Diarrhea Causing Foods: Diarrhea is a severe symptom in infants, and it shouldn’t be underestimated. If your baby has diarrhea, they can get dehydrated in a matter of hours. This can lead to severe health problems, and it can even be fatal if it is left untreated.
So, make sure to go to the doctor as soon as you notice diarrhea signs and take the proper measures.
But as it is always better to prevent rather than treat, you should be aware of the main foods that cause diarrhea in breastfed babies.
Everything you eat will get in your breastmilk. The concentration differs from one food to another, but the fact that what you ingest will be in your baby’s meal is an essential aspect to consider.
- Dairy Products: These products add to the milk protein and lactose already found in your breastmilk. They can cause diarrhea due to this overload of milk protein and lactose. Diarrhea can be that much more severe if your infant is intolerant or allergic to one or both of these products.
- Certain Fruits: If you like eating fruits or drinking fruit juices, you need to make sure they don’t cause your baby diarrhea. Apple, cherries, and pears are the main fruits that can cause diarrhea. Prunes might contribute to this side effect as well. This happens because they are high in sugar fruits. Your baby is not well enough developed yet to digest this amount of sugar. But if you consume them in moderation, you should stay on top of these side effects.
- Specific Formula Powder: Most formulas are made based on the same concept and ingredients. They might or might not have lactose or dairy ingredients. But certain formulas like those high in lactose or cow’s milk protein might cause diarrhea along with other discomforts. Check the ingredients and notice the way your baby reacts to formula milk. This will help you identify the symptoms and the culprit for them.
Top 10 Foods that cause diarrhea in breastfed baby
The following foods can give your infant diarrhea, so they are better avoided as much as possible.
1. Yogurt
Yogurt is rich in enzymes, and it can be hard to digest for babies if it gets in the mother’s milk. However, baby’s will have diarrhea from yogurt if they have a specific sensitivity to milk and lactose in particular. If your baby is not sensitive to lactose or milk, yogurt might not give them diarrhea.
2. Dairy Milk
The cow milk protein will reach the breastmilk fast, and if you drink too much milk, your baby might develop diarrhea symptoms. The reason is similar to the one related to yogurt diarrhea. You also need to consider how your baby reacts to both lactose and cow milk because not all babies are the same. Some of them don’t get diarrhea at all, while others are highly prone to it.
3. Pears
Pearsas well as prunes, are considered natural laxatives. They are great fruits to treat constipation, especially in juice. But if your baby doesn’t suffer from constipation and you eat too many pears, you might cause them to have diarrhea. Pears reach the breastmilk, and they speed up your baby’s digestive system, which can cause loose stools.
4. Prunes
Just like pears, prunes are well known for their laxative effects. But if you are breastfeeding your child, you should reduce the plum intake significantly. They can be even more efficient than pears when it comes to causing loose stools in breastfed babies.
5. Formula
If you don’t just breastfeed your baby, but you also give them formula meals, know that this combination can cause them to have diarrhea. Consider changing the formula, especially if your baby is sensitive to the milk in it.
6. Spicy Foods
Spicy foods can cause gas and diarrhea because they are hard to digest even for us. If spicy food gets in your breastmilk, your baby might develop both of these symptoms as well.
7. Chocolate
Chocolate is essentially a combination of milk, sugar, cocoa,and other ingredients. Because of that, and mainly because of the high concentration of milk and sugar, it can cause diarrhea in your baby if you overeat it.
8. Tomatoes
Your baby is not well developed yet to process the acidity of tomatoes. If this is your favorite veggie, you might want to reduce it while you are breastfeeding. Tomatoes can cause loose stools in babies that are breastfed if the breastmilk becomes too rich in acidity. They might also contain salmonella if you eat them raw, so wash them and cook them safely.
9. Coffee
Coffeeis well known for causing digestive reactions such as gas or loose stools, but you can also give these reactions to your baby if you drink too much of it. It is best to avoid coffee at least three hours before you are going to breastfeed your baby. This way, you are sure it is out of your system, and your baby gets none of it.
10. Contaminated Food
You should always pay attention to the hygienic aspect of your meals,not only for your health but also for your baby. The germs in food can reach the breastmilk and give your infant diarrhea, as well as other symptoms. Wash your fruits and veggies right and cook the meat to high temperatures to stay away from such risks.
Try to avoid these foods when you are breastfeeding your baby. You might be able to add others to this list by observing your child’s reaction to your breastmilk.
Some babies may develop diarrhea due to specific foods, not on the general list.
