Gestational Diabetes Diet

Health & FitnessNutrition & Supplement

  • Author Keelin Orla
  • Published August 8, 2010
  • Word count 447

A pregnancy gestational diabetes diet is uncommon from the best pregnancy diet for women without diabetes and consists of a number of uncommon parts. Most of the women gain from a gestational diabetes diet and exercise, however some may necessitate medication beside everyday life adjustments. To prepare your gestational diabetes diet, seek advice from a dietitian who can advise you a appropriate diet based on your health condition, your height, weight, age, the growing baby needs, in addition to your glucose level intolerance.

Gestational diabetes is a metabolic disorder that commonly appears during the later stages of pregnancy in women. Controlling gestational diabetes is extremely important for the health of the unborn baby. Otherwise, the consequences can be extremely fatal for both the baby and the mother. One of the most essential components of care for diabetes while pregnant is to start a gestational diabetes diet (Diabetes Diet Pregnancy).

When the blood glucose levels increase dramatically in mothers, the fetus also begins producing increased amounts of insulin to cope with the excessive glucose levels and this creates a problem. Increased levels of insulin in the baby (fetus) causes macrosomia, a typical condition in which a person develops an abnormally large head. It can also cause problems with the respiratory functions, jaundice, hypokalemia, hypocalcaemia and hypoglycemia.

Gestational diabetes is a temporary form of diabetes that develops during pregnancy, but usually disappears after the baby is born. The condition can develop when the mother's body is unable to produce enough insulin to meet the increasing needs of their developing baby. Insulin levels can also be affected by pregnancy hormones, which can limit its production.

The need for a gestational diabetes plan is important because an uncontrolled blood sugar level can lead to the incidence of birth defect or miscarriage. Some may even require insulin injection but are never prescribed with oral medication to preclude any unknown side effects.

There are also books available that will help as well as doing research on the internet. You will definitely want to learn how to read a nutrition label and to even purchase a book that gives you the nutrition guidelines on foods that usually do not come with a label, like garden foods, fruits and so on. This will prove to come in very handy in your education and understanding of the gestational diabetes diet.

Gestational diabetes is sometimes referred as a double curse. It leaves the pregnant women in a dilemma of what to eat and what not to eat. As something good for the baby may not be good for her diabetes and vice versa. The following are given some of the basic guidelines for the gestational diabetes diet.

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