Sunday, February 6th, 2011
I received this question via email about nursing with protein and supplement needs. I thought I’d share my answer with everyone…
HI Kristen,
I would like to say I really enjoy your blog! I am very interested in the raw food diet. I have made a few changes over the last 2-3 weeks to eat more raw food. About 3 weeks ago I bought a juicer and my husband and I juice everyday…so much fun. I started making almond milk this past week and love it with my protein powder every morning instead of cow’s milk.
I am not vegan or vegetarian, which is slowly changing one day at a time but in reality I don’t really have that much animal products, and if I do its from organc-grassfed-sustainable-local farms. I have been eating organic food for the last 2 years. My question is, I am nursing my 3 month old little girl and of course need protein, where do I get protein if I consume less if any animal products? Also, I do supplement with ‘juice plus’ capsules and vitamin D everyday. Are there other vitamins, minerals or supplements I need to take?
I still take my prenatal newchapter pills. Thank you so much in advance. Keep up the great work!
Stephanie :)
Thanks for following my blog, Stephanie, and for taking the time to ask this great question! And, congrats on eating healthier for you and your family. :) That’s awesome!
Regarding protein, what I’ve read suggests lactating moms should get somewhere between 50-65g of protein per day. Honestly, I don’t usually count my grams but I’m confident that most days I accomplish that amount, and on a few days I might be light, but that’s okay to me – I don’t stress about it. As a general rule, for most adults, protein needs do not need to be high. It’s a common misconception. However, when it comes to pregnancy and breastfeeding, I tend to support getting a little extra protein because in both situations my body is doing extra work and I’m feeding both my baby and myself. It makes sense to me to increase my protein levels.
So, where do I get it?
Well, on days when I have some cooked vegan, organic food, I’m getting higher protein levels from things like oats, lentils, black beans, tofu, tempeh, whole grains, etc. For the raw foods I eat, I get protein from leafy greens, green juice, green smoothies, fruit, nut (or seed) milk, nut (or seed) butter, and nuts (or seeds). But… what really helps ensure I get higher amounts of protein while breastfeeding (or if I were pregnant) would be hemp seeds, hemp protein powder, and Sun Warrior protein powder (chocolate is my favorite flavor but if you’re avoiding chocolate they offer “natural” and “vanilla.” I can drink a quick shake made with water and 2 scoops of Sun Warrior’s protein powder and have half of my day’s protein needs satisfied. I also sometimes take supplements like chlorella, wheat grass tablets, and green powders. These are concentrated sources of protein, even if a small amount, they pack a punch.
Regarding supplements.. According to The Vitamin D Solution (a book I highly recommend! I plan to write a review on it soon), a breastfeeding mom can take 4000-6000 IUs of vitamin D (but this is still being studied), even more (it’s important to ensure there is enough in breastmilk). You might want to get your levels tested and remember that I’m not a doctor so I’m not suggesting how much someone should take, but want to give you a data point based on the book I read. Personally, I take Deva’s Vitamin D2 and I usually end up with 3000-6000 IUs a day depending on other supplements I’m taking which might include it) – UPDATE – Dr. Holick’s overall recommendation is around 2000 IU a day. If you’re not consuming animal products be sure to get a Vitamin B12 supplement – very important (and make sure it’s a sublingual and the methylcobalamin variety. This is the one I take). Also, get your omegas. I take a daily vegan DHA supplement – there are a few good brands out there (NuTru, Deva, and Udos).
Healthy regards,
Kristen
Similar Posts:
~
Monday, February 22nd, 2010
I was recently emailed the following question…
Hello Kristen,
I want ask a question about your plans on raising your child if you do not mind. I am not sure how you feel about supplements for your child when the child gets older. People like VIctoria Boutenko, Jinjee Talifero, Julie Pitcher, Ka Sundance and I am sure the list goes on, but they do not supplement and they do not supplement their children. Then there is Shazzie and a few others who believe supplements are important. The people who say supplements are not necessary say that if we eat a variety of veggies, fruits, tropical fruits especially and wild edibles and live in a climate where they get to enjoy the sun majority times of the year say that supplements are not necessary. How do you feel about supplements when it comes to raising your child? I just want to know your opinion if you will.
