The Ben & Jerry's Flavor That Could Increase Milk Supply

It's a well established fact in the breastfeeding world that what you eat directly influences your milk supply — for better or worse. Some foods are known to increase supply, others are known to change your milk's taste, and a few foods, like alcohol, are known to make your milk less safe for your baby. But lets set aside the salads and whole grains for a bit, and talk about everyone's favorite meal of the day — dessert. As a self-diagnosed ice cream addict, the thought of finding a Ben and Jerry's flavor that could increase milk supply seems too good to be true. But my fellow ice cream lovers, it's time to rejoice, because your wildest dreams are about to come true.

Before we get to the ice cream itself, it's worth pointing out that just downing a bowl of this Ben and Jerry's goodness won't increase your milk supply all by itself. According to Baby Center, a mother's diet is extremely important when she's nursing because the nutrients she ingests directly effects the nutrients found in her milk. Galactagogues are foods that are thought to increase and benefit breastmilk supply and eating a high quantity of them, or at least trying to include them whenever you can, will ensure your supply is healthy and maybe even increasing.

So although eating an entire pint of ice cream likely won't do much for your milk supply and will probably only give you a stomach ache, there is one flavor of Ben and Jerry's that contains a galactagogue — and if that isn't a reason to add ice cream to the list of necessary foods for nursing moms, I don't know what is.

Let me introduce you to your new favorite ice cream: Ben and Jerry's Oat of This Swirled flavor. Besides the base layer of brown sugar ice cream, cinnamon and chocolate chunks, this flavor contains actual oats, which are one of the most effective galactagogues according to Belly Belly. Oats contain saponins, which along with many other benefits, are thought to increase the milk making hormones lactating moms produce. So if a bowl of plain oatmeal or a batch of freshly baked oat-based lactation cookies isn't cutting it for you, it's hard to argue with throwing in a bowl of Oat of This Swirled for good measure.