What should a breastfeeding mother eat? What should a breastfeeding mother avoid? This is quite a common question and a topic for unending discussions. Your mother or grandmother may ask you to avoid spicy food during breastfeeding. But is it necessary?
It is a known fact that the food that a mother eats ends up in the breast milk that a baby consumes. So, the spicy food that you eat also ends up in the milk. Before you decide whether to eat or avoid spiced foods, it is important to understand how these types of foods may affect the composition of breast milk in terms of both taste and nutrition.
In This Article
- Is it Safe to Eat Spicy Food During Breastfeeding?
- Benefits of Eating Spicy Foods When Breastfeeding
- Are There Any Disadvantages of Eating Spicy Foods When Breastfeeding
- Effects of Eating Spicy Foods When Breastfeeding on The Baby’s Health
- How Long Should a Mother Avoid Spicy Foods When Breastfeeding?
- FAQ’s
Is it Safe to Eat Spicy Food During Breastfeeding?
Typically, intake of spicy food during breastfeeding is generally considered safe. Research and evidence show little to no adverse effects of eating spicy foods when breastfeeding (1).
Some babies may frequently get fussy and may cry a lot probably due to stomach issues and colic. Mothers often attribute this to having strongly flavored or spicy foods and may decide to stop eating such foods (2). However, research studies suggest that spicy foods only flavor breast milk (3). There may be little to no relationship between the mother eating spicy food and the baby experiencing stomach issues (1A).
The mother having spicy foods may improve the baby’s appetite, expose babies to new flavors, and help them with their journey of solid foods once they reach six months of age (1B).
Benefits of Eating Spicy Foods When Breastfeeding
Mothers often avoid spicy foods when breastfeeding to keep their babies from suffering from digestion-related issues. But contrary to popular belief, the mother’s spicy food intake may be beneficial to the baby in many ways
1. More Milk Consumption
Studies show that some babies show fondness for strong flavors in the breastmilk. As a result, the mother having spicy or strong-flavored foods food may result in the baby consuming more breastmilk over longer breastfeeding sessions (4).
2. Easier Weaning
Spicy foods can be a potential precursor to introduce babies to a diverse range of flavors when breastfeeding (5). Once babies get used to a wider flavor profile, they show curiosity to explore different goods when transitioning to solid foods. This makes them less fussy and makes the solid food introduction process a little easier and enjoyable.
3. Lesser Chances of Stomach Issues
The more babies get used to different flavors at an early stage, the less chance of gastric issues occurring. This in a way will help to meet the nutritional requirements as babies become less fussy.
4. Development of Taste Buds
A baby who is exposed to a wider variety of flavors through breastmilk has better-developed tastebuds. This will allow them to judge flavors and be more exploratory and experimental with new flavors (6).
Are There Any Disadvantages of Eating Spicy Foods When Breastfeeding
During breastfeeding, mothers need extra nutrition, and taking an adequate variety of foods helps. Eating spicy foods may make food palatable and enjoyable and can improve food intake. However many mothers are even asked to refrain from spicy foods completely as it is thought to cause colic pain, diarrhea, or even rashes in babies.
Consuming moderately spiced foods is safe but care should be taken by mothers to avoid excessive spicy foods in higher amounts. Make sure you are balancing a healthy diet and water intake along with spice-full foods.
Effects of Eating Spicy Foods When Breastfeeding on The Baby’s Health
While some babies accept the flavor changes in breastmilk, others may not and that can be quite sensitive. This can create problems and experience potential negative effects. Some of them include
1. Spice Allergy
This could be seen rarely in babies. However, mothers can be alert and understand any typical reactions like rashes on the skin if any via trial and error method. If allergy persists, it is recommended to avoid the spice completely till breastfeeding and weaning are introduced.
2. Colic Pain
Colic pain is stomach pain predominantly seen in babies triggered due to spicy food consumption by mothers (7). This pain affects the baby’s stomach greatly thereby leading to miserable crying
3. Stubbornness
Certain foods may create abdominal issues in babies like gastric discomfort resulting in passing more flatulence or even puke than before. These may irritate babies a lot, cause them to get fussy, and at times stubborn.
How Long Should a Mother Avoid Spicy Foods When Breastfeeding?
Breastfeeding, like other things, could be confusing for mothers in terms of food choices. A classic example is spicy food consumption. While some mothers swear by avoiding spicy foods, others simply enjoy it without any effects on their babies.
There is as such no information relevant enough to spicy foods to be completely avoided when breastfeeding. However it is important to understand that babies’ organs and systems are still developing, therefore certain foods that get passed through breast milk might be difficult to digest and assimilate. This also may differ from one baby to another. Hence, it is better to consume spiced foods in moderation, within sensible limits, and balance it with a healthy diet.
It is indeed indulging and pleasant for the mothers to relish back the spicy foods during breastfeeding. It can be welcoming for babies to facilitate flavor and palate development but for some, it could cause problems. Hence, care should be taken to limit its consumption till the babies are accustomed to breastmilk
FAQ’s
1. Does Spicy Food Affect Breast Milk?
As such no scientific evidence has shown that spicy food may affect breast milk. However, mothers should be careful in terms of portion to avoid unwanted reflux or negative effects.
2. What Foods Affect Breastfeeding Babies?
Certain foods such as mercury-loaded fish, broccoli, beans, cabbage, cauliflower, or any strong-flavored foods and even sparkling beverages are not much encouraged during breastfeeding as they may cause colic pain or fussiness in babies.
3. What Spices Should You Avoid While Breastfeeding?
Spices like hing, licorice (mulethi) nutmeg, and mace are generally not recommended during breastfeeding because they are anticholinergics that reduce lactation by disturbing progesterone levels.
4. How Long Does Spicy Food Stay in Breastmilk?
Spices like pepper and garlic stay in the breast milk for around 6 hours. It is better to limit spicy food consumption while breastfeeding.
References
- Maternal food restrictions during breastfeeding – PMC – [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5383635/]
- Nutrients | Free Full-Text | Foods to Avoid While Breastfeeding? Experiences and Opinions of Polish Mothers and Healthcare Providers – MDPI – [https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/6/1644]
- Myths about breastfeeding : Al-Azhar Assiut Medical Journal – [https://journals.lww.com/aamj/Fulltext/2019/17020/Myths_about_breastfeeding.1.aspx]
- The effects of repeated exposure to garlic-flavored milk on the nursling’s behavior – PubMed – [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8108198/]
- Duration of exclusive breastfeeding may be related to eating behaviour and dietary intake in obesity prone normal weight young children – PMC – [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6040730/]
- Prenatal and Postnatal Flavor Learning by Human Infants – PMC – [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1351272/]
- Something is wrong with your milk” – PMC – [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6515974/]
