It varies. Although herbs and herbal products are sometimes referred to as “natural,” they are not always secure. Before utilizing herbs, especially herbal teas and essential oils, it’s crucial to consult your healthcare practitioner because they can be highly potent.
Herbs can enter breast milk, just like prescription drugs do, and may have an impact on both you and your baby’s milk production. (The idea that sage, parsley, or peppermint will make you produce less milk is a hoax.)
Herbs are not subject to FDA regulation, unlike over-the-counter and prescription medications, thus there is no assurance of their safety, potency, or purity. Even professionals are unsure of which herbs are safe for nursing infants because very few have been thoroughly researched to determine their impact on nursing infants.
There isn’t much evidence to support the safety (or efficacy) of these herbs in nursing mothers and infants, despite the fact that they have been used for centuries to increase a nursing mother’s milk production. Examples include fenugreek and fennel.
Another popular plant to take with caution is echinacea, which is believed to prevent or treat colds. Some specialists advise mothers to stay away from it when breastfeeding due to a lack of safety data. Additionally, goldenseal, which can be poisonous in even moderate dosages, is frequently used alongside echinacea.
Before using any herbal therapy, be prudent and speak with your doctor.
The majority of herbs that are used to season food, such cumin, rosemary, and cilantro, are safe to incorporate in your diet on a regular basis in moderation. However, some, such as sage, can be harmful if you ingest them in high or concentrated doses, such as when taking medicine or drinking tea.
You should be aware of some interactions between plants and medications as well as between herbs and other substances. For further information, speak with your physician or pharmacist.
Instead of sites that are marketing herbal products, look for trustworthy, impartial websites while studying herbs online. Good sources include the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, MedlinePlus, and LactMed.
All herbal teas should only be consumed moderately and with caution. Teas include concentrated herbs. Choose teas that have a complete ingredient list. For instance, ginger or German chamomile tea are regarded as safe options; nevertheless, avoid any teas containing goldenseal.
Which herbs should nursing mothers avoid?
Herbs Not To Use While Breastfeeding
- Alder Buckthorn (Rhamnus Frangula) is a berry and bark with laxative, intestinal irritant, and anthroquinones glycosides secreted in breast milk properties.
- Hepatotoxic phyrrolizidine alkaloids produced in breast milk; alkanet (Alkanna tinctoria).
Elderberry and echinacea are safe to take while nursing.
- Safety: More trustworthy medical research is required before recommendations on dosage and potential effects on nursing infants can be made. There is insufficient data to tell if breastfeeding mothers are safe. While some medical studies claim it’s safe, others advise against using it. Before taking echinacea, see your doctor.
- No recommended dosage for echinacea when breast-feeding exists.
- Echinacea may help strengthen your immune system by fending against viruses and infections, which is how it strengthens immunity. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) claim that echinacea may marginally lower your risk of contracting a cold.
What vitamins should nursing mothers avoid?
Herbs and supplements to stay away from when nursing:
- Latex of aloe.
- Ashwagandha.
- Berberine/goldenseal (berberine is a compound found in goldenseal)
- Bilberry.
- White cohosh.
- Butterbur has ingredients that could harm the liver (Chojkier, J Hepatol 2003)
- Angelica sinensis dong quai (National Library of Medicine 2018)
During pregnancy, is echinacea safe?
The portion of your immune system that defends against viruses and bacteria operates at a decreased intensity when you are pregnant. Because of this, expecting mothers frequently experience more colds and flus, coughs, and sore throats than usual. 1,2
So what can be done to combat the common cold and the flu while pregnant? Pregnant women should take good care of themselves while they are sick with the flu or a cold; they should get enough rest, drink plenty of fluids, and eat a nutritious diet. A healthy diet rich in vitamins and minerals like zinc and vitamin C can enhance the immune system. 3,4 Western herbal medicine has utilized the herb echinacea purpurea (often known as echinacea) for centuries to encourage a healthy immune response. 5
Can echinacea be consumed when expecting? Echinacea is categorized as a Category A medicine in pregnancy according to traditional herbal medicine categorization, which means controlled research in healthy pregnant women have shown no risk to the fetus. 6 Echinacea is one of the few plants that is safe to use while pregnant.
