Kourtney Kardashian is looking for a pick-me-up from a surprising source.
In a recent Instagram story, the Poosh founder and new mom to baby boy Rockyrevealed that she was drinking her own breast milk in hopes of harnessing its immune-boosting benefits. “This filter is crazy and I just pounded a glass of breast milk because I feel sick, good night,” the mom of four wrote across a filtered photo herself tucked under the covers with a thumbs up.
While breast milk has been proven to have immune-boosting benefits for baby, whether it can provide those same benefits for moms is largely up for debate. A 2015 study in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine reported that the ingestion of breast milk had no clinically observable immune-boosting benefits and that the “nutritionally there is actually less protein in breast milk than other milks like cow’s milk.”
Others point to the fact that while it may be safe for mom to drink her own breast milk it can be unsafe for other adults to injest. Any reported benefits are likely to be the result of the placebo effect. “If a mom who is nursing drinks her own breast milk, the benefit is going to be anywhere from limited to negligible because she already has those antibodies,” Thomas Russo, MD, professor and expert in infectious diseases at the University of Buffalo told Women’s Health. “I really don’t think this is beneficial for mom.”
This isn’t the first time that Kardashian has made headlines during her breastfeeding journey. Just earlier this week a new article on the Poosh website from Kardashian’s functional medicine and nutrition specialist, Leona West Fox, listed out some of the reality TV star’s favorite snacks and supplements to optimize her breastfeeding experience.
The list included:
- Steamed almond milk or coconut milk with cinnamon
- Dried mulberries and walnuts
- Golden milk latte with steamed almond or coconut milk (turmeric is anti-inflammatory)
- Papaya smoothie
- Papaya with lime juice
- Oatmeal made with almond milk, topped with cinnamon and sliced bananas
- Poached eggs with gluten-free organic sesame sourdough, ghee, and Celtic salt
- Bone broth to sip in a tea cup
Each one of these items falls into what Fox calls essential galactagogues or food types that can help boost milk production. From grains like oats and rice to liquids like bone broth and coconut milk, alongside other essentials like almonds, fennel, grapes and yams, Fox lists out over 25 nutritionist-approved essentials.
In December, the Poosh founder also opened up about a few of her favorite snacks to have around while breastfeeding in a cozy Instagram story. In an up-close, behind-the-scenes photo, viewers could see white ramekins filled with walnuts and dried mulberries alongside a Christmas mug filled with hot coconut milk. “Snack that’s good for supporting optimal breastmilk supply,” she simply wrote.
