Lactogenic and Galactogogues Wa...wa...what?

Lactogenic and Galactogogues Foods and Herbs

This is info that I have amassed in the last 7 months mostly from Mobimother.com (great site). Remember I’m not a Dr. and I don’t play one on t.v. So read for your entertainment and if you like it or parts of the info talk with with your lactation consultant. Thanks Pumpmasterkamp 

Fluids- 2-3 Quarts, 100-120 oz, 4-7 bottles of water, ginger ale, lactation teas, milk, almond “milk”.

Healthy Galactogogue Foods:

Oats: Steal or think cut oats have been used has a galactagogue for centuries

Brewer’s Yeast- also a Lactogenic, and Extremely healthy it is listed as a super food.

Ginger (and Ginger ale)- Is said to help with the let down reflex. Please note that if you lost a lot of blood during birth, avoid taking ginger for several weeks.

Garlic - is helpful for the letdown and milk flow as well. I have read that eating diets rich in garlic will make a baby nurse More/harder.

Nuts – eat raw nuts like almonds, cashews, and macadamia nuts.

Sesame seed-“butter” known as Tahini  is high in calcium

Carrotseed has been used as a galactagogue for thousands of years

Legumes -  chickpea and lentils. Make a big batch of beans when you have time and freeze them in small containers.

CoconutOil/Butter: good fats for milk

Flaxseed oil: good fats for milk, and is a galactagogue.

One way to balance the fats is to dribble a quarter teaspoon of olive oil, flaxseed oil, sesame oil, and a thin slab of butter over meals. Be sure to eliminate unhealthy fats such as partially hydrogenated vegetable oils and trans fatty acids from your diet, as these will also enter your milk.

 Fennel -Fennel can be eaten raw or cooked, for instance, steamed, or sauteed in butter and then simmered in a bit of water. Fennel seed is well-known as an herb to increase milk production. The vegetable, containing the same pharmacological active volatile oils, acts as a gentler support

Black Strap molasses- (High in iron) Black strap molasses contains high amounts of calcium and iron, plusmagnesium, potassium, copper, and chromium. Buy organic, unsulphured molasses and use it to sweeten porridge, smoothies, and baked goods

Yogurt - or lactobacilli supplements to protect your intestinal flora and to help prevent colic and allergy in your baby

*Yogurt serves as a great substitute for high-fat ingredients in baking. Low-fat or fat-free yogurt can be used to reduce or replace shortening, oil, butter or sour cream in baked goods.  Plus, it’s packed with protein and calcium.
Here are some easy guidelines for using yogurt in baking:

• When a recipe calls for butter, replace half the butter with half as much yogurt. For instance, instead of 1 cup butter, use 1/2 cup butter and 1/4 cup yogurt.
• When a recipe calls for shortening or oil, replace half the oil with 3/4 the amount of yogurt. For example, instead of 1 cup oil, use 1/2 cup oil and 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons yogurt.
• Substitute yogurt cup for cup for sour cream in recipes.
• Yogurt can even replace some of the water or milk in a recipe. Start by substituting 1/4 of the liquid with yogurt. The result will be creamier and more flavorful.

Herbs:

 A normal herbal regiment is listed here with all the herbs listed bellow.

Fenugreek capsules: Up to 3capsules, 3 times per day.

Alfalfa leaf capsules: Up to 3 capsules, 3 times a day.

Blessed thistle capsules: Up to 3 capsules, 3 times a day.

Marshmallow capsules: Up to 3 capsules, 3 times a day.

Red Clover: Up to 3 capsules, 3 times a day.

Goat’s Rue: Tea: Pour 1 cup of boiling water over 1 teaspoonful of the herb,steep 5 -10 minutes 2 – 3 cups a day.

Red Raspberry Leaf: up to a quart

Brewers Yeast: As often as you can add to your diet. 2 tb in 8 ounces of orange juice once in the morning and evening.

