Homemade Electrolyte and REhydration Solution and first foods

[Guest guest]

Hi Vicky and Dr. Thite -

 

The recipe shared was for babies only when severe dehydration such as from

vomiting and diarrhea have been occurring. I completely agree, the mother at

same time or if there is minor dehydration of baby, needs support for hydration

and for building milk supply. With the latter we see rapid and dramatic shifts

with ayurvedic supports - deep rest with hot water bottles (yes even in summer

for early postopartum) after the specialized mother's ayurvedic massage I've

seen make dramatic shift.

 

Also have seen it in a mother who was pumping suddenly release so much more milk

when she started to sing, releasing her emotional flow! (She was an opera

singer who had not been singing for months). I am concerned about the immediate

creation of complicating ama - incomplete products of digestion - which babies

experience on artificial milks immediately in addition to gaining some obvious

nourishment for growing big and strong.

 

For strong lactation and maternal rejuvenation support, use of the Shatavari

products such as shatavarikalpa and others are indicated here. I haven't

personally used/had to use them or been educated about them yet, though between

the dietary and massage care supporting her system's natural function and deep

rest similarly, sometimes we add shatavari powder with other herbs for a

stronger effect than the commonly used fennel, fenugreek or the bitter milk

thistle can give. This is perhaps because shatavari is also a nutritive,

rebuilding tonic as well as very strong galactagogue.

 

ONe client called me at 2 or 3 months concerned about one breast only not

producing enough milk. On questioning for which breast, she said left (female

side). I learned that she had run out of her shatavari about the same time this

came up, and still was taking ashwagandha in another formula. Within hours of

starting the shatavari again, her supply was back abundantly. Wish I'd known

this when my right breast was low supply and being refused - ashwagandha can

especially support our male side and strength.

 

Note of course a mother's digestive system - agni - ability to metabolize these

herbs, ama accumulations, whether they are well hydrated, and what taken with as

carrier makes a difference on results also. For instance, fenugreek tends to

work better taken in strong tea than in capsules, as the sticky when moist

capsules have to be dissolved in an already dehydrated system, and the herbs

then hydrated somehow all the way through and not just creating a wet bolus

going through and often scraping tender innards.

 

THe artificial milk has to be an option for crisis care if no other option, of

course, though there often are more options than people know. I consider it

crisis care, the expertise of allopathic medicine. Note the dosage for that

rehydration formula for babies is small frequent safely paced amounts to restore

critical condition, not bottles full. I like the coconut water Dr. Thite

suggests, much simpler and even more natural, if available!

 

The discussions in Ayurveda about the role and supports for the different

tissues such as the first product of digestion, rasa (nutritive chyle and lymph,

from which all the other tissues take their nourishment, and from which breast

milk is made) is fascinating to me. I find the layers of Ayurvedic study

continue to unfold insights as we have time to learn. For deep self study, the

recently published (last couple years?) Textbook of Ayurveda vol 1 by Dr. Vasant

Lad is very clear and goes deeper than most books available in the west.

 

There is much talk here in West alternative dietary circles about how bottled

juices are actually very bad for the teeth for regular use. Am curious Dr.

Thite, what is your understanding of the use of fresh/raw filtered juices vs

bottled/pasteurized in this context of first foods? I know mothers initially do

best with cooked rather than raw fruits usually, or sweet fresh fruits the first

couple weeks as their vata is so extreme that helps ground more. So I can

understand perhaps for babies the cooked, though would appreciate your opinion.

 

The first use of juices at 6 months makes much sense also in terms of

introducing the digestive system to something most easy for Baby's body to learn

to digest - very simple first, and transform into rasa dhatu. This seems very

different from what I hear about feeding INdian and Nepali babies their first

foods ceremony (6 months) with rice boiled in milk and sweetened (khir). I was

taught to give the water from boiling rice and over some days, thicker. For how

long what proportions/recipe do you advise?

 

A personal thanks to you both for sharing -

Ysha

 

> Breastmilk is 87.5% water. It would be the mother who needs to be protected

from dehydration. If she has not enough milk for baby then he needs to be put on

artificial baby milk with all the nutrients needed.

>

> Vicky York, CPD, IBCLC

> Postpartum Care Services

> Portland, OR

[Guest guest]

Thank you Dr. Thite

 

It does make sense. Means some habit changes for many, so step by step, when it

is possible it is good to just have a quiet intent and do what one can when, to

avoid resentments in the transitions that sometimes get in the way of making

this change. All the baby food people feed their children out of jars.....and

then keeping the opened jars for another meal or day, it has to be one of the

reasons so many children start getting sick so often. They have several

influences like that to keep their immune systems challenged most of the time,

it seems!

 

> I would prefer fresh juice against the bottled juices. Ancient texts also

advise against using the stale food. Any food that is kept overnight becomes

stale. There are many modern methods to preserve the food such as

pasteurization, canning, removing the air...> may bring on many undesirable

changes, who knows?

