Eating for Gestational Diabetes

When you are eating for gestational diabestes, you need to eat less sugar and fewer starchy carbohydrates. Sugar, rice, pasta and starchy vegetables such as corn, potatoes, beets and peas can all cause your blood sugar to go higher than normal. Most of us love these foods, because they make us feel better. But, these foods make your blood sugar go higher, and then drop afterwards. This will make you want to eat more. This causes an erratic blood sugar level. Also, the starchy carbohydrates can make you gain weight more easily.

Eating for Gestational Diabetes

• Eat 3 meals and 3 snacks daily.
• Space snacks so that there is no more than 3 hours without eating.
• Always eat breakfast, and choose protein to eat with any carbohydrates you eat.
• Eat a late afternoon snack, including protein, and a bedtime snack including protein. This will help you sleep and also help to keep your blood sugar more normal during the night.

Omit High Sugar Foods and Concentrated Sweets

When you are eating for gestational diabetes, avoid adding sugar (white sugar, brown sugar, or honey) to foods. Avoid soda pop, lemonade, and sweetened yogurt. Eat starchy carbohydrates rarely, as they impact your body in the same way that sugar does. Omit juices, but instead use whole pieces of fruit (for example, apples instead of applesauce). Fruit provides fiber and bulk.

Avoid pretzels, popcorn, bread sticks, foods fried in oil, such as doughnuts, chips, and French fries. These foods are either high in fat, and/or high in carbohydrate and provide little, if any nutritional value to you and your baby.

Limit foods from fast-food restaurants. Ask for nutritional information on menu selections, and choose foods that are low in fat. For many women, a burger and fries or more than 2 pieces of pizza will cause high blood glucose levels. If you want a burger, eat the meat and skip the roll. These foods also are high in salt, so will make you retain water.

Additional Recommendations for Gestational Diabetics

As you are eating for gestational diabetes, spread the carbohydrates throughout the day. Always eat some protein with your carbohydrates as this helps your body to process the carbohydrates and keep your blood sugar stable. If after-breakfast blood glucose levels are outside the target range, you may be asked to shift some carbohydrates (starch and fruit) to other snacks or meals.

• Choose foods high in fiber: whole grains, vegetables and fruits, beans and legumes, oats, and minimally processed whole grains.
• Eat lots of leafy green vegetables, asparagus and the foods you find with lots of color. These are healthy for you and have a positive impact on your blood sugar.
• Choose foods low in fat and avoid adding extra fat.
• Choose olive oil and even a little butter instead of margarine, which contains trans fatty acids.
• Choose low-fat meat selections, such as lean cuts of beef, pork, and lamb. Emphasize more fish and poultry (without the skin).

Some good food choices if you are eating for gestational diabetes include:

• baked, broiled, or roasted instead of fried chicken or fish
• low-fat yogurt instead of butter and sour cream on a potato
• herbs to season vegetables instead of cream or butter sauces
• salad dressings that are low in sugar and carbohydrates.

Do not think of yourself as being on a diet. You need adequate nutrition for your health and your baby's growth and development. Cutting back too much on calories and weight gain can increase your risk of a low-birth-weight infant.

What is the Glycemic Index?

Recent research suggests an understanding of the Glycemic Index (GI) will help you make healthier food choices that will help to keep your blood sugar within a normal range. The GI is a ranking of foods based on their immediate effect on blood glucose. Carbohydrate foods that break down quickly during digestion have the highest GI and their response is fast and high. Carbohydrates that break down slowly, releasing glucose gradually into the blood stream have low GI values. More information about the Glycemic Index and specific foods can be found on this page.

Additional Resources

• Glycemic Index
• Healthy Food Choices for Gestational Diabetics