Controlling Gestational Diabetes Diet 2021: Recommendations and Care

Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that only appears during the period of pregnancy and causes a high level of glucose in the blood. This happens because in this stage insulin, which is the hormone that the pancreas generates to help eliminate glucose, is not produced in the same way as when you are not pregnant.

Therefore, blood sugar levels cannot be properly maintained.

What is Gestational Diabetes?

Gestational diabetes is known as the presence of high blood glucose that begins or is diagnosed for the first time during pregnancy. Women over 25 years of age with a family history of the disease, high blood pressure, or being overweight before pregnancy are those most at risk of suffering from it.

According to the US Institutes of Health, although gestational diabetes can debut without causing discomfort, some expectant mothers may experience gestational diabetes with the following symptoms:

blurry vision
fatigue
frequent infections, including bladder, vagina, and skin infections;
increased thirst
increased urination or nausea and vomiting
Weight loss or gain The reasons why diabetes appears are unknown, but it is known, as indicated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta (USA), that

It starts when the body cannot make or use all the insulin it needs for pregnancy. Without a sufficient amount of it, glucose cannot be transported into the cell, converted into energy, and reduced in the blood. The level of glucose rises because it accumulates in the blood. This is called hyperglycemia.

How do I know if I have gestational diabetes?

It usually debuts in most cases in the middle of the pregnancy. Hence, all future moms undergo an oral glucose tolerance test between weeks 24 and 28 to detect its presence. Women who have risk factors for this type of diabetes should get checked first.

Gestational diabetes symptoms are not always visible to the naked eye, so doctors turn to routine blood tests to monitor the mother's health.

In addition, the aforementioned glucose tolerance test is performed between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy, which will be able to detect this type of disease.

Risks of Diabetes in Pregnancy

If diabetes in pregnancy is not treated properly, it can have very serious consequences for both mother and baby.

Poorly controlled gestational diabetes can cause excess weight in the baby at birth (4 kilos or more), as well as hyperglycemia in your future child.

Although your pancreas works much harder to produce insulin, it cannot lower your baby's blood glucose levels because, unlike glucose and other nutrients, insulin does not pass through the placenta.

In this way, hyperglycemia in the pregnant woman causes hyperglycemia in the baby. The fetal pancreas then produces more insulin to make up for the excess glucose. The result is that the baby receives more energy than necessary, which is accumulated in the form of fat, and helps to increase its growth.

Other possible consequences of this disease are injuries at the time of delivery, which are due to the excess size of the baby. There is also an increased risk of developing diabetes in the future.

Babies with excess insulin are at higher risk of being obese and developing type II diabetes mellitus in adolescence and adulthood.

Likewise, other possible consequences have been described, such as an increased risk of hypocalcemia (low levels of calcium in the blood), neonatal jaundice (yellowing of the skin and whites of the eye) due to an excess of bilirubin in the blood (pigment that creates the body during the recycling of old red blood cells), among other problems.

Gestational Diabetes Diets

To keep your blood glucose level under control and not spike, follow these guidelines during your pregnancy.

You must eat a healthy and balanced diet, adjusting the caloric amount of the food you eat for each day. If you follow this type of diet, your blood sugar level will remain stable. You should eat three meals a day in a balanced way, and have two snacks in the middle of the morning and afternoon, so that hypoglycemia, caused when you go a long time without eating food, does not occur. On many occasions it is recommended that you even eat up to 6 meals a day in small amounts and therefore eat food every 2 or 3 hours.
It is important that you avoid foods that incorporate simple sugars in their composition, such as pastries, sweets or soft drinks with sugar such as Coca-Cola or soda. This type of sugar makes the blood glucose level rise very quickly.
You should not make strong or very restrictive diets, because they can be dangerous for the baby and you will not be able to offer all the necessary nutrients.
The diet should be moderate in fat and protein, and with controlled carbohydrate levels through the intake of fruits, vegetables and complex carbohydrates (bread, cereals, rice and pasta).
In turn, soft drinks, fruit juices and sweet pastries should be reduced, due to their high sugar content. It is important to eat three small to moderate meals a day, along with one or two snacks that should not be skipped to maintain optimal blood glucose levels.
You have to watch the amounts and portions of food (fat, protein and carbohydrates) each day and not "eat for two", since it is estimated that a pregnant woman needs approximately 300 extra Kcal per day.
The practice of daily exercise without having to exert great effort is one of the 'golden rules' for controlling diabetes.

If diet and exercise do not meet your goals, your doctor may need to prescribe a treatment for gestational diabetes using oral drugs or insulin.

Recommended Foods

Foods rich in fiber such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, or whole grain breads and pastas are very good. You should include animal proteins and avoid fats as much as possible. Dairy products are an essential food in pregnancy as they provide you with calcium in a large quantity and naturally.

Another important point so that gestational diabetes does not affect the mother or the baby is to exercise moderately but daily. It is advisable to take a walk or an activity after each meal, because it is in this period of time when the sugar rises the most.

Your Menu for Gestational Diabetes

So that you can carry the pregnancy with gestational diabetes in the easiest way possible, we are going to give you an example of a gestational diet, but keep in mind that the diet that your doctor recommends will always prevail.

Breakfast: You can have milk, yogurt, toast with whole wheat bread or whole grains.
Lunch and snack: A piece of fruit or some type of complex hydrate such as whole wheat bread, a portion of dairy products.
Lunch and dinner: You can have a portion of protein such as meat, fish or eggs, accompanied by a portion of vegetables. You can also opt for a serving of legumes.

You must remember that you should not eat raw food and always cook it at high temperatures. You should always wash fruits and vegetables very well to avoid bacteria and parasites that can cause toxoplasmosis.

How to control gestational diabetes after pregnancy?

Once the baby is born, the mother who has suffered from gestational diabetes should undergo annual check-ups to see how her metabolism is working. Sometimes there is usually a sequel that can be solved with diet. If you are overweight, you should lose the excess kilos, so that diabetes is not complicated, with a healthy and balanced diet and exercise.

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