Detox While Breastfeeding?

[Pat Robinson]

Breastmilk is a detox pathway. So, we don't want to do anything to dump more toxins into our blood circulation than our urine/feces can excrete. Sweat is another detox pathway which bypasses breastmilk.
Basically, the detoxification system is like a funnel. We can dump a lot into blood circulation but we have a narrow exit.

For sensitive baby, I'd be concerned about folate, B12, magnesium, zinc, molybdenum and selenium. Many medications deplete B-vitamins, especially folate and B12, and magnesium and zinc!

Chlorella doesn't bind heavy metals according to Andy Cutler, author of "Amalgam Illness". Due to 1-thiol group chemical bonds (vs. 2-thiol group).

http://heal-thyself.ning.com/profiles/blogs/detoxification

Epsom salt baths can help provide both magnesium and sulfate to support the natural detoxification pathways. We can increase the supply of probiotics, vitamins and minerals in breastmilk by focusing on nutrient-dense foods ourself.

Some herbs will optimize our own digestion which in turn increases the bio-availability of nutrients to us and baby. Herbs (bitters) which improve stomach acid would be my first thought. Chamomile, nettles, dandelion are nourishing bitters which support digestion and are safe while nursing. I'd be a cautious with dandelion if you have/had mercury issues though.

Susun Weed's book, "The Childbearing Years" is an excellent resource: http://www.amazon.com/Wise-Woman-Herbal.../dp/0961462000

[Pat Robinson]

Reflux in baby is a complex issue and there are many variables. Did you receive any antibiotics while pregnant? Eat any artificial colors (makes baby hyper)? Consume probiotics while pregnant (beneficial)? Your thyroid is healthy? Your adrenals are healthy? Stress-free pregnancy? Adequate stomach acid? Do you or your mother have/had any mercury fillings in your mouth? Many possibilities.
Generally, ime, baby is reacting to the mama's food intolerance reactions. My baby had severely painful colic until I removed all of the culprit foods. Fortunately, we were able to exclusively breastfeed for most of a year so he benefited from natural, infant probiotics and nutrients. I have a mouthful of mercury, so he received mercury through my milk too.

Stomach acid is the first line of defense against pathogens and essential for making nutrients bio-available. What I've seen is that the more food groups that one eliminates long-term, the more nutrient deficiencies develop and create increasing food intolerances. It is a vicious cascade.

I do believe we can heal with food. I'm of the opinion that rotating foods that are "somewhat" intolerant to optimize nutrients is preferable to food group eliminations beyond a couple of months. I agree about choosing nutrient-dense foods and completely eliminating the most severe food culprits: wheat/gluten, dairy, gmo-corn and gmo-soy. http://heal-thyself.ning.com/profiles/blogs/overwhelmed-where-to-start

I'd focus on improving stomach acid as the #1 goal then. And #2 balancing gut microbials. Both will improve bioavailability of nutrients. #3 nettles are anti-histamine and anti-inflammatory, rich in phytonutrients & magnesium which help hormone balance, calm, energy and sleep. I love nettles which are as simple as making tea and about as cheap! Nettles have saved my sanity.

I've had a lot of friends with reflux babies. I "ignored" most food reactions short of painful colic, hives or bloody stool and rotated foods to maintain nutrients and we were able to nurse for 2 years and ds eats all foods now (including wheat and dairy).
Brazil nuts have selenium. Just need 2 per day though.

I thought that "spitting up" was "normal for babies" until I eliminated all of our culprit foods (which were a lot for most of the first year). But, at about 10 weeks the "spitting up" totally disappeared, unless like you say, I ate something that didn't agree with me/him/us. He was my barometer! And boy did we both feel better!!

CINNAMON was one of the tiny little ingredients we HAD TO remove!! I figured it out through trial and error and I thought I was imagining it until about 4 years later when I read that cinnamon was an issue for some other mamas on the LLL or KellyMom website and I finally felt "vindicated". LOL


totally went from screaming horribly painful gas, requiring 10-20 minutes of burping in every up/down/sideways/shoulder or thigh-pressure-to-abdomen to move the gassy bubble along to TOTALLY no spitting up!!

Food Journal is the Gold Standard for identifying culprit foods.

Inflammation is a symptom, not a "cause", imo.

"Step two happens when mom's milk comes in and there are proteins in her milk that have not been properly digested by her body. Baby starts getting more symptoms of illness and these proteins potentially start to damage babies gut. These undigested proteins cause inflammation in the babies body which contributes to their symptoms and possibly their health degrading. "
Exactly. Baby reacts to mama's (chemical cascade) reaction to undigested proteins.

Most Americans are suppressing allergy/inflammation reactions with "suppressants": PPI, anti-histamines, steroids. This just pushes the inflammatory reaction (which is the body trying to heal itself) deeper: asthma, IBS, auto-immune diseases develop.
See The 4 As by Kenneth Bock, MD: http://www.amazon.com/Healing-New-Childhood.../dp/0345494512

#1 improve stomach acid: chamomile, ginger, caraway seed tea. Slippery Elm, cabbage juice, mastic gum, marshmallow root, acv all help to improve digestion of proteins --- alongside avoiding the biggest proteins which are hardest to digest: dairy, wheat/gluten, soy and corn.

for mama to improve digestion: http://heal-thyself.ning.com/.../blogs/enzymes-food-sources