Raw Egg Yolks as a source of Lecithin to prevent plugged ducts?

[MyLilPwny]

Has anyone else tried raw egg yolks as a source of Lecithin to prevent or cure plugged ducts? I've never had raw yolks before, but I'm a big fan of Dr. Joseph Mercola who advocates raw yolk consumption. I also just learned that yolks contain lecithin and I much rather consume yolks because I have a lot of concerns about soy. Does anyone else have experience with this, and how many yolks per day would you suggest that would be effective?

[mama24-7]

No, no experience. Perhaps an IBCLC may have more info? Did you look on kellymom?

I have seen other information that suggests reducing the amount of saturated fat in the diet to help w/ plugs.

How about other things that cause plugs: underwire bras, anything that puts pressure on breast tissue, nursing infrequently/baby not latched well/not pumping enough or on regular basis?

Sus

[BowenTherapist]

i haven't used raw egg yolks as a cure for plugged ducts, but i did have a lot of my chocolate milk recipe i make when i was pregnant and newly nursing too.
make sure they are eggs from a local farm if you are going to be eating them raw.
if you like chocolate milk, my recipe i use is 1 egg yolk, 1tbs of cocoa powder, 1 1/2 tbs maple syrup(or agave) then blend well. add milk till it is the correct color of chocolate milk you like
good luck

[Vanishing Word]

Salmonella should be thought about when talking of ingesting raw eggs:

From the CDC

"How eggs become contaminated

Unlike eggborne salmonellosis of past decades, the current epidemic is due to intact and disinfected grade A eggs. Salmonella enteritidis silently infects the ovaries of healthy appearing hens and contaminates the eggs before the shells are formed.

Most types of Salmonella live in the intestinal tracts of animals and birds and are transmitted to humans by contaminated foods of animal origin. Stringent procedures for cleaning and inspecting eggs were implemented in the 1970s and have made salmonellosis caused by external fecal contamination of egg shells extremely rare. However, unlike eggborne salmonellosis of past decades, the current epidemic is due to intact and disinfected grade A eggs. The reason for this is that Salmonella enteritidis silently infects the ovaries of healthy appearing hens and contaminates the eggs before the shells are formed.

Although most infected hens have been found in the northeastern United States, the infection also occurs in hens in other areas of the country. In the Northeast, approximately one in 10,000 eggs may be internally contaminated. In other parts of the United States, contaminated eggs appear less common. Only a small number of hens seem to be infected at any given time, and an infected hen can lay many normal eggs while only occasionally laying an egg contaminated with the Salmonella bacterium."

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/disea.../salment_g.htm

[MyLilPwny]

Thanks for the responses. The reason I'm getting plugged ducts is because I have to be separated from my baby for 48 hours straight every week while I go work on Mondays and Tuesdays. I never get plugged ducts when I'm nursing my baby. I have the Medela Pump In Style, which i use every 2-3 hours and also try to do that at night, but apparently its not very effective at emptying me.

I did try 2 raw yolks this morning mixed with some raw milk, but I still ended up with plugged ducts today. I also wore a cabbage leaf on my boobs most of the day when I noticed they were plugging up. I ate 2 more raw yolks when I got home from work.

Luckily, it seems that my husband has perfected his technique at unplugged my ducts himself. He started using less of his tongue and he was able to unplug my ducts pretty quickly today.

Regarding Salmonella poisoning, that was also my concern. I did more research on what Dr. Mercola says about it. His articles say its about 1 in every 30,000 eggs. However, if you are going to be eating an organic, free-range egg, that is pretty much always going to be safe. But, if for some reason you do get Salmonella poisoning, he says it should not be a big deal if you have a healthy immune system. I think I'm pretty healthy, so thats why I finally ventured out to doing it today. I'll continue to do it all this week and see if it helps me for any next week. I've read a lot about the nutritional benefits of raw eggs, so I'm interested in trying it out for that too. Also, I'm using eggs that have lots of DHA in it, the egg carton says, which is good for baby's brain development.

[veganone]

I have heard of this and had it suggested to me by a holistic doc when I was suffering from chronic mastitis. His suggestion was 10 yolks a day, so maybe try more? Also, soy lecithin has no protein that I'm aware of. My DD has a soy protein intollerance, but did fine when I was on soy lecithin for plugged ducts. It helped a lot.

In doing more reading on the yolk issue, I read that it is nearly as effective to soft boil (no more than 3 minutes) the egg before eating the yolk.

Best of luck momma!

[kimbersdawnly]

You know, I was eating a lot of them (4-6), but I just ate eggs over easy every day for a while and that did it for me. Mine was a general problem though, not separation induced.

One other suggestion - have you tried the Avent Isis? It's inexpensive and manual but for me it worked like nothing else did - and it was so gentle!

[MyLilPwny]

I gave the egg yolks a try, eating at least 4 yolks per day, for over a week but still ended up with plugged ducts. I'm pretty desperate here so I got non-gmo soy lecithin powder and started taking about 2 tablespoons per day, in addition to the egg yolks. Does it help for already plugged ducts, or just prevention?

[PatioGardener]

I always heard that it was for prevention (sorry!)

[ChinaDoll]

I haven't, but wanted to add that there is lecithin that is not soy-based.

Sunflower lecithin.

http://www.crystallinesolutions.com/...rlecithin/html