 

I understand it in terms of loss of life force, so it starts energetically

before detectably physically, to shift into degenerative vibration/mode towards

decomposing. Which sometimes makes food more digestible, such as with miso, or

pickles. Can even stimulate digestion. Yet .... that degenerative vibe slows

down sattva and rejeneration. Sometimes it is a tradeoff we have to evaluate,

as some fermenteds nourish the intestinal flora.

 

> Cooking the juice seems to be safer than using it raw as it will be easy to

digest. Your observation that cooked juice is more grounding in mothers is

indeed valuable.

 

It is such a diffefrent approach from western natural medicine and foods, which

say cooking kills the enzymes. I can only explain the value of freshly cooked,

in terms of the life force thing, and the warmth. What else?

 

Do you also avoid all the bottled chutneys, pickles, premade breads, sweets

etc? And it makes me think also, where do the fruit or herbal jams fit in?

 

>There are many traditions in India when they start the first food to the baby,

as you have said, rice and milk and/or moong dal soup other than fruit juice.

Our practice is to start the water from boiling rice about 30 ml for one week,

water from rice + dal for one week and over next one month go on to thicker rice

+dal, increasing as tolerated.

 

This is similar to what I was taught, yours over more time which sounds wise.

HOwever I had to write my own recipes and still wonder - do you just cook rice

normally the 15 minutes only with more water, enough to spoon out that much? As

rice swells to receive more water, to just give rice water or mung water, I

found I had to make it with much more water and less rice, and cook longer into

a rice soup or (unfermented) konji. Would you kindly give the proportions you

use to make it simpler for people to start?

 

Am also wondering at what pont do you add anything like ghee, salt, cumin

(jeera), turmeric (haldi) or other things for Baby to help digest these foods

better that way?

 

Namaste!

Ysha

[Guest guest]

Dear Dr. Thite -

 

So gratefully reading your help with these things.

 

My thought here to share with others (I love to find the bridges)

 

> > " cooking kills the enzymes " . I can only explain the value of freshly cooked,

in terms of the life force thing, and the warmth.

 

And warmth, spices and suitable food combining enlivens our natural enzymes.

I've heard Ayurvedic physician Dr. Mishra explain that depending on external

sources for enzymes only the body shuts down it's own intelligence there.

 

> cooked juice becomes easier to digest, it can be used in those with weak agni.

Fresh juice is okay if your agni is good.

 

So, I hear some asking, but why? warmth from cooked food or even tea, is a

feature of agni (direct translation being " fire " ).Warmth also enables most

chemical reactions including digestion, and helps it strengthen. Stronger life

force is also a feature of agni - the " ahhhh for life! " which again gives more

ability to digest Life intelligently, including our food.

 

> According to ancient texts, baby should be given only breast milk for first 1

year. My teacher Vd Ms. Durga Paranjape has explained that baby can be

introduced with fruit juice after 6 months and can be started with other food

from 8 months to 1 year.

 

There are some doing this in this country, although the way mothers are not

rejuvenating after childbirth, it is not easy to accomplish. I would not have

been able with my children, as I did not have enough ayurvedic knowledge or

support even with my third baby's second 6 months. Yet it makes much sense, if

only by the smell of Babys' feces as soon as they begin eating other foods. The

fresh juice added makes perfect sense to support the transition. >

>

> To start the baby with rice water, following method is generally used: Two

small spoons (about 10 grams) of rice grains + about 250 ml of water. Boil this

on low flame until rice is fully cooked and you can spoon out the water. You

may add ghee after 3-7 days of peya (the above recipe) and in the next weeks add

salt. Care should be taken while using salt, do not feed milk immediately

before or after. Later, after a month or so, other herbs such as jeera, haldi,

and shunthi etc are used.

 

Thank you so much for this detail. What is Shunthi?

 

> Some herbs can be used by boiling them in the milk e.g. vidanga, pippali, etc.

Any dairy milk, or breast here? I suppose the use of vidanga is a good practice

for many babies living in household of animals. As the taste is so bitter ...

very small doses?

 

> http://www.ayurvedicrx.com/Article%20Vimshati%20Gunas.htm )

 

The content of that article, the 20 qualities, is what makes Ayurveda so easy to

work with cross cultureally in my opinion. So basic and overlooked, this

wisdom. Like your website, and I would like to mention your very good offer for

online consultation and followup there also.

 

Namaste;

Ysha

[Guest guest]

Thank you Dr. THite -

 

We have only the powdered vidanga here - can you give an equivalent to the

seeds? Babies will take this in spite of the taste?

 

Ysha

 

> Vidanga is used with any dairy milk. The usual practice is as follows:

About 5-10 seeds of vidanga + cup of cow's milk + a cup of water and boil this

mixture until the water evaporates.