{"id":16623,"date":"2022-11-30T22:19:57","date_gmt":"2022-11-30T22:19:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/?p=16623"},"modified":"2026-04-14T09:12:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T09:12:15","slug":"important-nutrients-when-breastfeeding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/important-nutrients-when-breastfeeding\/","title":{"rendered":"7 important nutrients when breastfeeding"},"content":{"rendered":"Pumping and nursing for your little one is both an amazing and exhausting journey. But all the effort that goes into making sure your baby is getting the right nutrition might have you forgetting about your own health and diet. Your body takes from its own nutrient stores to make that liquid gold for your little one \u2013 so a healthy diet is a must!\u00a0\u00a0\r\r\r\rHere, we\u2019ve rounded up the 7 most important nutrients for breastfeeding and chestfeeding parents. \u00a0\u00a0\r\r\r\r\u00a0\r\r\r\rBut first, why it&#8217;s important to get the right nutrients\u00a0\r\r\r\rThere\u2019s a reason breast milk is referred to as liquid gold and natures perfect food. It\u2019s packed full of carbohydrates, fats, protein, vitamins, minerals &amp; antibodies \u2013 exactly what your growing baby needs to thrive! But all those nutrients that go into breastmilk need to come from somewhere. Your body drains your own nutrient stores in order to keep churning out that precious milk. So, if your diet is lacking, you may end up depleting your body of key nutrients and feeling tired and sluggish as a result. Getting the right nutrients is key to keeping your body feeling strong.\u00a0\r\r\r\r\u00a0\r\r\r\r1. B-Vitamins\u00a0\r\r\r\rB-vitamins are a group of essential vitamins that play a vital role in your energy, brain health, nervous system, mood, red blood cells, metabolism and so much more.\u00a0 It\u2019s no wonder they are a key component of breast milk! So, make sure you\u2019re restoring your stores (you need the energy!).1\u00a0 Foods rich in B6 and B9 include beans, salmon, whole grains and dark leafy greens. Vitamin B12 is mostly found in animal-based foods like meat, dairy and eggs, so if you\u2019re vegan or don\u2019t consume these regularly, a B12 supplement is a good option.2\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\r\r\r\r\u00a0\r\r\r\r2. Calcium\u00a0\r\r\r\rYou\u2019ve heard it before: Calcium is crucial for your bones. But what you may not know is that you actually lose about 3-5% of your bone mass after giving birth and during lactation.3 Most people do replenish their calcium stores within a few months after weaning, but it\u2019s incredibly important to ensure you\u2019re getting enough from your diet or through supplements to keep your bones healthy and strong. If you\u2019re younger than 25 years old, it\u2019s even more critical because the calcium stores in your bones are still increasing!4\u00a0 If dairy isn\u2019t your thing, try adding soybeans, leafy greens, figs or chia seeds to your diet.\u00a0\u00a0\r\r\r\r\u00a0\r\r\r\r3. Iodine\u00a0\r\r\r\rEver wonder why some salts are iodized? Hint: it\u2019s not to give your baked potato some extra flavor! Iodine doesn\u2019t occur naturally in your body and must be obtained by diet, so some foods are fortified with this essential mineral to help reach your daily needs. Iodine plays a vital role in the production of your thyroid hormones which regulate your metabolism and are essential for your baby&#8217;s brain development.5 Your daily iodine needs nearly double when breastfeeding. No need to get too salty about it though. Roughly 1 teaspoon of iodized salt can cover your daily needs, so just make sure to regularly salt your food. Dairy, eggs, and seaweed are also great sources.\u00a0\u00a0\r\r\r\r\u00a0\r\r\r\r4. Iron\u00a0\u00a0\r\r\r\rIron keeps your heart, lungs and muscles going strong by transporting oxygen throughout your body. While your iron needs increase during pregnancy, it\u2019s common for iron needs to actually decrease when breastfeeding, mostly due to lactational amenorrhea- the loss of periods due to the hormone associated with breastfeeding.6 What\u2019s more- although iron is essential for your baby&#8217;s health, adding more iron to your diet doesn\u2019t increase the amount in your breastmilk. What does this mean for you? Getting enough iron in your diet can be as easy as eating dark meat chicken or steak 3-4 times per week. Eating vegetarian? Try adding some lentils or beans to your weekly repertoire.