Health Tip: Eat a Healthy Diet When Nursing

(HealthDay News) -- While you're nursing, eating a healthy diet is particularly important for both you and baby.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics offers these dietary guidelines for nursing mothers:

• Drink plenty of fluids; aim for 12 to 15 cups per day.
• Limit yourself to no more than 300 milligrams per day of caffeine.
• Avoid alcohol. If you do drink, do so along with plenty of food and water, and allow several hours before you nurse your baby.
• Avoid fish that are high in mercury (i.e. shark, swordfish, mackerel, tilefish), but do eat up to 12 ounces per week of fish that are lower in mercury.
• Avoid foods that seem to make baby fussy.