Everything you need to know about health
21st May 2009

Why

posted in diabetes |

Gestational diabetes is a medical disorder where patient have high blood sugar during pregnancy. Diabetic diet for gestational diabetesis an effective way to control high blood sugar as your body gets the sugar through what you eat. Glucose is a simple sugar formed when much of the food and drink that we take is decomposed in the digestive system. Glucose is of vital importance as it is the main source of energy that body require in order to perform all physical tasks. Glucose is used by the body to produce energy with assistance of insulin, a hormone produced by pancreas. Without insulin glucose cannot enter the cells in your body which is used to produce energy and continues to remain in your blood. This affect your blood sugar to rise. Sugar level in the blood becomes very high when body is not able to produce enough insulin or is not able to use the insulin produced. This phenomena is considered as diabetes.

The main reason of gestational diabetes is hormonal changes which occurs during pregnancy. During this time certain hormones made in the placenta restrict the insulin from managing the glucose level in the body creating a condition that is known as insulin resistance. The placenta is the organ which connects the baby to the uterus by the umbilical chord which permits nutrients to pass from the mother to the baby. With the advancement of time the placenta develops to a larger form and produces higher levels of hormones which results in the increase of insulin resistance.

During this time there is approx three times the normal amount of insulin produced naturally by the mother’s pancreas to overcome insulin resistance. When sufficient amount of insulin is not produced for overcoming the effect created by increased hormone levels it results in high blood glucose and gestational diabetes.

During pregnancy high levels of blood glucose should be cured rapidly. Otherwise it can initiate problems both for the child and the mother as well. Although gestational diabetes does not make baby diabetic but if not treated in time the baby may produce more insulin and gain more weight. This carries the risk of a premature birth.

Blood glucose levels once again achieves to normal after delivery in gestational diabetes. However, women who suffer from gestational diabetes run a greater risk of developing diabetes mellitus type II at a later stage.

Diabetic diet is the most important part of controlling high blood sugar levels in a pregnant woman. Glucose level is highly affected by foods having carbohydrates with high starch content and sugar. Don’t forget to make sure that you are eating proper amount of carbohydrates at the same time everyday and check that proteins and some unsaturated fats are also included in your meal.

It is very good to eat small meals and snacks evenly spread whole day with the same quantity of carbohydrates at each meal taking precaution not to eat deep fried or extremely fatty food. It is good to eat foods that contain high fiber content like pasta, whole grain bread, cereals, rice, vegetables and fruits. Gestational diabetes should be treated seriously and precautions should be made in taking diets at the time of pregnancy to prevent high blood sugar levels.

An Excellent Healthy Drink for Diabetics

Did you know that flavored carbonated water has no calories, sugar, body, sweetener, color or preservatives?

It has a superb taste which is tremendously stimulating and it is a great drink for diabetics as it doesn’t contain any carbohydrates. A large and affordable assortment of flavored carbonated water concentrate is available for free delivery world wide from www.allfreightfree.com.

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