\u00a0\u00a0\r\r\r\r\u00a0\r\r\r\r5. Omega-3s\u00a0\r\r\r\rOmega-3s are an essential fatty acid that\u2019s important for growth, development, mood and your overall health. It can\u2019t be produced naturally from your body, so it needs to come from food or supplements. DHA is a type of omega-3 that plays an incredibly important role in brain health and nerve development. It\u2019s believed that your levels of DHA have a direct impact on your breastmilk, so babies who receive higher levels of DHA through breastmilk may have increased neurodevelopment and better vision.7 Cold water fatty fish are rich sources of DHA, but if you\u2019re not eating seafood twice a week, a high-quality supplement can help cover your needs.\u00a0\u00a0\r\r\r\r\u00a0\r\r\r\r6. Vitamin D\u00a0\r\r\r\rIf you live north of the equator, you might have heard your vitamin D is low. This isn\u2019t shocking because very few natural foods contain vitamin D, so it\u2019s extremely difficult to reach optimal levels from diet alone. Yes, stepping out in the sun 10-30 minutes a day helps, but depending on where you live, this can be a challenge too.8 So, it\u2019s only natural that your supply of breast milk has low levels as well. Vitamin D plays a vital role in both your baby\u2019s and your immune system, bone health, mood and more \u2013 so it&#8217;s important to regularly check levels and take a supplement if needed. But if your vitamin D levels are within the normal range, it\u2019s most likely the vitamin in your breastmilk is adequate for your growing baby too.9\u00a0\r\r\r\r\u00a0\r\r\r\r7. Zinc\u00a0\r\r\r\rZinc has been in the spotlight recently because of the role it plays in keeping your immune system strong. But it\u2019s also essential for cell growth and repair. It&#8217;s incredibly important for development during times of rapid growth like pregnancy, childhood and adolescence, but about 17.3% of people worldwide aren&#8217;t getting enough.10 And breastfeeding can zap the zinc stores of the nursing parent, so it\u2019s crucial to make sure you\u2019re getting enough for your own health.11 Zinc is found naturally in eggs, meat and fish &#8211; it&#8217;s also included in many prenatal supplements.\u00a0\u00a0\r\r\r\r\u00a0\r\r\r\rBesides calcium, learn about 6 other nutrients to support bone health.\r\r\r\r\u00a0\r\r\r\rAbout Laura\u00a0\r\r\r\rLaura is a nutritionist and an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant with a Bachelor of Science in Dietetics from Ball State University and a Master of Science in Health Sciences with a public health concentration from Indiana State University.\u00a0 She is a competitive distance runner who loves to support individuals in achieving their goals.\u00a0\u00a0\r\r\r\rDo you have questions on how you may benefit from supplements? Reach out to one of our experts, or take Persona\u2019s free nutrition assessment, and learn exactly what you need to take your wellness to the next level.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\r\r\r\r\u00a0\r\r\r\r*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\r\r\r\rThis information is not intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your physician or other healthcare professional, or any information contained on or in any product label or packaging. Do not use the information from this article for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing medication or other treatment. Always speak with your physician or other healthcare professional before taking any medication or nutritional, herbal, or homeopathic supplement, or using any treatment for a health problem. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem, contact your health care provider promptly. Do not disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking professional advice because of something you have read in this article.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pumping and nursing for your little one is both an amazing and exhausting journey. But all the effort that goes into making sure your baby is getting the right nutrition might have you forgetting about your own health and diet.","protected":false},"author":341,"featured_media":16633,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1829,1891,1937],"tags":[19],"class_list":["post-16623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-prenatal","category-vitamin-101","category-vitamin-101-prenatal","tag-vitamins-2"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16623"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16623\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19755,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16623\/revisions\/19755"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}