How I Increased my Breast Milk Supply on The Carnivore Diet

How I Increased my Breast Milk Supply on The Carnivore Diet

In this article, I’ll explain exactly how I increased my breast milk supply on the carnivore diet. Breastfeeding is one of the most incredible experiences I’ve ever had. Throughout my breastfeeding journey, I’ve been very conscious about things that influence my milk supply, because I know that breast milk is best for my baby and I didn’t want to lose my milk supply.

I’ve successfully been breastfeeding while following the carnivore diet for 18 months and have learned a thing or two about maintaining and even increasing my breast milk supply while eating this way. 

How I Increased My Breast Milk Supply on the Carnivore Diet 

If you’re on the carnivore diet and you want to know how to increase your breast milk supply, here is what worked for me:

1. I Ate a Lot of Salt

I noticed quite a difference in my milk depending on how much salt I consumed. At times when I didn’t consume enough salt, my breast milk supply started decreasing but when I started adding more salt to my food and added salt to my water, my breast milk supply increased.

I also supplemented with potassium and magnesium to ensure I consumed enough other electrolytes. 

2. I Ate a Lot of Fat

Whenever I started eating more lean meats and reduced my fat intake, I could see the difference in my breast milk supply. Not eating enough fat on the carnivore diet definitely reduced my milk supply. Whenever I increased my fat intake, after a few days, my milk supply would start going up again. 

3. I Consumed Enough Calories

At the start of my carnivore journey, I spoke to Dr. Anthony Chaffee during a podcast interview about being worried about my breast milk supply on a carnivore diet and he assured me that as long as I was eating enough food, my milk supply would still be good. He was right. When I first went on the carnivore diet, I made sure to eat a lot of meat, and my milk supply did not go down.

I always try to make sure I eat enough food. I noticed that when my calorie consumption went down, so did my milk supply. Once I increased my total calorie and food consumption, my milk supply would go up again.

4. I Added Carbs

I didn’t stick to a zero-carb carnivore diet for at least half of the time breastfeeding on the carnivore diet. I experimented with a zero-carb carnivore diet and one that included animal sources of carbs like yoghurt and milk and found that my milk supply went up when I included carbs in my diet.

When I cut out the yoghurt and milk and went on a zero-carb carnivore diet, I still produced enough milk, but less than I was producing while consuming some carbohydrates. My milk supply always increases if I add back carbohydrates from animal sources.

Other Ways I Increased My Breast Milk Supply

There are a few strategies unrelated to diet that I used to increase my milk supply. They are:

1. I Managed my Stress

If there’s one thing that will reduce your breast milk supply, it’s stress. Whenever I felt more stressed, I noticed that my milk supply went down. As soon as I incorporated strategies to help me reduce stress, such as going for walks, watching my favourite TV shows, sleeping more, and spending more time with my family, my milk supply went up again. 

Although it’s pretty impossible to avoid stress entirely, I did try my best to keep my stress levels as low as possible to help me maintain a healthy milk supply. 

2. I Started Breastfeeding and Expressing More

Whenever I wanted to increase my milk supply, I would just start breastfeeding or expressing milk more often. This signals to your body that there is a higher demand for breast milk from your baby and that it should start producing more milk.

3. I Used Power Pumping

Power pumping is a breast milk expressing technique where you pump for 20 minutes, then rest for 10 minutes, then pump for 10 minutes, rest for another 10 minutes, and then pump for 10 minutes to finish. Typically, when women do the power-pumping method for a few days in a row, they notice an increase in their breast milk supply. It mimics cluster feeding and tells your body that your baby needs more milk.

If you’re on the carnivore diet and want to increase your breast milk supply, hopefully what worked for me will work for you. Breastfeeding is such a gift and is one of the best things you can do for your baby.

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