|
What To Eat In Case Of Gestational Diabetes |
|
|
|
Diet and gestational diabetes are inherently
related. One treatment for gestational diabetes is meal plan i.e. eating
a carefully planned diet. Other avenues include having plenty of
exercise, maintaining a healthy pregnancy weight, monitoring glucose
levels and, taking daily insulin injections, if necessary.
Your doctor or dietitian might ask you to change your food
habits. You may be asked to avoid eating foods that contain a lot of
simple sugar, such as cake, cookies, candy or ice cream. Instead, eat
foods that contain natural sugars, like fruits. You could also be
advised to take several small meals instead of one or two big meals. If
you get hungry between meals, it is better to eat foods that are healthy
for you, such as raisins, carrot sticks, or a piece of fruit. Other
foods such as whole grain, pasta, breads, rice and fruit are good for
you as well as your baby.
To help the blood sugar level to stay
within a normal range (60 to 120 mg/dl), a dietitian's diet plan will
include the following:
1) Stay away from foods high in sugar.
2) Have complex carbohydrates such as pasta, rice, grains, cereals,
crackers, bread, potatoes, dried beans and peas on regular basis.
3) Eat fiber-rich foods such as whole grain cereals and breads, fruits
and vegetables.
4) Saturated fats such as fatty meats, butter, bacon, cream and whole
milk cheeses should be avoided.
5) Eat a protein and carbohydrate based snack before bedtime.
It's important that you may eat well-balanced meals. You may need to eat
less at each meal, depending on how much weight you gain during your
pregnancy. Your doctor or dietitian will explain all these to you.
|
