For pregnant women with gestational diabetes, it is not just the food and the quantity you eat which is important; it is also the timing of the meals.
Approximately 4 out of every 100 women get their first diabetes diagnosis during pregnancy. Diabetes detected during pregnancy is known as gestational diabetes. Similar to other kinds of diabetes, your blood glucose levels are raised during gestational diabetes. Good management of this condition is necessary to avoid complications for your fetus and you. Medications, diet and exercise can help you to control your blood glucose.
Learn from a dietitian, a diabetes educator, or a doctor how to count carbohydrates and calories, as well as test your blood glucose. Often, all that is needed to keep your blood glucose under control are the right exercise and the right diet. However, you ought to realize that timing is just as important as the food and the amount you consume.
Consuming food at certain intervals for the whole day is necessary for women suffering from gestational diabetes. They are advised to eat three snacks and three meals with the same intervals between the eating so that their blood glucose level remains constantly within the safe range.
Tips on managing gestational diabetes; Australian Diabetes Council – Video Guide
Pointers on The Management of Your Gestational Diabetes Diet Plan
A little bit of fat, carbohydrates and lean protein are the right choice of a balanced meal. It is recommended that approximately 50 percent of the calories for a day is derived from carbohydrates. Less than 30 percent of the calories for each dayâs gestational diabetes diet may come from fats. An example of a healthy snack taken between meals can be a small quantity of carbohydrates and some lean meat. It can be a peanut butter on bread which may be a slice of the whole-grain type, some fruits and reduced-fat cottage cheese, or reduced-fat cheese on crackers.
An excellent reference for fat grams, protein counts, carbohydrate counts and serving sizes can be obtained from the exchange lists of The American Dietetic Association.
Other pointers are:
- Stay with your schedule.
Missing snacks or meals can result in a decrease of blood glucose you’re your blood glucose levels drop excessively, you experience weakness and light-headedness. To stay with your schedule when you eat out, make reservations so that your food is available for you when it is time to eat.
- Eat smaller meals.
Eating more frequent but smaller meals is better than less frequent but larger meals so that there is less stress on the response of your insulin.
- Eat carbohydrates with other foods.
Slow down the digestion of carbohydrates by consuming them with some protein. When only carbohydrates are eaten, it can result in a sudden increase in blood glucose that can usually end in a drastic drop.
- Prevent carbohydrate surges.
Carbohydrate surges can be prevented by limiting sweetened drinks, fruit juices and sauces as they are concentrated sources of carbohydrates. According to research, they are better metabolized in the later part of the day. Therefore, a woman with gestational diabetes ought to take only a small quantity of fruit juice or fruit for breakfast.
- Test your blood glucose.
Blood glucose pre-meal tests and post-meal tests which can be between one and two hours after eating, can inform you whether too much carbohydrates have been consumed. Such information can be of help when adjusting the amount of carbohydrates for future meals.
The above advices can assist in your control of blood glucose levels and avoid complications from gestational diabetes.