Fenugreek

Dosage and Preparation:

*   Capsules: Try one capsule the first day to see if you have an allergic reaction. If you do not have a reaction, then take 3 capsules, and then 6 capsules a day, divided into three dosages, taken before meals. Add one additional capsule per day and build up to 9 per day. This is considered standard dosage, though some mothers take larger dosages. Gauge your reaction carefully, and ask your lactation expert and doctor for guidance if you are unsure about your optimal dosage. n some sensitive women, a very low dosage of fenugreek does increase milk production. One woman reported seeing significant improvement with only 2 capsules per day.
*   Tincture: Fenugreek is frequently a main ingredient in lactation tinctures. Follow the dosage directions on the package.
*   Tea: Fenugreek seed can be steeped, infused, or decocted, and can be adjusted to be mild and delicate or potent and bitter. Add a natural sweetener to taste.
*   Sheila Humphrey in “The Nursing Mother’s Herbal”recommends steeping 1 – 3 teaspoons of whole seed in 8 oz. of boiling water for5 – 10 minutes, or longer.
*   Infusion, cold: Set fenugreek seeds in cold water and soak for several hours or over night. Strain off the liquid, refrigerate, and if desired, warm each cup gently before drinking.
*   David Hoffmann in “Holistic Herbal” suggests that mothers decoct (gently simmer) 1 1/2 teaspoons of slightly crushed fenugreek seeds in one cup of water for ten minutes, and, for a more flavorful taste, add1 teaspoonful of aniseed to the decoction. Drink three times a day.

Alfalfa leaf – Do not over-eat alfalfa sprouts or seeds

Dosage and Preparation:

*   Tea: 1-2 teaspoons of dried herb per cup of water. Drink up tothree cups per day. (To kick-start milk supply, double this dosage a few days.Increase is seen within two to four days.)
*   Infuse 1-2 handfuls in a quart of water, steep overnight.
*   Alfalfa Supplements: Up to 8 capsules per day.
*   Dried juice powder: 1 tablespoon, two times per day.
*   Homeopathy: X30 is used in combination with Lactuca virosa X30for exhausted, nervous, stressed mothers.

Blessed Thistle

Capsules: Up to 3 capsules, 3 times a day in combination with other herbs such as fenugreek

Marshmallow Root and Leaf

Dosage and Preparation:

*   Tea: Pour 1 cup of cold water over 1 tablespoon of root powder,and stir frequently while soaking for thirty minutes. Strain, and warm gentlybefore drinking.
*   Decoction: Per cup of water, add 1 teaspoonful of the chopped root,and simmer for 10 – 15 minutes. Take three cups a day. Sheila Humphrey recommends that if you are starting an herbal program, you may take higher dosages for a few days to kick-start your milk supply, i.e., take up to one handful of chopped root per cup of water.
*   Capsules: Take 3 capsules, 3 times a day, in combination with other herbs such as fenugreek, blessed thistle, alfalfa, and red clover.

Red Clover

Dosage and Preparation:

*   Capsules: 2 – 3 capsules, 3 times a day, in combination with other herbs.
*   Tea: Pour 1 cup of boiling water onto 1 – 3 teaspoons of thedried flowers, and steep for 10 – 15 minutes.
*   Infusion: Add the herb to a mixture of other lactogenic herbs and infuse for several hours or over night.

Goat’s Rue

*   Dosage and Preparation:

*   Tincture: Take 1 – 2 ml of tincture, or 10 – 15 drops, 3times a day.
*   Tea: Pour 1 cup of boiling water over 1 teaspoonful ofthe herb, steep 5 -10 minutes. Drink 2 – 3 cups a day.

Nettle

Dosage and Preparation:

*   Tea: Pour a cup of boiled water onto 1 – 2 teaspoonfuls of the dried herb, cover and steep for 10 minutes. Take 3 cups a day. To kick-start milk production, double this dosage, and take up to 6 cups a day.
*   A mild tea is made by steeping one teaspoon of the dried herb for only 1/2 minute in a cup of boiling water. Take three cups a day. (Even the mild tea has a dark-green color and a rich taste.)
*   Infusion: In a quart jar, add boiling water, cover, and infuse overnight. Use a large handful of nettle. Combine with other lactogenic herbs,such as alfalfa, goat’s rue, dandelion leaf, red clover, vervain, and the umbel seeds.
*   Tincture: Nettle is frequently an ingredient of in lactation tinctures. Follow the dosage directions on the package.

