These vitamins are good to take when you are breastfeeding

Dear breastfeeding woman. I know you are an adult woman who knows both common sense and what is nutritious and healthy to eat. That a varied diet based on various colorful vegetables, protein (eggs, lentils, beans, fish, meat, etc.), healthy oils (virgin olive oil, real butter, nuts, seeds, olives), some fruit and whole grains is hardly a surprise. But did you know that healthy and nutritious food is a win-win for you and baby? What you eat is converted, to put it simply, into the breast milk that your child receives. And thus your food is the building blocks for your child. For example, the healthy fats you eat are important for the development of your child's brain.

Did you also know that even if you eat a healthy and varied diet, vegetables and fruit no longer contain as many nutrients as back in the days, as the soil they are grown in is depleted? Even beautiful organics are no guarantee that the vegetables are bursting with nutrients – on the other hand, there are significantly fewer pesticides in organic farming – YAY!

Nutrients are needed. Both for your sake and for your baby's. That's why there are a number of basic supplements that are good and beneficial to take when you're breastfeeding, to ensure that you and your baby get enough. It's important for me to point out that the supplement jungle is a jungle – AND at the same time a big money market. Still, the rule of thumb is that price and quality are often related. I would always recommend that you go for a health food rather than buying vitamins on the supermarket shelves – they often do more harm than good. And no, I don't own any shares 😉

Dietary supplements

Below I list the basic supplements that I would recommend you take. I also give examples of where in your diet you can get even more of the important vitamins and minerals:

Omega3

Omega3 fatty acids are important when you are breastfeeding. Among other things, for the development of the baby's brain. It is important that the oil comes from cold-water fish, i.e. from Norway. Fish oil should never smell like fish, otherwise it is not fresh. Here price and quality really go hand in hand!

In addition, you get omega3 from fish, especially fatty fish such as salmon, trout and mackerel, as well as flaxseed, walnuts, rapeseed oil and mayonnaise. Fatty fish is perfectly fine in small quantities. Go for cold-water fish.

Vitamin D

We all need vitamin D here in the Nordic countries. The Danish Health Authority recently changed its recommendations for vitamin D from being important in the winter months to year-round. One important thing to know about the Danish Health Authority is that their recommendations are based on just covering the minimum requirement for each vitamin. This is not the same as filling up your stores and actually covering your need for each vitamin. When it comes to vitamin D, you can have your level measured via a blood test at a doctor's office. Based on your level, you will be told what dose of vitamin D you need.

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin. Therefore, I would always recommend that vitamin D is taken in a form where it is dissolved in fat – for example coconut oil or good olive oil. Small capsules are available in health food stores - and they can be chewed if you have older children who need it.

In addition, you get vitamin D from sunlight – preferably first thing in the day, as it will stimulate your sleep hormone melatonin. Vitamin D is also found in dairy products, meat, eggs and fish, among other things.

Vitamin B12

If you are vegan or vegetarian, it is recommended that you take a daily supplement of vitamin B12. This vitamin cannot be produced in the body, which is why it is important to add it. B12 is, among other things, important for the formation of new blood cells and for the nervous system. If you, as a breastfeeding mother, have too low a B12 level, your child will also get too little B12 and thus become deficient, since as written, it is a vitamin that we cannot produce ourselves.

In addition, you get vitamin B12 from dairy products, among other things, if you eat them as a vegetarian.

Iron supplements

If you have bled more than half a liter during childbirth, you can benefit from taking an iron supplement for a month or 2. If you have bled more than 1 liter, expect that it may take a little longer to get your blood count up. As with vitamin D, you can have your blood count measured by your doctor and be advised whether and if so how much iron you should take. Some women get constipated from taking iron pills. I can recommend Kräuterblut , which is iron in liquid form - and is therefore more recognizable and absorbable by our body.
NOTE Iron should be taken at a time in the diet, e.g. before bedtime, and never with dairy products, which inhibit absorption, but preferably together with vitamin C, which promotes the absorption of iron.

In addition, you get iron from meat, liver and other offal, as well as from lentils, beans, nuts, whole grains and green vegetables such as various cabbages, including kale.

Magnesium

We women are often deficient in magnesium – especially after a pregnancy where magnesium from our depots went to fill the baby’s depots. We are supposed to have magnesium added through our diet, but with the depleted soil, we rarely get enough. Sleepless nights, a head and hands full during maternity leave and perhaps a bit of stress on top of that will further deplete your magnesium supply. That is why it is important to take magnesium. We absorb magnesium best through the skin. For example, by taking a foot bath with a few deciliters of Epsom salt in it (no, I still don’t have any shares). Alternatively, take ionic magnesium - a powder that should be mixed with warm water. Take it before bed, it will support you in a deeper and more restful sleep. If you had a tendency to cramps during pregnancy, it was a sign of magnesium deficiency. In general, I would recommend that you take magnesium throughout your maternity period. Consider continuing when you start working after maternity leave, and know that many of us benefit from taking magnesium for the rest of our lives.

In addition, you get magnesium from meat, dairy products, whole grains, nuts, potatoes and tap water.

Vitamin C

In my opinion, vitamin C is also a daily must - for the rest of your life. Vitamin C is an antioxidant that both boosts your immune system and plays an important role in a wide range of areas. Among other things, in relation to bones, cartilage, teeth, collagen, wound healing, and reduces fatigue and promotes the absorption of iron. We humans do not produce vitamin C ourselves, so it is important to have it added. During busy periods, we have an extra need for vitamin C.

In addition, you get vitamin C from fruits and vegetables – especially citrus fruits and berries.

Multivitamin

Finally, there are multivitamin pills. There are very divided opinions about them, and I myself have a leg in each “camp”. Should – should not. In good quality multivitamin pills there are many good and important vitamins and minerals. At the same time, we are back to no one size fits all. I would base my recommendation on the fact that if you are having trouble eating healthy, supplement with a quality multivitamin pill from the health food store. If you are someone who eats a lot of vegetables every day, you probably don’t need it – especially if you take the aforementioned supplements.

Dear breastfeeding woman, may you and your child be brimming with well-being - right down to the vitamin and mineral level!