Gestational diabetes is the type of diabetes that we seldom hear of. It is where a women who have not been diagnosed diabetes before, develops high blood glucose level during pregnancy. Only 2% – 7% of pregnancies are affected by this condition but it is not to be taken lightly because there are no specific causes identified which means it could happen to any expecting mothers.
During pregnancy, the hormones produced acts differently – it increases the resistance to insulin thus impairing the body’s glucose tolerance. Gestational diabetes happens when the blood sugar is raised but the pregnant mother’s body is unable to produce enough insulin to overcome the high blood sugar. This could not only be harmful to the pregnant woman but also to the child she is carrying. The child could develop complications such as jaundice, excess growth, type 2 diabetes and more.
As mentioned above, there are no specific causes known to lead to gestational diabetes but there are risk factors involved. Those to be careful are pregnant women above age 25, with history of obesity, with family history of diabetes and with ethnic background (Asian, Hispanic or American Indian is most susceptible).
It is vital to practice a healthy lifestyle to treat or curb this disease.
It is important to exercise and try to maintain pregnancy weight. Always follow a gestational diabetes diet; avoid sugar and foods that is high in sugar, go for complex carbohydrates from food such as bread, potatoes and pasta, go for unsaturated fats instead of food with saturated fats, eat the right snacks and pile in food with fiber. All these helps control blood sugar level from rising.
There are gestational diabetes menu ideas that are excellent for this program. The menu contains suggestions of what to eat for each meal of the day; breakfast, lunch, dinner and even include gestational diabetes snack ideas
for times you feel peckish. The ideas are all base on nutritional factors and are specifically to control blood sugar level.
Pregnant women do not need to be anxious because the diet is not rigid but rather manageable. The key is portion and carb and sugar control. With that you can even snack on popcorn and pretzels if you want to.







