Can I drink brown sugar water during confinement?

Brown sugar is a traditional nourishing food ingredient. It has an excellent effect on supplementing people's bodies, especially its ability to supplement qi and blood. Because brown sugar is made from refined sucrose, it concentrates various nutrients and is very suitable for women to eat. It plays a great role in improving women's qi and blood reserves. However, can you drink brown sugar water during confinement? Let’s take a look at the explanation below.

According to traditional Chinese concepts, brown sugar water and eggs are essential foods for women during the confinement period. The elderly believe that brown sugar is an excellent blood tonic. Experts believe that brown sugar does contain a certain amount of iron, but brown sugar cannot be relied upon alone to replenish blood during the confinement period, because the iron content in brown sugar is very low and cannot meet the blood replenishment needs of women during the confinement period.

First of all, from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, brown sugar is warm in nature and has the effects of invigorating qi, promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis. Since blood loss during childbirth is inevitable, drinking a moderate amount of brown sugar water after delivery has certain health benefits. It can not only replenish blood, but also has diuretic, lochia discharge promotion, uterine recovery and other effects. However, if you consume too much brown sugar, it will increase the peristalsis and contraction of the uterus, which is not conducive to wound repair. In particular, it is easy to cause an increase in bloody lochia, resulting in blood loss, and thus anemia. Postpartum women should not consume brown sugar too frequently or in excessive amounts. It is best not to exceed 20 grams a day. The general duration of consumption is 7-10 days. After that, they should eat more nutritious and varied foods.

In addition, it is recommended that mothers do not limit themselves to a certain type of blood-enriching product. Eating some red dates, pumpkin, grapes and fungus on a regular basis have certain blood-enriching effects. Secondly, brown sugar does not contain comprehensive nutrients, and there are many things that are more nutritious than brown sugar. With the current diversity and abundance of food, brown sugar is no longer a must-eat for mothers during the confinement period. If a mother deliberately eats a lot of brown sugar during the confinement period, or even drinks two to three kilograms of brown sugar, she will consume too much calories. If the mother likes to drink sweet porridge or soup, it is okay to add some brown sugar.