How does echinacea assist? Echinacea may be beneficial to take during any early symptom of infection, exposure to infection, or as a prophylactic during cold and flu season in order to maintain the mother’s immune system during pregnancy. When taken at the first sign of infection, echinacea is a traditional herbal remedy used in western herbal therapy to help reduce the symptoms of the common cold. 7
What else might be beneficial? In addition to getting enough sleep, eating a well-balanced diet, and drinking lots of water, there are other substances that may help strengthen the immune system during pregnancy. Breast milk contains a kind of protein called lactoferrin, which may improve immune system function and increase immune cell activity. 7 During pregnancy and breastfeeding, there is an increased need for vitamin C and zinc, and zinc is crucial for the maintenance of a healthy immune system. 3,4 For more details on dietary supplements, consult your healthcare provider. Always read the label and only use as instructed. Consult a medical professional if your symptoms don’t go away.
How can I strengthen my immune system while nursing?
You need all the energy you can get as a nursing mother, and if you can avoid becoming ill, all the better.
A healthy lifestyle is your (not so) secret weapon for increasing immunity, especially when breastfeeding, despite the fact that there is no miracle cure.
Research has shown that nursing is the most effective strategy to strengthen your baby’s immune system. For mom’s health as well, it’s very great. According to research, nursing can hasten your return to your pre-pregnancy weight and speed up your uterus’ recovery following birth. Additionally, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, anemia, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and other illnesses are less likely to strike breastfeeding mothers.
1. Maintain a healthy diet
A balanced diet will help your body fight off colds, the flu, and other ailments. Pick any of the following foods to boost your immunity:
Which herbs reduce milk production?
Typical herbs that reduce milk production include:
- Sage.
- Peppermint.
- Oregano.
- Parsley (in large amounts)
- Spearmint.
- Thyme.
- Rosemary.
How can I treat a cold while nursing?
Pamela Poe, a lactation specialist at Mon Health, and Craig Herring, an ob-gyn, offer their advice on how nursing women can battle colds while maintaining their milk supply.
To treat unpleasant cold symptoms like sneezing, coughing, and sore throat, it can be tempting to turn to over-the-counter medications.
However, treating cold symptoms may cause breastfeeding women to hesitate. You need to think about the medications that are safe for the infant as well as whether or not they will influence your ability to produce milk.
Fortunately, before turning to pharmaceuticals to relieve discomfort, Mon Health Lactation Specialist Pam Poe says there are a number of natural solutions you can consider.
Although there isn’t a miracle cure, Poe believes that nursing women can find many natural, drug-free solutions to help with symptoms.
And mothers might be relieved to learn that there are a few over-the-counter cold medicines that are thought to be safe to take while breastfeeding, according to Dr. Craig Herring, Mon Health OBGYN.
The majority of cold medications do, in fact, transfer into breast milk, but only in very, very little levels, according to Dr. Herring.
There are therefore many safe cold remedies available that nursing mothers can take to alleviate their symptoms, even though there are some drugs out there that they may want to avoid.
Poe claims that most anti-cold medications that pregnant women are permitted to take are generally safe to take while nursing, but you should always check with your doctor first.
Poe provides a list of safe natural and pharmaceutical cold cures for nursing women, including:
- To clear up congestion, take a warm bath or breathe in steam.
- Spray some saline in your nose.
- Warm broths, soups, and other drinks that are hydrating and calming for a sore throat should be consumed.
- Warm tea with lemon and honey is a soothing natural remedy.
- Use a humidifier with chilly mist.
- For a sore throat, gargle with salt water.
- Remain hydrated.
- Get lots of sleep.
- Acetaminophen (Tylenol)
- Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin)
Use with caution, advises Poe, as pseudoephedrine and other decongestants may negatively affect milk production.
Decongestants may also make some nursing infants agitated or fussy, according to certain research.
Dr. Herring also advises breastfeeding mothers to exercise caution when using the following ingredients and cold remedies:
Is elderberry safe to consume when nursing?
1) Mothers who are breastfeeding have not been researched. When attempting to do real double-blind scientific research on expectant or nursing mothers, many ethical issues arise. The dearth of information about herbs in this group is primarily due to this.
2) It is unregulated, and it is unknown what goes into commercial preparations.
Secret components and varying concentrations of active substances can be found in proprietary blends. Mothers who are nursing need to be well aware of their diet.
