How to Optimise Nutrition for Postpartum Recovery

July 28, 2019

Lily Nichols, RDN, CDE is a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist, Certified Diabetes Educator, author and researcher, specializing in evidence-based prenatal nutrition and exercise. She’s been with us on the podcast before, discussing her bestselling books, Real Food for Gestational Diabetes and Real Food for Pregnancy.  

Lily joins us on this podcast to talk about postpartum nutrition and healing, including nose-to-tail eating, carbohydrate restriction, and supporting mom’s recovery and energy needs after the baby arrives. We discuss nutrient requirements for new moms, and factors that affect readiness to resume work and exercise. Lily also shares details about her new webinars on postpartum recovery and nutrition at the Women’s Health Nutrition Academy.

Here’s the outline of this interview with Lily Nichols:

[00:02:40] Environmental mismatches.

[00:03:19] Preparing for postpartum.

[00:06:11] Preparing new moms for what to expect.

[00:08:53] Book: Real Food for Pregnancy: The Science and Wisdom of Optimal Prenatal Nutrition, by Lily Nichols.

[00:10:24] Appropriate postpartum activities, from an ancestral health perspective.

[00:11:20] Katy Bowman.

[00:15:40] The role of nutrient depletion in postpartum recovery.

[00:16:12] Supporting connective tissue and collagen.

[00:17:34] Nose-to-tail in traditional postpartum meals.

[00:19:34] Postpartum energy needs.

[00:27:41] Measuring micronutrient status: what and when to test.

[00:29:28] Risk of anemia 75x higher for women who lost 1000mL of blood at delivery.

[00:33:31] Increased MCTs in the breast milk when mothers eat carbohydrates. Study: Read, W. W. C., PHYLLIS G. LUTZ, and ANAHID TASHJIAN. "Human milk lipids: II. The influence of dietary carbohydrates and fat on the fatty acids of mature milk. A study in four ethnic groups." The American journal of clinical nutrition 17.3 (1965): 180-183.

[00:33:40] Dietary MCTs get passed through breast milk; Study: Francois, Cindy A., et al. "Acute effects of dietary fatty acids on the fatty acids of human milk." The American journal of clinical nutrition 67.2 (1998): 301-308.

[00:34:36] Carbohydrate restriction during lactation.

[00:37:35] Better insulin sensitivity in early postpartum period.

[00:41:03] Gestational diabetes.

[00:42:27] Webinars at Women’s Health Nutrition Academy: Postpartum Recovery and Nutrient Repletion; and Nutrition for Breastfeeding.

[00:44:35] Ayla Barmmer.

[00:45:06] All available courses.

[00:47:15] Podcast: The Human Milk-Oriented Microbiota: Babies and Beyond, with Megan Sanctuary.

[00:49:29] Lily’s Blog.