Eating a Raw Diet and Breastfeeding

Posted by January Harshe on January 8, 2008

Wow. OK, where am I at? I ate all raw for 4 days. I was loving it. I had made a decision and had no problem sticking to it this time. I have bigger goals in mind to worry about not eating cooked food. So, what happened?

I love being a mom. I adore my children. They are a blessing from God and I am grateful every day that they chose me to be their mother. With motherhood comes many responsibilities as you know. Right now one of my responsibilities is feeding my newborn baby girl. Before going raw, Annabelle (she is 3 months old now!) slept really well through the night. She usually wakes up once or twice to nurse and then drifts back to sleep. The four days I was raw, she was up ALL night snacking and not able to get satisfied and back into a deep sleep. Also, I pump extra breast milk for a friend’s baby. As she says, it’s usually like cream. I make super power milk! While I was eating all raw, though, my pumped milk was very light in color and more of a water consistency. I also was making less milk. My baby was not getting what she was used to.

I spoke to another friend about it. He is very knowledgeable about nutrition and eating a raw diet itself. We talked about what I was eating. He pointed out how I was not eating grains, oats or lentils. These foods, in his opinion, are necessary for sustainability and health. I was not prepared to sprout and eat these foods raw. I was just going to not eat them for now and work my way up to that. So, I either had to find a way to get them now or eat them cooked. I decided that I would introduce some cooked food that day and see what happened. After having Ezekiel bread with lunch and a falafel pita at dinner (along with the other raw food I ate that day), my supply went up. Also, my pumped milk was creamy again and Annabelle slept normal that night (thank goodness). Coincidence, you ask yourself? Maybe. I don’t think so. Everything changed with me changing what I ate when I started all raw and when I ate some cooked foods. I do want to say that this does not happen to all breast feeding moms. This was my experience and mine alone. It was based on what I was eating and may be different if eating other raw foods.

So, back to the responsibilities of motherhood. I am not privileged at this time to make selfish decisions. Decisions just for me that don’t effect others. What I eat right now has a direct effect on my baby. This is actually one of the reasons I wanted to eat all raw. So Annabelle could be getting the best breast milk possible. I can not be in a state of detox ( I was) and not making enough milk. It just won’t work. I was totally bummed. For once I was really doing this. I was not looking for any excuses to stop. Something out of my control came up.

I would like to look into sprouting beans, grains and lentils. Also, Alissa Cohen sells raw oats. If I can be more prepared and have these foods on hand, then maybe it would work. My breast milk supply and make up may not be negatively effected. I wonder if part of the reason there was a change was also because not enough calories. I was eating as much as I could though being on all raw. Obviously, I would have to go about an all raw diet differently than I did.

So, this morning I decided that doesn’t mean I have to eat a SAD (Standard American Diet). I (and my baby) can still benefit from a high raw diet with some cooked grains, beans, lentils and oats. I do have to admit though, this morning I had to consciously tell myself, "January eat a raw breakfast. This is not an excuse to eat crap". So, with it on my mind, I ate raw and cooked today. I am still going to pay attention to how I feel eating both.

I still feel a vegan all raw diet, is the superior way to eat. I am looking forward to getting myself there again. In the meantime I am going to enjoy the health benefits of eating a lot of raw food and the pleasure benefit of eating the cooked foods I love.

So What Did I Eat Today?

Fresh orange and carrot juice and a banana for breakfast made in Jack La Lanne juicer

An apple and raw cheese for snack

Jasmine rice (probably 2 cups cooked) with soy sauce for lunch (the rice cooker is great)

Cut up slices of cucumber and raw cheese for snack

Jasmine rice with soy sauce and Bragg’s dressing

Pasta with organic sauce and roasted tomatoes (olive oil, garlic, basil, oregano, sea salt)

I had raw fruits, veggies and cheese today along with rice, pasta and cooked tomatoes. I don’t know what the percentages are of raw and cooked. I did feel good today. I love jasmine rice. I know it’s not brown rice, but I just love it. I think the biggest challenge for me is to make sure to still get in high raw even though I’m eating cooked as well.

I want to take this blog in a new direction. I am going to bring information about all types of health related topics. I am going to finish my birth stories and get support and information for VBAC moms! I am going to have an international cuisine category. I love culture, traditions and food. I want to bring some of that here! We will continue to write articles about food, thoughts and personal development. Let’s not forget that I will continue to get healthy and in shape in the process!

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