drink wholesome is the postpartum protein powder
What is postpartum?
Is protein powder good for postpartum?
Why drink wholesome?
What is postpartum?
“Postpartum” refers to the time after childbirth. During this time, daily activities include breastfeeding and caring for a newborn. It follows that eating a balance of healthy, nutrient rich foods is extremely important as nutrients are transferred from the mother to the infant through breast milk. For many new mothers, however, the desire to lose the baby weight can take precedence over eating foods that support milk production. A low carb diet is usually their go-to weight loss strategy, but it is not recommended, not just for milk production, but also for recovery, mental health, and hormone regulation. Modestly reducing calorie intake, on the other hand, can be a great way to jumpstart weight loss efforts without compromising your or your baby’s health. Protein supplements can help with this process.
Is protein powder good for postpartum?
Decades of research point to protein intake as one of the most important mechanisms in weight loss (1, 2, 3). The idea is that diets with a higher proportion of protein might offer a metabolic advantage – you burn more calories and fat – compared to diets consisting of the same number of calories, but with a lower proportion of protein. One of the main reasons why protein can help you lose weight is that it is satiating (filling). It helps to keep you from snacking and overeating, which in turn leads to reduced caloric intake. Remember, the key to losing weight is burning more calories than you consume.
Protein shakes are also a great addition to a postpartum diet because breastfeeding mothers need 1.7–1.9 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. This means that a 140 pound woman needs to consume well over 100 grams of protein per day, which is a lot of protein! Getting this much protein from normal food can be challenging, which is where protein supplements come in handy. A good protein supplement can help you easily boost your protein intake. Unfortunately, however, most protein supplements are NOT good for new mothers. One look at the ingredient list should explain why – the average protein powder and shake is made with heavily-processed ingredients that look nothing like real food. Breastfeeding mothers should avoid ingredients like these at all costs.
There are two types of protein supplements: ready-to-drink (store-bought) protein shakes, and protein shakes made with protein powder. In order to make a postpartum protein shake shake with protein powder, you have to mix the powder with milk or water. This requires a blender or a shaker bottle, and a little extra time and effort. Some people prefer ready-to-drink protein shakes because they are more convenient, but if they knew what they were drinking, they would probably vomit.
Ready-to-drink protein shakes are full of emulsifiers, stabilizers, thickeners, sweeteners, and flavors. Ingredients like these improve characteristics like taste, texture, and shelf stability, but can cause uncomfortable side effects and long-term gut damage (more about this soon). This is why I recommend that you make your own protein shakes for postpartum with protein powder. That said, not all protein powders are created equal, and many contain the same additives found in ready-to-drink protein shakes! Keep reading to learn why you should avoid food additives.
One of the reasons why we make the best postpartum protein powder is that we do not use food additives. Most protein powders, on the other hand, are full of food additives. Although not necessarily bad for you in small quantities, additives can add up quickly (especially if you drink a protein shake every day) and cause gastrointestinal (GI) side effects like bloating, constipation, diarrhea, gas, and stomach pain. This is because food additives are hard to digest, and sit in your gut for longer than food should, which gives your gut bacteria more time to eat. As they eat, these bacteria produce gas, which causes bloating and stomach pain. Gas also slows colonic transit (the amount of time it takes food to travel through the colon), and can lead to constipation. In the long term, food additives can disrupt regulatory pathways in the intestine, which can result in the development of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and systemic inflammatory disorders.
