All You Need to Know About Gestational Diabetes Diet

Before moving on to gestational diabetes diet you should know what the condition means. Gestational diabetes is the condition because of which women have high blood sugar levels while they are pregnant. The good news is that the condition will disappear after you give birth.

Carbohydrate counting

When it comes to diet for gestational diabetes it is very important to think about carbohydrate counting. This means that you have to keep track of the daily carbohydrate intake. If you have the condition you should have the same amount of carbohydrates daily to keep the blood sugar level normal.

Gestational Diabetes TestIn case you are thinking about diet for gestational diabetes you should know that a serving of carbohydrates foods means about 12-15 grams of carbohydrates. You could exchange one food with the other from the same food group to make things a bit more varied, for example change bread for cereal.

If you need gestational diabetes diet then you should know that a serving of vegetables comes with about 5 grams of carbohydrate. You don’t need to count them as carbohydrates unless you have more than two servings per meal. Meats, fats and meat substitutes aren’t considered to be carbohydrates either.

Calorie intake

Women with gestational diabetes need to take diet for gestational diabetes seriously. Pregnant women need 300 extra calories during the second and third trimester for optimal weight gain. This means 16-17 calories per pound to get within the ideal range.

To make sure that the baby grows normally regarding gestational diabetes diet, you need about 10-12 grams of extra protein on a daily basis. Another thing that you should consider is to get 45%-60% of the calories from carbohydrates, 20%-30% from fat and the rest from protein.

Eating plan

Most probably you will be working closely with your doctor for you to learn about diet for gestational diabetes. In some cases the blood sugar level can be kept within the normal ranges only with the help of diet. This means having 3 meals per day and also 1-3 snacks. You need a snack before going to bed.

Snacks are important in case of the gestational diabetes diet because they can ensure that your blood sugar level won’t drop too low over a given period of time. One of the best things you could do is to have your meals at the same time each day. The meals should be spread evenly during the day.

To have the right diet for gestational diabetes you should make sure that you eat every 2-3 hours. When eating, make sure that you stick to the recommendations of the doctor. Regarding the foods, try to stay away from those that have added sugar like honey, corn syrup, molasses, jams, maple syrup or jellies.

Foods and serving sizes

Bread and starch

In case you have bread and starch in your gestational diabetes diet, you should know that a serving comes with 15 grams of carbohydrates. In the majority of the cases women need about 6-10 servings. This means a slice of bread, half a cup of corn, cooked pasta, mashed potato, cooked cereal or green peas.

When it comes to diet for gestational diabetes one serving also refers to one third of dried beans, cooked rice or dried peas, ¾ cup of flake cereal, half an English muffin, hamburger, frozen bagel or hot dog, three cups of air popped popcorn, a small potato, two rice cakes, three graham crackers or six saltines.

Fruits

Fruits are an important part of the gestational diabetes diet and just as in the previous case a serving contains about 15 grams of carbohydrates. Usually women need 2-4 servings per day. If you have high blood sugar levels, you shouldn’t have juice, or have only half a cup per day.

In your diet for gestational diabetes you could have half a cup of orange, grapefruit or apple juice, a small peach, apple or orange, half a cup of canned fruit or applesauce, ¾ cup of blueberries, 12-15 grapes, one kiwi fruit, half a grapefruit or pear, ¼ cup of dried fruit, or two tablespoons of raisins.

Dairy

Dairy is also important for a balanced gestational diabetes diet. A serving in this case comes with 12 grams of carbohydrates. Most women need 2-3 servings. In this case a serving refers to half a cup of pudding, sugar free custard or evaporated milk, one cup of milk or yogurt or 1/3 of milk powder.

Vegetables

Because of the nutrients that they have, vegetables are an important part of the diet for gestational diabetes. The servings come with 5 grams of carbohydrate and as it has been mentioned before, you should choose vegetables as carbohydrates source if you have more than two servings per meal.

Keeping gestational diabetes diet means that you should have a bit of everything.

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