It’s just as important to eat a balanced, nutrient-rich diet after giving birth as it was during pregnancy – especially if you plan to breastfeed your baby.  Pregnant women often experience elevated appetites.  Breastfeeding may cause a rise in hunger for the new mom as well.  Your body burns about 500 or more additional calories daily due to breastfeeding.  The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that what you eat when the hunger strikes is far more important than total caloric intake.  Sugary foods, laden with simple carbohydrates and little nutritional value, will do little for you or your baby.

Nutrition Tips for Healthy Breastfeeding

Hydration: Staying hydrated by drinking water throughout your waking hours will help keep milk volume high and your body healthy.  You should have clear, or nearly clear urine.  If it’s yellow, brownish, or otherwise concentrated in color, you need to drink more water.  Soda, even diet ones, do not count toward water intake.  If constantly lugging around a large water bottle all day doesn’t appeal to you, you can increase your water consumption through eating clear broth soups, fresh fruits, and vegetables.

Moderate Caffeine: One or two cups of coffee, tea, or other caffeinated beverage per day will not adversely affect the majority of babies.  However, some very young infants may have a higher sensitivity to the effects of caffeine, which passes through breast milk.  Decrease or eliminate your caffeine intake if your baby shows increased irritability and/or sleeplessness.

Limit Alcohol Intake: Like caffeine, alcohol also passes to the baby through breast milk. While you should not consume any alcohol while pregnant, you don’t have to pass up one or two drinks on special occasions while breastfeeding, but wait a couple of hours after the drink before nursing your baby.  Talk to your baby’s pediatric doctor for more information about alcohol intake while nursing.

Protein: While breastfeeding, you will need an additional 25 grams of protein per day than normal.  Eat six to seven ounces of lean meat per day along with two or more cups of skim milk or other low-fat dairy products, such as cottage cheese or yogurt, to accommodate this need.

Fresh Vegetables and Fruits: In addition to eating a healthy amount of fresh vegetables, whole grains, and fruits at mealtimes, you should incorporate these items into snack times as well.  Baby carrots dipped in low-fat dressing or sliced seasonal fruits make delicious snacks that benefit both mom and baby.

Calcium: Talk to your primary care physician about whether you should take a calcium supplement while nursing.  Breastfeeding moms need at least 1,000 mg of calcium per day.  Pediatricians recommend that moms consume five servings of calcium-rich food daily.  Yogurt, cheese, skim milk, salmon, broccoli, and kale represent great choices to help meet calcium needs.

A Healthy Mom Means A Healthy, Happy Baby

Breastfeeding is best for you and your baby – both physically and emotionally. Your local pediatric clinic can provide you with more detailed information about nutrition while breastfeeding as well as things to avoid.  The doctors and professional staff at the clinic can advise you about weight loss programs that will not impact your milk production and assuage many other concerns you may have.

Samantha Gluck is a writer who specializes in various topics including pediatric healthcare, OB/GYN healthcare, business and much more.
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WARNING Don’t Take Antioxidants

Did You Know…

…that taking high doses of antioxidant supplements — such as beta carotene, Vitamin A, Vitamin E, ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) and selenium — does not reduce the risk of acquiring diseases, but has also been shown to be poisonous to the human body and may even increase the risk of death?

 As long ago as the 1950s, antioxidants became known as miracle supplements because they “reportedly” promoted good health and prevented a host of diseases, including cancer

and age-related diseases.  According to some estimates, approximately 50% of the adult population in the U.S. take antioxidants on a daily basis for this reason.

    Here’s a wake-up call:  Every long-term study involving antioxidant supplementation provides proof that people get sicker — not healthier — when they take antioxidants.  In fact,

beta carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin E, taken individually or in combination with other antioxidant supplements, are associated with increased all-cause mortality. [Source:  The

Journal of the American Medical Association - based on 68 randomized trials with 232,606 participants (385 publications).]

