# Sunflower lecithin in place of soy lecithin for preventing plugged ducts?



## Curlyfry7 (Jun 20, 2007)

Has anyone tried this or heard of it working? My 7 month old has MSPI, and I have been off dairy since he was 3 weeks old, and soy for almost as long. However, I have had mastitis 3 times, and have recurrent plugged ducts. We've tried working through what is causing them with no results. The only thing that seems to help keep them at a lower frequency is soy lecithin, but DS2 is intolerant. I am scared to cut it because I'm afraid I'll get mastitis again, but DS is a whiny, grumpy, mess constantly. Someone I know suggested usin sunflower lecithing in it's place, but wasn't sure if it did the same thing for helping to prevent plugged ducts....anyone else know anything about it?

Thanks so much!


----------



## mum2sarah (Apr 23, 2003)

Did you end up trying it? I am wondering the same thing as I have needed to cut out soy but am dealing with plugged ducts.


----------



## Ketch20 (May 11, 2012)

I have had recurrent plugged ducts (luckily not yet had mastitis) with my 9-week-old and have been dairy-free since 6 weeks. Our lactation specialist suggested the sunflower lecithin, too. It just arrived yesterday, and I'm not sure on the dosage and how to take it. Have you had any luck with it?


----------



## noimagination (May 13, 2012)

Found this site while searching for sources of sunflower lecithin online. My kids are older and fortunately I never had plugged ducts, but I've been using sunflower lecithin for other health reasons. (It's a great source of choline, and it's also supposed to bind with "bad" fats to get them out of your body. Soy lecithin does the same thing, but I wanted to avoid the soy.) I take approximately 2 Tablespoons a day - one in the morning and one in the evening. The brand I use is called Love Raw Foods. I've been ordering it online from a company called Blue Mountain Organics. It takes a bit of getting used to. I'm going to describe my process of taking it, and I will warn you that it doesn't sound pleasant. But it's not really that bad and it will be worthwhile. So: the lecithin comes in a wide-mouth jar. You have to refrigerate it after opening. Go ahead and refrigerate it before you take any, because it tastes worse at room temperature. When chilled it's very thick and sticky. I stick a spoon in and pull it out with about a Tablespoon worth of lecithin blob clinging to it. I stick the spoon in my mouth and swallow the blob as quickly as I can because it doesn't taste good and the thick texture is not pleasant. (Note, I use a regular spoon instead of a measuring spoon because the substance is too thick to pour into a measuring spoon, and it's easier for your mouth to get the lecithin off of the shallow regular spoon.) After you take it, you'll have a sticky residue on your lips and teeth, and on the spoon. Use a paper towel or napkin to wipe the residue off your lips; you can then use the same one to wipe the residue off the spoon. (That makes the spoon a whole lot easier to wash.) To get the residue off your teeth, just eat something - anything that you have to chew will work fine.

You can also get sunflower lecithin in capsule form (I use those when I travel) but I don't know how much processing the capsule variety has undergone, and you have to take a handful of capsules to get a Tablespoon of sunflower lecithin. I like the fact that the kind I get in the jar is raw and minimally processed.

Good luck with your breasts and your babies!


----------

