Women during lactation tend to limit their menu to products that are known to be safe for the baby’s health, in order to avoid an allergic reaction in the child and problems with the gastrointestinal tract. However, it is important for the mother’s body to receive a variety of microelements and vitamins in their natural form, so one cannot do without introducing fruits, vegetables and fresh herbs into the diet.
The need for vitamins is especially high in spring, so the value of early edible plants, which includes sorrel, should not be underestimated. It is useful for nursing mothers to eat the leaves of this plant, but it is important to pay attention to contraindications - in case of some health problems, the product may be harmful.
Useful properties and composition of sorrel
Sorrel greens have a rich vitamin and mineral composition, which allows you to heal the body and strengthen the immune system, which is very important for a nursing mother. It also contains acids and essential oils that are beneficial for women's health.
Chemical composition of sorrel
| Vitamins | Mineral salts | Acids |
| Beta carotene | Iron | Sorrel |
| WITH | Phosphorus | Tanning |
| E | Magnesium | Pyrogallic |
| TO | Calcium | |
| AT 9 |
Due to its composition, sorrel has many beneficial properties, for example:
- Supports muscle tone.
- Strengthens the nervous system.
- Reduces cholesterol levels in the blood.
- Removes free radicals from the body.
- Helps improve fat metabolism.
- Strengthens the body's defenses.
- Increases the quantitative value of hemoglobin in blood cells.
- Cleans blood vessels and improves their elasticity.
- Has a positive effect on intestinal motility.
Eating sorrel leaves is beneficial for people suffering from diseases of the heart and digestive system (especially gastritis and stomach ulcers). This green also helps women cope with pain during menstruation. In folk medicine, this plant is used to successfully treat colds, whooping cough and bronchitis.
Due to the presence of natural antioxidants, sorrel can be used for the prevention of cancer. It is also an excellent product for cleansing the skin and restoring the natural complexion.
Sorrel soup recipes for nursing mothers
At the beginning of the first month after childbirth, it is better for a woman to use broths cooked with simple vegetables - cabbage, onions, carrots. They increase lactation. From about the third week, you can add greens, potatoes, cauliflower and zucchini to the soup. Sorrel dishes are recommended for consumption only 3 months after the birth of the child. Let's consider options for sorrel soups that have received positive reviews.
Green cabbage soup
You can use any meat for them - chicken, beef, pork. Eggs will add flavor and calorie content to the vegetable dish, and the pleasant sourness of sorrel will add the piquancy characteristic of cabbage soup.
Ingredients: any meat - 450 g, sorrel - 400 g, a head of white onion and a bunch of green young onions, spices (pepper, salt), two eggs, 1 small carrot, sour cream, vegetable oil. Boil the meat in water with salt for half an hour, skimming off any foam that appears, then remove it and cool. Strain the liquid and return to the stove. Place potato cubes into the boiling broth and cook for another 20 minutes.
Wash the sorrel leaves well and divide into 2 halves. Pass one of them through a meat grinder or blender, chop the second. Finely chop the onion and fry it in oil, 5 minutes before it is ready, add chopped green onions. Separately sauté shredded or finely chopped carrots.
Add sorrel, fried vegetables, salt and pepper to the soup being prepared. Remove the boiled potatoes from the cabbage soup, crush them and send them back. Eggs can be poured into the soup raw, simply stirring them well in it, or you can put them boiled in a dish poured into plates. Prepared and portioned sorrel cabbage soup is well seasoned with sour cream.
Sorrel borscht
Pediatricians do not recommend eating traditional beetroot soup until six months after your baby starts breastfeeding. However, you can prepare a light version of borscht with herbs. Sorrel is better suited for this than other ingredients, because the main advantage of such a soup is its sourness.
Ingredients: beef meat - 550 g, carrots - 150 g, potatoes - 3 pcs., parsnip root, sorrel - 300 g, a bunch of green onions, parsley, salt. Boil the broth for two hours, skimming off any foam that appears. Remove the beef, cool and chop finely. Add potatoes to the broth along with the slices of meat. Chop the carrots and parsnips into strips and fry in vegetable oil for three minutes. Place the finished mixture into the borscht.
Find out more: The effect of rose hips on breastfeeding
When the vegetables are cooked, add chopped sorrel leaves to the pan and cook for about two minutes until they brown. Then add the greens and onions and simmer for a few more seconds. Ready-made green sorrel soup should be left to steep under the lid for about half an hour. You can add boiled chopped eggs and sour cream to the servings.
Sorrel cream soup with croutons
Ingredients: sorrel - 250 g, spinach - to taste, butter - 60 g, potatoes - 3 pcs., red onions - 2 pcs., garlic cloves - 2 pcs., chicken broth - 1.5 l, salt, pepper and sour cream - to taste.
Heat the butter over low heat in a thick-bottomed saucepan, simmer the finely chopped onion and garlic in it. Pour broth into the mixture and turn up the heat. Bring the soup to a boil and add the potatoes. Cook until the tubers are completely cooked.
