Stoney ginger beer, rooibos tea and mageu – these are just some of the drinks most moms are often advised to drink during breastfeeding because they allegedly help with increasing or maintaining a healthy milk supply.
While these three drinks may be delicious and harmless, do they really promote milk production?
Scientific research posted on babble.com advises the following list of food as truly beneficial to your milk supply and general wellbeing for both mommy and baby.
Water
Although it’s not food, water is important because this is what your body uses to make breast milk. This also explains why so many breastfeeding moms find themselves to thirsty all the time! Water is also great for you skin, plus breastfeeding can help you lose the pregnancy weight, so drink up, mom! This means the rooibos tea and mageu advice may hold some truth after all.
Jungle juice
Many moms swear by babysense.com’s jungle juice. Simply mix the following ingredients:
- 2 litres water
- 1 litre apple, berry or grape juice
- 1 sachet Rehidrat
- 60ml Schlehen Blackthorn Berry Elixir
- 1 Cal-C-Vita tablet (optional)
- a few drops Rescue Remedy to help you relax
Make a big container and keep in the refrigerator. Jungle juice will give you stamina, keep you hydrated and help you to produce more breast milk. It tastes good too.
Increase the amount of food you eat
This means eat more of healthier options like fruits and vegetable that are high in iron (spinach, carrots), as well as plenty of proteins like milk, eggs and meats and go for healthier starch like sweet potatoes, amadumbe, rice and wholewheat bread. It’s advised to divide your high-calorie diet into five parts, made up of breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, and an extra snack during the evening.
Read more: Advice for when your little one gets a cold and the flu
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