Red Raspberry Leaf

*   Mothers take up to a quart of red raspberry leaf tea per day during pregnancy. See above. Red-raspberry tea is said to promote milk production the first week postpartum, though stinging nettle or alfalfa may be the better herb if there is risk of low milk supply-see above .
*   Medicinal tea: Pour 1 cup of just-boiled water over 2 teaspoons of the dried leaf and steep for 5 minutes. Sweeten with a natural sweetener to taste. Build up slowly to 4 cups a day during pregnancy
*   Red raspberry leaf as a mild beverage: Steep 1/2 teaspoon of dried leaves in 1 cup of just-boiled water for 1 – 3 minutes. Sweeten with a natural sweetener to taste.

Umbel Seeds

Anise

*   Anise tea: Gently crush 1 -2 teaspoons of anise seeds, and cover with one cup of boiling water. Cover and steep between 5 – 20 minutes. Sweeten to taste. Take 3 cups a day.

*   To kick start milk production, take up to 6 cups of anise teafor two to four days, carefully observing your and your baby’s reaction.
*   Infusion: In Eastern Europe, umbel seeds such as anise arecovered with boiling water and steeped for four hours before drinking.

Caraway

Cumin

Dill

 *   Umbel seeds can betaken individually, together, or combined with other herbs to make a lactationtea. They can be infused overnight in cold or hot water. Traditionally, they can be decocted, or steeped as tea.
*   Umbel seed tea: Gently crush 1-2 teaspoons of the seeds, and add one cup of boiling water. Cover and steep for between 5 – 20 minutes. Longer steeping produces a more potent tea. Sweeten to taste.
*   Umbel seeds as a beverage: Steep 1 – 3 minutes for a milder taste and effect.
*   Infusion: In Eastern Europe, umbel seeds such as anise, given to breastfeeding mothers to promote milk production, are covered with boiling water and infused for four hours.
*   In India, umbel seeds are placed in cold water and soaked overnight. The liquid is strained and gently warmed before drinking. This way,none of the volatile, medicinal oil is lost to steam.
*   The usual recommended dosage is 3 cups a day. To increase milk production, take up to 6 cups a day initially, as necessary, observing your reaction, and your baby’s reaction. If you or your baby get loose stools or become gassy, reduce the dosage or try other galactagogues.
*   To treat flatulence, drink umbel seed tea slowly before meals,or take it in sips throughout the day.

Valerian:

Valerian root is not a galactagogue, but it is listed in the MOBI Herbal because it can be useful to mothers suffering from sleep deprivation.

Dosage and Preparation:

*   Discover your individual dosage. Taking too large a dosage can lead to a drug-like sleep with the mother feeling as though she has a hang-over next day.
*   With herbal tinctures, the dosage can be fine-tuned. Although 30- 40 drops of valerian before sleep is the recommended dosage, 3 – 10 drops maybe sufficient for mothers who respond more sensitively to herbal medicinal.
*   Take valerian before going to bed if you are taking it specifically to help you sleep more deeply. Take it in small dosages during the day if you are using it to help calm your nerves. Do not overdose.
*   It may take up to four weeks for the herb to unfold its full effect.

Brewer’s Yeast- Add to all baked goods (2-4TB), to soups 1Tsp for every Cup or about 2TB-4TB for a full pot, and to popcorn (1 TB).

Glactofuge: Bad for lactation

Aloe vera Basil Borage (contains Pyrrolizidine alkaloids which may cause liver damage) Bugleweed Cascara sagrada Coltsfoot

Comfrey (contains Pyrrolizidine alkaloids which may cause liver damage) Elecampane Ephedra Parsley (galactofuge reduces milk flow) Sage (galactofuge reduces milk flow) Wormwood

from motherlove.com website