Wash the spinach and sorrel and chop finely. Place the herbs in the pan when the potatoes are ready and boil for 7 minutes until the sorrel darkens. Remove vegetables and herbs from the broth, chop in a mixer or blender and put the mixture back. Salt and pepper the dish to taste. The finished puree soup can be served slightly chilled, with sour cream and croutons.
Contraindications
Despite the many beneficial properties that sorrel has, it cannot be consumed by all people. Among the main contraindications:
- stomach ulcer (especially in the acute stage);
- gastritis, accompanied by increased acidity;
- pancreatitis;
- gout;
- the presence of oxalates (stones) in the kidneys;
- inflammatory diseases of the genitourinary system;
- various disorders of water-salt metabolism.
Some doctors advise consuming sorrel only in its raw form, since during heat treatment the plant can release altered forms of oxalic acid, which are not excreted from the body and settle in the kidneys, forming stones.
ethnoscience
This early medicinal plant is not only popular in cooking, but also loved by many adherents of traditional medicine. Sorrel decoction is used for local treatment of inflammatory processes. It helps well with sore throat, pharyngitis and tonsillitis. Popular in eliminating bleeding gums.
The plant has been famous since ancient times for its hemostatic, analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties. It was even used as a remedy against poisons. Nowadays, a decoction of the leaves and roots is used as a bath additive before bed, which relieves pain in the gallbladder and inflammation of the bladder.
Sources
- https://mladeni.ru/mamam/shchavel-grudnom-vskarmlivanii
- https://pupsik-love.ru/pitanie-mamy/mozhno-li-shhavel-pri-grudnom-vskarmlivanii.html
- https://uroki4mam.ru/mozhno-li-kormyashej-mame-shavel
- https://orebenkah.ru/grudnoe-vskarmlivanie/shhavelevyj-sup-pri-grudnom-vskarmlivanii.html
- https://womanadvice.ru/mozhno-li-kormyashchey-mame-shchavelevyy-sup
- https://vskormi.ru/mama/shhavel-pri-grudnom-vskarmlivanii/
- https://floradoc.com/stati/shhavel-pri-grudnom-vskarmlivanii
- https://howtogetrid.ru/mozhno-li-shhavel-pri-grudnom-vskarmlivanii/
- https://VseProRebenka.ru/laktaciya/pitanie-mamy/shchavel-pri-grudnom-vskarmlivanii.html
Sorrel during breastfeeding
There is still no clear opinion whether sorrel can be consumed during breastfeeding. There is an opinion that sorrel greens can cause kidney problems not only in the mother, but also in the baby. However, this version does not have scientific confirmation - no official research has yet been conducted on this issue.
Most doctors still do not prohibit nursing women from eating sorrel, because this herb perfectly enriches the mother’s diet with vitamins and allows her to provide the baby with all the substances necessary for proper development. But it must be borne in mind that sorrel, like any green herb, can cause allergic reactions in mother or baby. This happens quite rarely, however, it is worth excluding the plant from the diet if the child experiences the following symptoms:
- the appearance of skin rashes;
- itching, sneezing;
- lacrimation;
- redness of the eyes.
When including sorrel in the diet of a nursing woman, the following rules must be followed in order to get the maximum benefit from this vitamin plant:
- A nursing mother should consume sorrel greens no more than 1-2 times a week.
- It is necessary to choose only fresh greens, without visible signs of pest damage. The leaves should be juicy and even.
- If your mother or baby has digestive problems, you should not eat sorrel leaves raw. In this case, it is best to prepare soups with the addition of this herb.
- Before use, the herb must be thoroughly washed with warm water (no dirt should remain on the plant).
- Breastfeeding women are recommended to eat sorrel grown in their own garden. Heavy metal salts contained in the soil on which wild sorrel grows can cause serious harm to the health of mother and baby.
To summarize, I would like to say that the use of sorrel is not contraindicated for nursing women, provided that certain rules are observed. If the mother does not eat these sour greens every day, and carefully monitors the condition of her child, then there is nothing to worry about. As with any other product, the principle of moderation in the use of sorrel should be observed. Then this spring grass, rich in vitamins and minerals, will only benefit both mother and little person.
Can a nursing mother have sorrel soup?
During the period of feeding a newborn baby, all women are especially attentive to their diet.
Since some foods are prohibited for them, many young mothers seek to diversify their menu with tasty and healthy dishes prepared with the addition of natural herbs. It is from greens that a nursing mother can get the maximum amount of vitamins, minerals and nutrients necessary for her and her baby.
Dill, celery, parsley, lettuce, spinach, sorrel - all of this can and should be eaten as much as possible while breastfeeding. Meanwhile, not everyone likes to eat greens in their pure form; many prefer to add them to soup. At the same time, some women doubt whether a nursing mother can eat sorrel soup, and how to cook it correctly so as not to harm the newborn baby. In this article we will try to figure this out.
