Gestational Diabetes Diet - What To Look Out For

Gestational diabetes (pregnancy diabetes) is a type of diabetes that occurs in the later months of pregnancy for some women. The diabetes is not permanent, but will usually last only as long as the pregnancy. However, women who have gestational diabetes are likely to have it again in future pregnancies. They also have a higher chance of developing type II diabetes later in life. These risks are a good reason to begin to take good care of yourself now. Nutritional changes will be good for your baby and will also help you to lower your risk of type II diabetes in the future.

It is important to treat gestational diabetes because it increases the risk of certain problems during pregnancy. The baby’s body reacts to your high blood sugar levels in a way that can cause him or her to gain excess weight. This weight can cause birthing problems and require cesarean section instead of vaginal birth. It also puts the baby at a higher risk of being overweight and developing type II diabetes in his or her lifetime.

Fortunately, you can block the negative effects of gestational diabetes on your baby by controlling your blood sugar levels. Just as with other kinds of diabetes, gestational diabetics need to follow a scheduled meal plan, a gestational diabetic diet plan, and may need to take insulin or diabetes medications. Your doctor and dietitian will create a plan customized for you.

Most diabetic diets include a list of the servings to be eaten from different foods groups at each meal or snack. You will still be able to eat your favorite foods, but you will need to know what food groups these foods fall into and the proper serving sizes for the group. The dietitian who creates and teaches you your diabetic diet will provide you will a list of the different serving sizes and food categories. The categories are based on food composition, so there are groups like diary, fats and oils, carbohydrates, and vegetables.

Each day you will use your meal schedule when choosing your foods throughout the day. For example, your breakfast may need to consist of 2 servings of fruit, 1 serving of dairy, 1 serving of lean meat, and 2 servings of carbohydrates. By consulting your list, you will know which foods you can choose for each of those groups. (This is only an example. Each person needs to consult a dietitian for their individual plan.)

Diabetic diets are made to be simple to follow. For your own and your baby’s health, it will be worth it to take the time to follow your diabetic diet.

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