Diabetes is a disease that involves the blood sugar of the person involved. It can affect young children and old people alike. There is a special type of diabetes that occurs only in pregnant women. When a pregnant woman has high sugar levels, her OB gynecologist would suggest seeking the advice of a professional dietician about a gestational diabetes diet plan.
A gestational diabetes diet means regulating the carbohydrate intake of a pregnant woman due to the high levels of glucose in the blood. A diabetic mother would be hazardous for her well – being. This could lead to further complications not only for the mother and for the baby inside her.
The goal of a gestational diabetes diet plan is to give a pregnant woman adequate energy and her nutritional needs everyday without going over the limits. Limiting ones carbohydrate intake at the proper procedure will reduce the levels of blood sugar without compromising the nutritional needs of the mother.
Meal planning for one in a gestational diet means eating small portions of meals throughout the day. Frequent small meals are used to stabilize blood sugar. Eating frequently in small portions is better than eating one large meal in a day when it comes to glucose control. Below is an example of a daily meal menu for an expecting mother suffering from gestational diabetes.
Breakfast Meal Sample
2 tablespoons of peanut butter in 2 slices of toast bread
100% juice (Could be orange of pineapple)
Mid-morning Snack Meal Sample
1 apple
1 cup cottage cheese
Lunch – Meal Sample
1 cup soup (beans)
1 serving grain crackers
2 ounces of low – fat cheese
1 cup baby carrots
Mid-afternoon Snack – Meal Sample
20 raw almonds
1 cup grapes
Dinner – Meal Sample
6 ounces of fish 1 cup
1 cup brown rice
1 cup fat – free milk
Evening Snack – Meal Sample
5 cups air-popped popcorn (no additives)
The primary goal of this diet is to limit a whole meal for the pregnant woman. A pregnant woman is not required to eat a whole meal due to the slow rate of digestion. When a woman is pregnant her metabolism is slow, and breaking down of fats and sugar may take some time. That’s the main reason why women are prone to gestational diabetes. Counting the carbohydrates and sugar content in the food the pregnant woman eats is the key to successfully breaking down this special type of diabetes.