Being a mother is not easy as before and after conditions are hard to experience. A mother has to carry her baby for nine months with both joy and pain. You may read 9 Wonderful Benefits of Turmeric Milk in 9th Month Pregnancy as your reference of what to consume during pregnancy. The process of giving birth itself is also very painful and even after giving birth, some mothers have to experience some syndromes, such as baby blues and postpartum.
Postpartum is a condition of a mother after giving birth that is related to social and psychological changes. It is a type of depression that makes mothers experience physical and emotional changes. Medical treatments are available for solving this problem, but it will cost a lot of money and take more time while mothers still have to take care of their babies at home. In this article, you will read one of home remedies for solving postpartum condition, which is by consuming seaweed soup.
Korean mothers have a habit of consuming seaweed soup (that is called miyeok-guk). It is a traditional Korean seaweed soup eaten by Korean women after giving birth. Its rich nutrients are believed to equip mothers to increase the supply of milk.
Healthy recipe of seaweed soup for postpartum mothers
In Korea, mothers after giving birth are given seaweed soup, called miyeok-guk during postpartum period. This period is meant to give new mothers time to recovery from things that stress them out.
This soup is believed to hydrate new mom, which is very essential for mothers while they are breastfeeding.
Here is the recipe of seaweed soup for postpartum mothers.
To make seaweed soup, you will need:
How to make it:
Nutrients of seaweed soup for postpartum mothers
There must be a lot of nutrients seaweed has so that it is very effective for postpartum mothers. Here are the nutrients you can find in seaweed soup:
Seaweed has more nutrients than any vegetables living on land. It is a great source of micronutrients, such as folate, calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron and selenium. Moreover, seaweed is also rich in iodine.
You can get preformed omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA that are great source for vegetarians.
Antioxidants contained in seaweed aid mothers experiencing postpartum to prevent against oxidative stress and chronic diseases, such as cancer and other digestive problems. If you are looking for another food rich in antioxidants, read Benefits of Taro Root for Cancer and 37 Health Benefits of Eating Jaggery #Natural Antioxidant.
Seaweed provides you with odd type of carbohydrate that your body lack to digest. They are carrageenan, fucan, galactan and others. These type of carbohydrate will feed the bacteria in your body. The bacteria here are not the harmful one, but the useful one such as gut bacteria.
Cautions
Though seaweed soup is very healthy for postpartum mothers, it does not mean that it is okay to consume it every day or in a great amount. There are some cautions that you need to pay attention to while consuming seaweed soup.
Thyroid problems because of too much iodine
As stated before, seaweed is rich in iodine. When the iodine intake in your body increases, then thyroid problems will appear. There was a study in Japan that found that women who consumed 15-30 grams of seaweed, their TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) is increasing. However, when they stopped consuming it, their TSH was back to normal.
Suggested intake of seaweed is around 1-2 tablespoons two until three times a week.
Digestive problems because of carbohydrates and fibers
Seaweed is rich in many types of carbohydrates that mostly your body cannot digest. When people with digestive problems get this type of carbohydrates, it will cause a problem.
Seaweed is a very great source of vitamins and nutrients for mothers that give birth in postpartum condition. Instead of using medical treatment, it is better to have natural treatment, one of which is by having seaweed soup.
Read 19 Benefits of Raspberry Tea for Fertility and Benefits of Catfish during Pregnancy Every Mother Should Know.