Mom with gestational diabetes

Gestational diabetes mellitus occurs during pregnancy and usually disappears after its end. Often you don’t feel any symptoms so you should try some studies to determine if you have it.

Risk Factors:

• Overweight and obesity
• Age greater than 25 years
• History of diabetes in parents and siblings
• Baby weighing more than four kilos in previous pregnancies
• A previous diagnosis of gestational diabetes

What to do?

If you have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes, its management should be supervised by a specialist and also you must follow the advices.

Take a careful monitoring of glucose levels, taking measurements several times a day, fasting and after meals. You can make these measurements using a device called a glucometer.

Follow a healthy diet, rich in whole grains, vegetables and fruits. Limit consumption of sugar and fat, always under medical supervision, and if possible with the guidance of a nutritionist or endocrinologist.

Exercise is essential because it lowers blood glucose levels and improves insulin sensitivity. If your doctor says that, you can do moderate aerobic exercise several times a week. If you do not have the habit of exercising, you have to start it.

If diet and exercise are not enough, you could require insulin injections as treatment, but only if necessary and prescribed by your doctor.

You're not sick, keep your spirits

Do not be discouraged, and take your pregnancy with the same joy. Gestational diabetes only means that you need to have more control and discipline and be under medical supervision, in the end the reward is one of the most beautiful moments of life.

Recommended Foods:

Do not forget to consult your doctor or nutritionist to give you proper guidance from your diet for your body. The following foods are recommended:

Fruits:

• Eat them with nuts like walnuts or almonds, or some milk, to avoid that sugar (fructose) gets absorbed rapidly.
• We recommend the pear, apple, guava, soursop
• Apricot, peach, plum, nectarine
• Red pomegranate
• Grapefruit, lemon and lime
• Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries
• Avoid natural fruit juices
• Avoid fruit in syrup
• Make emphasis on consumption of different fruits

Vegetables:

• Chard, celery, watercress, cilantro, spinach, parsley, mushrooms
• Artichoke, asparagus, tomato
• Cabbage, squash, lettuce
• Broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, onions, leeks
• Eggplant, green beans, endive, hearts of palm
• Brussels sprouts, artichoke hearts

Cereals:

• Whole bread, rye bread, black bread, five grains bread, pita bread, whole wheat bread
• Rice, grain corn, whole corn, baked potato, cooked pasta
• Rolled oats, amaranth, pearl barley, tapioca
• Whole grain crackers with low-fat and no trans fat
• Avoid sugary processed cereals
• Avoid sugar cookies

Legumes:

• Beans, chickpeas, lentils, soybeans, edamame, soy sprouts
• Consume enough cereals and combine them with legumes

Food of animal origin:

• Beef, chicken and fish
• Fresh cheese
• Milk, yogurt
• Remember to choose lean cuts

Oils:

• Prefer vegetable oils, such as olive, corn, sunflower, etc.

To ensure a complete and balanced diet, it is recommended to give variety and consume enough servings, remember that a pregnant woman requires enough calories for the baby that is coming. You should not neglect your checks and controls.

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