The child's body immediately after birth is very vulnerable, so most professionals are very strict about the products that nursing mothers consume. However, almost no woman can do without sweets during this period.
However, most of them contain food additives, dyes and other chemicals. Real chocolate can be an ideal solution for mothers when breastfeeding. It has a pleasant taste and contains many useful and nutritious elements.
Due to the fact that for safe breastfeeding a woman must consume only certain products, most of the fair sex are interested in whether a nursing mother can have a similar product.
Chocolate during breastfeeding
All representatives of medicine, responding to the question of whether it is possible to eat chocolate while breastfeeding, are divided into two groups. The first supports the opinion that sweetness, if introduced correctly into food, will not cause problems during this period.
The second adheres to the harm theory, according to which a treat can harm a child. The main reason why you should not eat products made from it is closely related to the allergic reaction that you may experience. It is characterized by many symptoms, including rash, infantile colic and dream disturbances.
However, other problems may arise during breastfeeding and eating chocolate:
- A reaction in the form of an allergy can occur in both children and mothers. Most often it is caused by a certain list of components included in its composition.
- In some cases, there is a risk of constipation, flatulence or loose stools.
- Since the delicacy contains an stimulant such as caffeine, chocolate during breastfeeding can cause anxiety in an infant.
- The impressive amount of sugar in the bars increases the mother’s weight and causes the baby to become addicted to sweets. The development of diabetes mellitus cannot be ruled out.
- Caffeine increases the volume of gases in the intestines.
The listed problems help to understand why nursing mothers are advised to abstain from such a product.
Despite the risk of such consequences, doctors do not completely prohibit the consumption of chocolate during lactation. This is due to the positive effect of such a product - improving mood and active saturation with energy.
If a woman decides not to deny herself chocolate after giving birth, then good advice from experts is to follow certain rules and regulations when consuming the treat.
Recipes
White chocolate during breastfeeding is prepared in 3 ways: using cocoa butter, without it and with dried fruits.
Traditional recipe
You will need to take:
- powdered milk – 150 g;
- powdered sugar – 150 g;
- cocoa butter – 150 g;
- vanillin - a pinch.
Using a knife, cut the cocoa butter into slices, place it in a suitable pan and melt it in a water bath. Powdered milk and powdered sugar are gradually poured in small portions. Don't forget to stir constantly. The finished mixture is poured into molds and refrigerated for 1 hour. After time has passed, you can try dessert. As an addition, use raisins or dried apricots.
Without cocoa butter
The preparation method and composition are considered more suitable for women during lactation. It is safe for your child's health to eat homemade white chocolate without cocoa butter.
Ingredients:
- baby dry formula – 80 g;
- milk – 95 ml;
- granulated sugar – 1.5 tbsp. l.;
- vanillin on the tip of a knife.
Mix all the products in a suitable saucepan and place in a water bath (pour some water into a larger diameter container and place the saucepan with the mixture in it). Wait until it boils while stirring regularly. You should get a homogeneous mass. Pour into molds and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Granulated sugar is added to taste. The more of it in the recipe, the thicker the mixture and the tastier the dessert.
Rules for nursing women on chocolate consumption
If you use some rules formulated by doctors, then a nursing mother can consume chocolate. The list includes:
- Exclusion of the product in the first trimester of the baby’s life. It is during this period of time that the child adapts to the world around him, and the body gradually begins to grow stronger.
- Before using on an ongoing basis, it is recommended to check for allergies in mother and baby. The first time it is better to eat a few grams and check the body’s reaction after a few weeks. Only if there are no negative reactions, the dose can be increased to 25 grams.
- Chocolate for breastfeeding should consist only of natural ingredients without dyes. It is better to opt for the bitter variety.
Another opinion on the topic of whether a nursing mother can have chocolate was expressed by the famous pediatrician Evgeniy Komarovsky. According to him, a woman’s diet when breastfeeding should remain familiar, that is, without changes. You just need to reduce the volume of some ingredients. Therefore, according to him, a nursing mother can have chocolate, but in a small dose and with compliance with the intake requirements.
When and in what quantity can a nursing mother consume chocolate?
Once a reliable answer has been received to the question whether chocolate products can be consumed while breastfeeding, it is necessary to determine at what point and in what quantity it can be eaten.
The first attempts can be made as early as 4 months of a newborn’s life. During this period, the child’s body is already stronger, so it will be easier for the mother to cope with a new product in the diet.
However, you should not consume sweets in large quantities. You need to start with a few grams. As the child grows and there is no allergic reaction, the volumes can be gradually increased.