It’s a great question. Here is my plan…
As most of you know, I’m not anti-supplement. I’ve been pretty diligent for years regarding vegan DHA and B12 supplements in my diet, and I will do the same for my kid(s). I think the Raw Vegan (or high raw, all vegan) diet done correctly, and thoroughly planned, can provide much of what we need instead of supplements; however, there are a couple of things that can be difficult to adequately get with foods alone (i.e., vegan DHA and B12). And, to be honest, I don’t think I’ll always be able to safely rely on foods to provide my family’s needed nutrition in all instances (examples below). Therefore, I play it safe and supplement from time to time to ensure everything is taken care of, and I’ll do the same for my (future) kids. In my mind, it’s like, “Why not?” I’m certainly not doing any harm by consuming high quality, non-synthetic supplements, and, in fact, I get peace of mind when I do take them.
Getting adequate nutrition goes deeper than just getting a balanced, seasonal, and organic diet. What about possible deficiencies that were created from the past, or from other issues such as our depleted soil, toxic environment, varying stress levels, different backgrounds, different geography, experiences traveling abroad, varying athletic levels, etc? As a result, I find it impossible to prescribe one way of living for every family. It’s dependent on the unique situations for each family, and what is warranted not only changes from family to family, but within each family as well. For example, our family is going to travel a lot (including overseas travel). As a result, I’ll pay extra attention to what foods will be available to us and noting whether we can get a balanced array. Perhaps there will be some places around the world where we won’t get a lot of greens or we can’t eat organic. It would be smart to bring supplements such as green powder and other nutrients to make sure we get everything we need.
The key for me is that we won’t rely on supplements (with the exception of B12 and vegan DHA – and even these I don’t always take daily), and we won’t use them as a crutch in place of getting an optimally balanced diet of whole, plant-based foods. We’ll get our nutrients from foods as much as possible. Here are some examples: We consume organic citrus, kiwi, and/or colorful bell peppers to get vitamin C and other powerful phytonutrients. We make sure our diet has vitamin E, iron, and zinc from sprouted / dehydrated, organic pumpkin and sunflower seeds. We ensure selenium is our my diets from Brazil nuts. We get adequate iron and calcium from leafy greens (as well as some cooked vegan foods). We get vitamin K1 and K2 from greens and fermented foods, respectively, although I’m not opposed to a vitamin K2 supplement from time to time when we’re not consuming enough fermented foods. We consume plenty of superfoods such as hemp foods, goji berries, wheat grass, etc. I could go on and on… but you get the point. I will follow the same protocol for my kids, and I will take an even harder look at their diets to really ensure they’re getting everything they need for strong, growing bodies. If this means some extra supplementation, then bring it on!
Regarding the two supplements that I do rely on: vegan DHA and B12.
Both of these can be more difficult to get through food. Moreover, with DHA, even if my family did get plenty of the nutrients (omega 3s and 6s) required for us to assimilate DHA, we’re not guaranteed that we can all convert it efficiently. And, it’s a similar story for B12. Perhaps there was a time when people received adequate B12 from the soil on produce, but that’s not the case anymore. The general consensus among doctors that I respect is that we need to supplement a vegan diet with B12.
How about vitamin D? Fortunately, my family lives in a climate with plenty of sunshine for this vitamin. However, if we travel for extended periods of time and we don’t get enough vitamin D, then I will look into having my family supplement.
Bottom line: The raw vegan diet rocks and it’s full of nutrition for my family. It takes careful planning to do it successfully, which I’m willing and happy to do. And, in the process, when I see that we might not be getting enough of something via our food intake, I’m grateful to have supplements as an option. We will also tap into the expertise of two kinds of doctors for our family (more specifically our children). If needed, we will visit both an M.D. (although I suspect we won’t use this person very much), and we’ll see an N.D. (naturopathic doctor) to consistently get our blood levels checked and ensure we all have optimal levels of nutrients, and then make necessary changes accordingly.