     In case you were wondering … this information is not just another propaganda employed by the medical and pharmaceutical industries to prevent people from using natural

therapies, or to deceive people into thinking that drugs are the only solution to disease.

     Over the last several decades, supplement manufacturers (and even health practitioners) have urged people to take large amounts of antioxidants such as Vitamin C and Vitamin

E because scientists had observed that people whose diets were rich in fruits and vegetables had a lower incidence of heart disease, diabetes, dementia, stroke and certain types of

cancer.  They formed the hypothesis that since fruits and vegetables are a rich source of antioxidants (which neutralize free radicals in the body), then taking antioxidant

supplements would have the same effect.

  That hypothesis has been proven wrong.  Here’s why:    http://scrnch.me/82ya4

Fruits and vegetables produce antioxidants for good reason — that is, to protect themselves from oxidative stress.  Without antioxidants, oxygen destroys food by combining with

elements and burning them up — hence, vitamin destruction in food (or decay) occurs. 

However, dietary antioxidants have virtually no nutritional benefit to the human body.  Antioxidants such as ascorbic acid and tocopherols, for instance, are not essential nutrients

– and as such, they should not even be called vitamins at all. 

     While antioxidants serve their purpose WITHIN a fruit or vegetable, in the human body, they only disrupt normal oxidative reactions in the cell.  This is why they are dangerous

to consume (except in the minute amounts ingested from food).

     In summary, if you want to stave off disease and premature aging, there is no substitute to eating fruits and vegetables that are rich in antioxidants instead of taking antioxidant 

supplements.     http://scrnch.me/82ya4
Think-Outside-the-Book Publishing LLC

I thank you for taking the time to read this short report
JanuszJanulis
© 2003-2010 World Marketing Media, Inc.
  http://scrnch.me/82ya4

JanuszJanulis
© 2003-2010 World Marketing Media, Inc.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/babies-articles/warning-dont-take-antioxidants-1775847.html

What is fair trade?

Fair Trade Certification is a certificate of the products of the United States and Canada. This is a product certification that allows people to identify the products which meet specified environmental, labour and developmental standards. Products with this certification ensure that you are not given out goods at the expense of exploiting the labours and environment. Most of the products that contain the certificate include the food products namely honey, oranges, cocoa etc, fresh fruits and vegetables, juices and nuts, rice, spices, sugar etc. The trend has been shifted from buying simple products to certified products. A study says that in 2012 the fair-trade sales will possibly go as high as US$ 9 billion. Come let’s explore more about the links between baby products and the fair baby products.

Baby products and Fair Trade Certification

More and more people are keen to buy the organic products and the Fair Trade Certified baby products. The organic products ensure that the goods are not hazardous to the health of the kids. The Fair Trade Certification ensures that the environment is not harmed while making the respective goods. The labour classes are paid their substantial due of wages. They are able to give proper education to their kids through the wages they receive. Buying such products will let you make a positive change in the lives of the millions associated with this good and make a positive change to your own life. Let’s know about bpa free baby bottles which are healthy for your kids.

Bpa free baby bottle

Bisphenol A (bpa) free baby bottle is not hazardous for your baby boy or girl. Bisphenol A is a chemical present in the polycarbonate plastic products. Its usage can have negative effect in the lives of the kids, as this chemical has been seen to pass on to the featus during the pregnancy. The kids are at the highest risk. The imbalance in the hormone that this bpa produces can lead to dangerous diseases. Most of the people are now buying bpa free baby bottles to gift their child a healthy living. These fair trade baby products and the bpa free baby bottles can be easily bought from any local or online baby store. You can buy them from the online store at heavily discounted rates. For more information kindly search the net.

Bambinos and Rugrats offers a wide range of Fair Trade Baby products and toddler products with the convenience of online shopping. We provide Bpa Free Baby bottle and baby sun protection clothing for the growing kids.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/babies-articles/fair-trade-baby-products-help-the-farmers-child-grow-as-well-1669213.html