Basic rules for use during lactation
When breastfeeding, the treat should be consumed in limited quantities , no more than 2-3 times a month. It is worth introducing it into the diet of a nursing mother with a small piece, then you can gradually increase the dose.
Choose only high-quality chocolate, without flavorings, sugar substitutes and various fats. Such substances and additional food additives can cause severe poisoning in both mother and child.
How to choose chocolate for a nursing mother
Selecting chocolate for mommy becomes the source of many new questions, including whether white can be eaten, whether bitter is allowed, and whether dark is healthy.
However, when answering these questions, experts say that you can eat any type of chocolate, the main thing is to take into account its composition.
So, white in the presence of 20% cocoa milk, 14% milk powder, 3.5% milk fat and 55% sugar can be safely introduced into the diet. The composition of black is different. A quality chocolate of this type should have only three ingredients, including cocoa beans, powdered sugar and cocoa butter.
Milk and dark chocolate will not be harmful to nursing mothers. They are allowed to use:
- grated cocoa;
- sugar powder;
- lecithin;
- natural vanilla;
- cocoa in the form of butter.
If the composition is saturated with high-quality ingredients, then mommy can have milk, black, white and any other type.
The benefits of milk chocolate during breastfeeding
Milk chocolate differs from black chocolate in the reduced amount of cocoa and the fact that it contains milk. It may contain condensed milk and vegetable oils. In addition, it contains a lot of sugar. The fat content of the product is high. This causes a reduced content of vitamins and nutrients, such as potassium, magnesium, iron and calcium.
Milk chocolate is more preferable for a nursing mother than other types of chocolate as it contains less caffeine.
Milk chocolate promotes the production of endorphins, which are better known as joy hormones. The product contains a lot of sugar, so the effect is more noticeable than from a black or bitter product. In addition, milk chocolate has the following properties:
- replenishes energy reserves in the body;
- improves the functioning of the heart and blood vessels;
- slows down the aging process in the body;
- thanks to antioxidants, it has a good effect on skin condition, etc.
It also has other beneficial properties inherent in chocolate. You can read about this in the article “Chocolate while breastfeeding.”
Can a nursing mother have candy?
Another important dietary issue has to do with whether nursing mothers can have candy. Since preservatives and dyes are almost always added to such confectionery products, especially in the filling, it is not recommended for women to eat sweets while breastfeeding. Moreover, such sweets contain a minimal amount of natural chocolate.
How to properly introduce the product into the diet of a nursing woman
The lactation period is an important stage in the development of a child’s immunity. Therefore, special attention is paid to the mother’s nutrition. Therefore, the inclusion of new products must be done with extreme caution.
Doctors recommend starting this only in the morning and once. You can easily monitor your child’s reaction throughout the day, identifying symptoms in time. So, for example, if you do a test in the evening, you can detect problems with stool only in the morning, when the child wakes up.
If colic, gas and diathesis appear as a result of consuming a few grams, then there is no need to worry about how long it takes for all allergens to be removed from breast milk. Depending on the characteristics of the female body, this period can vary from a couple of days to a week.
Possible reactions of the baby to the product
The main reason why chocolate products should not be used when feeding for some doctors is an allergic reaction of the child. During this period of time, the baby’s digestive system is weak, for this reason foreign elements in milk can cause negative consequences.
It is especially dangerous to consume dark or white chocolate if the child is prone to rashes.
Possible harm and contraindications
Despite the benefits of milk chocolate, the product also has harmful properties. Due to the increased fat content and high sugar content, the delicacy increases the level of cholesterol in the blood and can negatively affect the condition of blood vessels. In addition, teeth are destroyed. Eating such delicacies in large quantities can lead to excess weight.
Sweet products are prohibited for diabetes; patients should choose dark chocolate. Despite the low cocoa content, chocolate can still cause an allergic reaction in the baby. The presence of milk in the composition can cause not only allergies, but also digestive problems, for example, bloating, stool problems, and colic. It is forbidden to eat treats if you have lactase deficiency. In addition, the product can be addictive, so you should eat it in small quantities.
Common myths about chocolate during breastfeeding
Topics about the compatibility of chocolate and lactation are always a hot topic in society. Depending on the doctor, the answer may vary.
However, if the mother does not want to give up such a delicacy, then she should not only carefully monitor the child’s health status, but also know what type is possible, what rules for introducing sweets into the diet must be followed, how quickly it is eliminated, what are the signs of hypersensitivity at first. You definitely can’t eat chocolate for a month, second or third.
Therefore, it is important to prepare and be aware of all the effects on the body from the combination of chocolate and lactation, so that if necessary, you can react quickly and in a timely manner.
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