According to the CDC, breast milk is designed to provide the appropriate amount of calories and optimal nutrition to support the growth and health of the infant. Good nutrition for the mother during pregnancy and breastfeeding is important to support the health of both the mother and her infant.
Small amounts of what you’re eating and drinking including prescription medication, over-the-counter drugs, and supplements can pass to your baby through your breast milk. Certain drugs such as alcohol, some illegal drugs, and some prescription and over-the-counter medications are known to cause problems if taken while you are breastfeeding.
What is Quercetin?
Quercetin is a plant pigment (flavonoid). It’s found in many plants and foods, such as red wine, onions, green tea, apples, and berries.
Quercetin has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects that might help reduce swelling, kill cancer cells, control blood sugar, and help prevent heart disease.
Quercetin is most commonly used for the following conditions:
Allergies, asthma, hay fever, and hives
In test tubes, quercetin prevents immune cells from releasing histamines, which are chemicals that cause allergic reactions. As a result, researchers think that quercetin may help reduce symptoms of allergies, including runny nose, watery eyes, hives, and swelling of the face and lips. However, there is no evidence yet that it works in humans.
Heart disease
Test tubes, animals, and some population-based studies suggest that the flavonoids quercetin, resveratrol, and catechins (all found in high concentrations in red wine) may help reduce the risk of atherosclerosis, and plaque build-up in arteries that can lead to heart attack or stroke. These nutrients appear to protect against the damage caused by LDL (bad) cholesterol and may help prevent death from heart disease. However, most human studies have looked at flavonoids in the diet, not as supplements. Animal studies have used extremely large amounts of flavonoids (more than you could get through a supplement). More studies on people are needed to see if flavonoid supplements can be effective.
High cholesterol
Test tube studies show that quercetin prevents damage from LDL cholesterol, and population studies show that people who eat diets high in flavonoids have lower cholesterol. One study found that people who took quercetin and an alcohol-free red wine extract (which contains quercetin) had less damage from LDL cholesterol. Another study found that quercetin reduced LDL concentrations in overweight subjects who were at high risk of heart disease. More studies are needed to show whether taking a quercetin supplement will have the same effect.
Hypertension
Studies show that quercetin supplementation reduces blood pressure in people who have hypertension.
Interstitial cystitis
Two small studies suggested that people with interstitial cystitis might benefit from consuming flavonoids. People with this condition have bladder pain similar to that from a bladder infection and often experience an urgent need to urinate. In both studies, those who took a supplement containing quercetin appeared to have fewer symptoms. However, the studies included other flavonoids. So it is not known which flavonoid offers the most benefits. More and better-designed studies are needed.
Prostatitis
Preliminary evidence indicates that quercetin might reduce symptoms of prostatitis, or inflammation of the prostate. One small study found that men who took quercetin experienced fewer symptoms than men who took a placebo. More research is needed.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA)
There are reports of people with RA who had fewer symptoms when they switched from a typical Western diet to a vegan diet with lots of uncooked berries, fruits, vegetables, nuts, roots, seeds, and sprouts containing quercetin and other antioxidants. But there is no evidence that the positive effects were due directly to antioxidants and no evidence that quercetin supplements help treat RA.
Cancer
Scientists have long considered quercetin, and other flavonoids contained in fruits and vegetables, important in cancer prevention. People who eat more fruits and vegetables tend to have a lower risk of certain types of cancer. Animal and test-tube studies suggest that flavonoids have anti-cancer properties. Quercetin and other flavonoids have been shown in these studies to inhibit the growth of cancer cells from breast, colon, prostate, ovarian, endometrial, and lung tumors. One study even suggests that quercetin is more effective than resveratrol in terms of inhibiting tumor growth. Another found that frequent intake of quercetin-rich foods was associated with lower lung cancer risk. The association was even stronger among subjects who smoked more than 20 cigarettes daily, and a third suggests that quercetin slows tumor growth in the laboratory (in leukemia cells). More research is needed.
How is Quercetin taken?
Typical dosages range from 500–1,000 mg per day. You can purchase quercetin as a dietary supplement online and from health food stores. It’s available in several forms, including capsules and powders.
However, on its own, quercetin has a low bioavailability, which means your body absorbs it poorly. That’s why the supplements may include other compounds, such as vitamin C or digestive enzymes like bromelain, as they may increase absorption.
Additionally, some research indicates that quercetin has a synergistic effect when combined with other flavonoid supplements, such as resveratrol, genistein, and catechins.
Can You Take Quercetin While Breastfeeding
No, avoid taking quercetin if you are pregnant or breastfeeding because studies have shown that infants are exposed to a dose of approximately 0.01 mg of quercetin daily breastfed by mothers consuming a diet rich in quercetin.
A high concentration of quercetin and other dietary supplements can be dangerous to breastfed babies through breast milk.
In addition, do not take quercetin if you are taking other medication without first discussing it with your doctor especially if you are taking drugs such as antibiotics, cyclosporine, warfarin, or drugs that are changed by the liver.
What are the side effects of quercetin?
Quercetin is possibly safe for most people when taken by mouth short-term. Quercetin has been safely used in amounts up to 500 mg twice daily for 12 weeks. It is not known if longer-term use or larger amounts are safe.
Quercetin can cause headaches and tingling of the arms and legs. Very high doses might cause kidney damage.
When given intravenously (by IV) in appropriate amounts (less than 722 mg), quercetin is possibly safe. but larger amounts given by iv are possibly unsafe. There have been reports of kidney damage at higher doses.
