers on the best supplements to increase the quality and quantity of your breastmilk

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Del Millers, PhD

Author, Nutritionist

Dr. Del Millers is the founder of TheBestYouAcademy.com and author of eight books on mind-body health and nutrition. A PhD Nutritionist with a Masters degree in psychology, Dr. Del teaches motivation and high performance strategies to busy entrepreneurs and professionals, so that they can make a difference in their lives tomorrow in just ten minutes today.

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