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Many mothers wonder how their diets may affect the quantity and quality of their breastmilk. With so much emphasis in both the popular media and the medical literature on the effects of processed foods, sugar, and artificial ingredients on health, women who have difficulty eating a more natural diet may worry that breastfeeding might not always be the safest or most nutritious choice. Maybe you have heard that you should change your diet while you are breastfeeding, or perhaps you have been told that it’s fine to eat “whatever you want.” Here are some answers to these questions. Please contact us via the website or Facebook page if your question does not appear here.

I have heard that the way we eat today puts us at higher risk for illnesses like diabetes and heart disease. What about my baby’s health? Is my milk still best for him?

Yes! Even if contains more processed and convenience foods than is best for your health, your milk will still be the best available food for your baby.

It is clear from the research that breastfeeding is the single best way for a mother to safeguard her infant’s health: babies not breastfed have higher risk of diabetes, diarrhea, ear infections, rashes, allergies, childhood cancer, respiratory illnesses, asthma, and SIDS, (Bartick & Reinhold, 2010; Stuebe, 2009), and the protection offered by breastfeeding does not depend on the mother’s diet.

Formula, whether milk-based or soy-based, factory-produced or homemade, can never provide your baby with all the essential for his health. Your milk changes composition in order to best meet your baby’s needs as he grows. Also, breastmilk contains immune factors to protect him against illness–no formula offers immune protection. While most infants can survive and grow on formula, some ingredients are associated with health problems. The proteins in formula are different from the proteins in your milk and are associated with increased risk for certain diseases like juvenile diabetes (Virtanen et al., 1994; Kolb & Wassmuth, 2000) and colitis (Host, 1994; Savilahti et al., 2010). The iron in formula is less available and harder to absorb than the iron in your milk, and it may cause undesirable changes in your baby’s gut bacteria (Balmer & Wharton, 1989; Mevissen-Verhage et al., 1985). When considering how to feed your baby, remember that milk from your breast is always fresh. Formulas,whether homemade or store-bought, carry the additional risk of contamination with disease-causing bacteria from processing facilities (Power et al., 2013) or farm animals.

Research has found little significant variation between the milks of mothers with different diets. For example the amounts and types of fats may vary (Cruz-Hernandez et al., 2013; Innis & Kuhnlein, 1988), but no diet has been found to result in breastmilk that is inferior to formula or inadequate to meet an infant’s needs. Humans are “omnivores” and have the ability to both stay healthy and produce high-quality breastmilk on diets that vary widely in both composition and quantity of foods. When your body makes milk, it produces your baby needs in the proper quantities (Hassiotou et al., 2013).

Even if a formula were just as nutritious as breastmilk, breastfeeding is about so much . It is a special relationship that is uniquely yours–something only you can do for your baby. Breastfeeding keeps your baby safe and , promotes normal sleep patterns, allows normal brain development, and develops his (including his ). The breastfeeding relationship cannot be bottled, and breastfeeding is , too.

My diet is limited to my budget, and I don’t always have access to fresh fruits and vegetables–is my milk still nutritious?

Absolutely! Your milk is always the most nutritious food for your baby, even if your diet is not as varied and nutritious as recommended by health experts. Information about nutrition during pregnancy and breastfeeding may not take into account the limitations that many mothers face: lack of food, limited access to fresh foods, and limited or no access to common food-preparation needs such as running water, stove, refrigerator, or microwave. That said, eating as wisely as possible is best for your health and that of your children. Cutting back on fast and convenience foods and increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables and other will be better for your health, especially for reducing the risk of diabetes and heart disease. If you are in a situation that limits the food you have available, here are some ideas:

• Buy fresh fruits and vegetables from a local fruit stand, farmers’ market, or Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) organization. They are usually cheaper than your local grocery store (especially if you live where convenience stores are your main shopping centers or where fruits and vegetables are usually trucked or flown in). Many accept SNAP benefits or WIC cash value checks. You may even be able to barter for fresh food this way simply by asking.
• Keep dry ingredients like beans, rice, and pasta on hand: they make inexpensive bases for healthy meals.
• Pre-packaged “health foods” like granola bars and cereals are costly and often have unnecessary added sugar. Making your own snacks from bulk ingredients like nuts, oatmeal, cornmeal, and whole-grain flour costs less than buying commercial snacks and are healthier because you control the ingredients.
• Build your weekly or daily menu around what is on sale at your local grocery store. Shop for markdowns in the meat, produce, dairy, and bakery sections. These sales may save you 30-50% of the cost.
• If you do most of your shopping at convenience stores, choose more healthful options like mixed nuts instead of potato chips.
• If you use a food bank, don’t be afraid to ask specifically for healthy foods.
• Remember that WIC and SNAP both allow produce purchases and make special allowances for families who have limited resources for cooking and food storage (for example, SNAP would allow you to purchase hot foods from a grocery store). Both agencies provide nutritional counseling, as well as food-preparation classes.
• Your tribal or community wellness agency may provide nutritional counseling and special assistance in buying wholesome foods.

Here is one tribe’s answer to the problem of where to find fresh, affordable, local food: 

Some families find getting enough food to feed a family especially difficult. If you need assistance in finding food, please contact these helpful agencies:

Do I need to take a multivitamin to breastfeed?

Your body will use your stores of vitamins and minerals to ensure that your milk has exactly what your baby needs. Finishing the prescribed prenatal vitamin is usually enough to meet your own health requirements (Nutrition During Lactation, 1991). However, if your diet is high in processed foods, you eat fewer than 2700 calories per day, you avoid or limit certain food groups, or you have any health conditions that may limit how well your body absorbs nutrients or vitamins, nutrition counseling is recommended. Increasing your intake of certain foods and food groups is likely to provide a greater benefit than a supplement (Lawrence & Lawrence, 2011).

Even though you are able to produce high-quality breastmilk on a diet deficient in some nutrients, when you take in more vitamins and minerals through supplements and dietary changes, some of them also increase in your milk. If you take in more of vitamins A, , B1, B2, B3, B6, or B12, your milk will have more of these vitamins as well. Fatty acid and iodine supplements may also influence quantities in your milk. (Valentine & Wagner, 2012).

If you are concerned that you or your baby may not be getting enough of all the vitamins you need, talk to your