3) The elderberry plant has larger concentrations of some harmful substances in some regions. The precise nutritional makeup of elderberries varies depending on the plant variety, the freshness of the berries at harvest, environmental factors, and climate. As a result, different products may include different concentrations of the active compounds as well as various plant materials other than the real berries. Unripe berries, bark, leaves, and roots are examples of additional plant parts that include lectins (which can induce gastrointestinal issues) and cyanogenic glycosides (can release cyanide, a poison). The formulation is unknown, and the bark, roots, leaves, and unripe berries have the potential to emit a considerable amount of cyanide. Small to moderate amounts of this are not thought to be an issue for adults, but if breast milk is used to feed a baby, it could be hazardous.
4) It is unknown if heating the product sufficiently destroys the harmful components to make it suitable for nursing. All elderberries must be cooked before eating, and heating safely gets rid of the majority of the berries’ harmful ingredients. For stray bark or leaves that might find their way into the mixture in commercial formulations, this is not the case. Again, nursing mothers must be completely aware of their diet.
5) A few store-bought syrups also include additional possibly harmful chemicals. Many widely available brands contain potentially harmful ingredients like bryonia, which raises major safety issues even in modest doses and has never been tested on nursing moms.
A more secure method is:
The Infant Risk Center states that homemade elderberry syrup made exclusively from fresh, ripe berries is probably safe. Because it’s difficult to know if dried berries were ripe, it’s better to stay away from them when nursing. Since elderberry products are not FDA-evaluated, Dr. Hale advises speaking with a herbal expert before consuming while nursing.
While we constantly advocate for less exposures to potentially harmful substances and urge the use of natural solutions whenever possible, it’s vital to keep in mind that natural does not always equate to safe. This article’s focus is on children and babies because it’s especially crucial to keep this in mind. Although no negative effects have been observed, it is best practice to avoid using elderberry syrup while breastfeeding until reliable research has been done to support its safety.
Does echinacea strengthen your defenses?
One of the most widely used herbs in America right now is echinacea. Native Americans gave the medicinal herb echinacea its name because of the prickly scales that mimic the enraged hedgehog’s spines on its enormous conical seed head (echinos is Greek for hedgehog).
Native Americans may have used echinacea for more than 400 years to treat wounds and illnesses as well as a general “cure-all,” according to archaeologists who have discovered evidence of this. Echinacea has been used historically to treat blood poisoning, diphtheria, syphilis, malaria, and scarlet fever. Although this herb was widely used in the 18th and 19th centuries, its use started to diminish in the US once antibiotics were developed. In Germany, echinacea preparations gained popularity during the course of the 20th century. In actuality, Germany has been the site of the majority of echinacea scientific research.
Today, individuals take echinacea to lessen the severity of the common cold and flu and to lessen symptoms including fever, coughing, and sore throats (pharyngitis). Echinacea is another plant that many herbalists advise taking to help the body fight infections and strengthen the immune system.
General Uses
Echinacea may include active ingredients that improve immunological function, ease pain, lessen inflammation, and have hormonal, antiviral, and antioxidant effects, according to a number of laboratory and animal studies. Because of this, qualified herbalists may suggest echinacea as a treatment for slow-healing wounds, ear infections, athlete’s foot, sinusitis, vaginal yeast (Candida) infections, ear infections, otitis media, hay fever, and slow-healing wounds. Echinacea and cichoric acid may help suppress colon cancers, according to preliminary laboratory studies. According to one study, using echinacea extract before contracting the herpes simplex virus (HSVI) may have an antiviral effect on the recurrence of cold sores.
Common Cold
It is debatable if echinacea aids in the prevention or treatment of the common cold. According to certain research, the herb can hasten your recovery. Others claim that echinacea has no effect at all on a cold. According to several clinical studies, persons who take echinacea as soon as they start to feel unwell have milder colds and experience less symptoms than those who do not. In a study of 95 patients who had fever, runny nose, scratchy throat, and other early signs of the flu and cold, it was discovered that those who drank many cups of echinacea tea daily for five days felt well more quickly than those who drank tea without the herb.
Echinacea decreased cold risk by 58 percent and cold duration by 1 to 4 days, according to a study of 14 clinical trials. Some experts, however, contest these results, arguing the research had a number of flaws. Clinical trials have used a variety of echinacea formulations. It’s crucial to get a high-quality echinacea supplement and to start taking it as soon as a cold starts, numerous times each day for the first few days. For advice, consult your health care practitioner.