Anchovies, a cheap source of calcium for breastfeeding mothers. what are the benefits?

Healthy food intake is not just a priority during pregnancy. Mothers who breastfeed exclusively, in particular, need additional calcium intake to facilitate milk production. The reason is, if the mother's calcium needs cannot be met from food or calcium supplements, the body will take calcium reserves directly from the bones. This is what causes breastfeeding mothers to have a high risk of developing osteoporosis. Anchovies are an example of foods rich in calcium, which is apparently good for breastfeeding mothers.

What are the consequences if a breastfeeding mother lacks calcium?

Not many people know that breastfeeding can be a risk factor for osteoporosis. A study has shown that women can lose as much as 3-5% of their bone mass during breastfeeding. In addition, breastfeeding causes the body's natural estrogen levels to decrease, which can worsen the health of the mother's bones. The hormone estrogen functions to protect bones.

Well, besides having a high risk of developing osteoporosis, breastfeeding mothers who lack calcium can also experience muscle cramps, impaired nerve function, are more prone to pain, and toothaches. Over time, this calcium deficiency will also have an impact on the health of the bones and teeth of the baby. The process of growth and development, such as when a baby can sit and crawl, can also be hampered.

What is the daily amount of calcium needed by breastfeeding mothers?

To prevent the various risks of problems above, according to research from the University of California San Francisco Medical Center, breastfeeding mothers should meet their calcium needs as much as 1300 mg per day.

To fulfill this, many encourage pregnant and lactating mothers to eat foods from animals and plants, such as salmon, beef, chicken, broccoli, and others. In fact, not a few also encourage mothers to increase their calcium intake through calcium supplements. However, it could be that the economic conditions of the family are not supportive so that the mother cannot fulfill it, let alone make it a food for daily consumption.

Dont worry. There is one cheap and easy to get food that we usually eat, which is also high in calcium - namely anchovies.

Benefits of anchovy for breastfeeding mothers

Anchovies are one of the foods that contain very high calcium. Most of the calcium in anchovies comes from the bones. When we eat anchovies, we also eat the bones directly.

According to Fiastuti Witjaksono, a clinical nutrition specialist from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia, anchovy contains about 500 mg to 972 mg of calcium. In fact, according to data from the Directorate of Nutrition, Ministry of Health in 1992, the calcium content can reach 2381 mg per 100 grams when processed into dried anchovies.

Apart from calcium, anchovies also contain other nutrients. One that is high enough is protein, which is as much as 16 grams per 100 grams of anchovies. The protein content of this anchovy even dominates catfish and milkfish, which are high-protein fish.

By consuming anchovies, your calcium needs will be sufficient. If your calcium needs are sufficient, besides you are healthy, your baby will grow healthy.

But be careful eating anchovies during breastfeeding

Anchovies have been proven to be beneficial for preventing osteoporosis in breastfeeding mothers. But you also have to be wiser in managing the portions. Because even though they are high in calcium, most anchovies have gone through the process of salting and then dried in the sun, so they are more durable and long lasting.

Anchovies that have been salted contain a lot of salt. If consumed in excess, salt can cause you to urinate frequently, which in turn wastes calcium reserves and makes you dehydrated. In addition, eating mostly salt also increases the risk of hypertension.