As a final note, don’t take what I’m going to do for my family as gospel for your loved ones. I think every family needs to address this topic on an individual level and speak with a professional when necessary to ensure everything is getting taken care of.
Similar Posts:
~
Here is list of what I’m eating today for Monkey and me. Everything is organic (of course). Can I just say AGAIN how happy I am to be pregnant. Oh joy joy joy!!!!! I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my life. I can hardly contain my excitement… I just want to jump up and down all day (no worries, though, I’m not really doing any jumping).
Over the next week I plan on introducing you to my AWESOME doula, as well as my midwife, plus I will continue to write the foods I’m eating since many of you are interested in that. I also recorded a quick video about growing sprouts. Look for that this week or next. Oh, and I plan on sending out my email newsletter this week. If you’re not signed up yet, you can do so here. There will be plenty of goodies, including a couple of my latest recipes.
1.5 cups Raspberry Leaf Tea
2 cups watermelon
8 oz yellow lentil soup, 4 Tablespoons golden hummus, a lavash cracker, 1/2 cup quinoa
We went to lunch here and it was really good. I wanted to get an all Raw lunch, but they couldn’t serve us that in the limited 1/2 hour my mom and I had… so we chose things from the menu that we’re quick to get served (soup, hummus, quinoa). It’s very good food and I’m eager to go back for the Raw goodies.
1/2 quart Plant Blood (cucumber, cilantro, lime, carrot)
I used my Breville to make this quickly.
1/4 cup raisins
Giant Salad: romaine lettuce, chopped red bell pepper and cucumber, sauerkraut, hemp seeds, and topped with left over Fresh Summer Hot Salsa and Elegant Guacamole (salsa and guac pictured here)
If I’m hungry later, I’ll probably snack on prunes and maybe have a glass of cucumber/carrot/spinach plant blood
Other items I had today:
Similar Posts:
~
Tuesday, March 31st, 2009
Today started out with me jammin’ out to Lenny Kravitz (hope my neighbors didn’t mind – ha ha) while drinking a Green Smoothie recipe, Chlorophyll Rich Pineapple Smoothie( 1/2 cup water, 2 cups pineapple, chopped, 2 cups yellow bell pepper, chopped, 1 banana, peeled, 1 1/2 tablespoons Amazing Grass Wheat Grass Powder. The yield was about 3 cups of green goodness. After drinking that and dancing to Lenny, I was ready to tackle the day.
Sometimes I’m asked about what supplements we take. Yes, I have a great, balanced diet, but there are some things that I feel are needed in supplement form… sometimes daily, sometimes not.
On a fairly regular basis, we take a Vitamin B12 supplement. Right now, we’re using Jarrow’s. But, we’ve also taken this brand.
In addition to a B12 supplement, we also take a vegan DHA supplement (a building block for brain and retina tissue, especially important for pregnancy, infancy (through breast milk), and old age. It’s also been noted for helping people with depression, which I am not depressed, but thought I’d pass that information along. For information about this, click here.
On occasion, we take a probiotic by Dr. Ohhira’s. Gotta have lots of friendly bacteria for a healthy body!
And, for the first time, I’m trying some Vitamin K2 (for bones and teeth). I learned about it from Shazzie’s latest book, Evie’s Kitchen. Let me just take a moment to say… this book is great. I loved reading it. It’s great for anyone with (or without) kids, or for anyone who is family planning right now. The recipes use metric amounts, so that means having to convert them, but I’m sure it’ll be worth it. It’s filled with pictures and worth the price.
Similar Posts:
~
I'm Kristen, and welcome to my blog. I'm a wife, mom, author, and I love to eat so food is usually the topic of my blog posts. I'm a former (almost decade long) vegan turned back omnivore who enjoys reading, rebounding, coffee, and dark chocolate. 
