Does Eating Celery Cause Lactation to Decrease During Breastfeeding?
The lactation period is a very special and crucial stage for new mothers. It is essential to maintain a healthy diet to ensure a good physical condition and provide sufficient breast milk for the baby. During this period, there are many foods that mothers should avoid as they may affect milk production or even cause milk withdrawal. One such food that often raises concerns among new mothers is celery.
Generally speaking, eating celery during lactation does not cause milk withdrawal. The fiber in celery can promote intestinal peristalsis, thereby helping to relieve constipation that may occur during this period. Appropriate consumption of celery is beneficial for the mother's health. However, it is important not to overeat as it can increase the burden on the intestines and lead to digestive discomfort. Unlike celery, some foods such as leeks, malt, and hawthorn can easily cause milk withdrawal.
If a mother feels that her milk supply is low during lactation, it is recommended to drink more lactation-promoting soups and consume foods that help increase milk production. It is also important to maintain a balanced and nutritious diet. The mother's diet during lactation is crucial as it determines the quality of the milk. Therefore, it is advisable for mothers to avoid being picky eaters and consume a variety of foods, including whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and meats, to help improve the quality of their milk and promote the baby's growth. However, foods with high sugar content or spicy flavors should be avoided.
Barley Tea: Drinking 40 grams of barley daily as tea can help induce milk withdrawal within a few days.
Pepper: Boiling 12 grams of pepper in 500 milliliters of water until reduced to 250 milliliters, then adding 30 grams of brown sugar, can help relieve breast engorgement and induce milk withdrawal after one or two doses.
Leeks: Eating more leeks during the milk withdrawal period can help.
Bitter Melon: As a cooling food, eating more bitter melon can assist in milk withdrawal.
Green Tea: It can be used as a substitute for water during weaning to help mothers withdraw milk.
Crabs: Being a cooling food, crabs also have a milk-withdrawing effect.
Hawthorn: Both fresh and dried hawthorn fruits can help with milk withdrawal.
Raw Malt Sprouts: For rapid milk withdrawal, 40 grams of raw malt sprouts can be boiled in water and consumed. Results are usually visible within two days.
Other foods and drinks to avoid include cold and spicy items such as beer, tea, huoxiang zhengqi water, chocolate, sour-tasting vegetables like purslane, cucumber, winter melon, bitter melon, and vegetable melon, as well as hawthorn, oranges, pomelo, pomegranate, olives, plums, American ginseng, ginseng, dandelion, garlic chives, white radish, long beans, mallow, carrots, pumpkins, toon sinensis, mushrooms, eggplants, lotus roots, bamboo shoots, yellow flowers, Chinese cabbage, fennel, monosodium glutamate, mint, salt, vinegar, soy sauce, excessive amounts of ginger, fermented black beans, maltose, sweet potatoes, corn, glutinous rice, tea leaves, pig liver, sesame, pigeons, and oatmeal.