Gestational diabetes diet plan for vegetarian

Usually, a pregnant woman doesn’t go on a strict diet but if she suffers from gestational diabetes, she may have to follow a strict eating plan. Diabetes can not be cured by changing the diet of a vegetarian but it can offer some benefits over a non-vegetarian diet. These benefits include reducing your chance of developing diabetes-related complications, better able to control your weight, and perhaps maybe even making your body respond better to insulin. All of these benefits depend on the type of vegetarian diet that selected by you, and also on the individual food choices you make when you follow the diet.

Gestational diabetes is one type of the diabetes that develops during pregnancy. It is a carbohydrate intolerance of variable severity. In this type of diabetes, the tissues are unable to absorb glucose from the bloodstream due to a lack of the hormone insulin. For most women, blood sugar levels go back to normal after they give birth. Treatment of Gestational diabetes involves controlling your blood sugar by strictly following a healthy diet and exercising regularly. To control blood sugar, some women also need to use insulin. For a healthy pregnancy and baby, controlling of high blood sugar is helpful to you.

Women at risk of developing Gestational Diabetes:

Up to 1 in 50 women temporarily develop diabetes mellitus during the course of pregnancy. Women at risk for gestational diabetes include those who:

• have a family history of diabetes
• are overweight
• are over 25 years of age
• have previously had a baby who was stillborn, or born with a birth defect
• have an excess amount of amniotic fluid (the cushioning fluid within the uterus that surrounds the developing fetus)
• belong to an ethnic group known to experience higher rates of gestational diabetes (in the United States, these groups include Mexican-Americans, American Indians, African-Americans, as well as individuals from Asia, India, or the Pacific Islands)
• have a previous history of gestational diabetes during a pregnancy
• have previously given birth to a very large, heavy baby

Symptoms of Gestational Diabetes:

Most of women, who have gestational diabetes, have no familiar symptoms for this reason.  It is suggested that all pregnant women should carry our testing for gestational diabetes during the 24th and 28th weeks of their pregnancy. The symptoms are generally mild and not life-threatening to the pregnant woman.

• Increased thirst
• Fatigue
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Increased urination
• Blurred vision
• Weight loss in spite of increased appetite
• Frequent infection including those of bladder, vagina and skin

Treatment:

Gestational diabetes treatment will depend on the severity of the diabetes. It mainly carried out to maintain blood glucose levels within normal limits during the duration of the pregnancy. Treatment ensures the well-being of the fetus.

Gestational diabetes treatment includes following:

• Diet
• Medication
• Exercise

Diet plan for Gestational diabetes:

During pregnancy, diabetic women are required to follow a carefully regulated meal plan. Small, frequent meals and lot of water may be helpful. The diet should include 3 meals and 3 snacks. Foods which are eaten by pregnant women must contain high fiber, less sugar foods like whole grain bread, beans, fresh fruits and vegetable. Do not eat chocolates, candies and cakes as they deliver a large amount of glucose from a very small volume and very quickly shoot up your blood sugar levels. Also, avoid fruit juices with a lot of added sugar. Be careful for saturated fats in your diet such as butter, whole milk, dairy and other animal fats.

Also, keep in mind to have a balanced meal with fewer carbohydrates. Do not completely stop you sugar intake. Actually, that would be very dangerous to do so as carbohydrates are absolutely necessary for giving energy to you and your baby.

A sample diet for women having gestational diabetes:

Breakfast:

• 3 slices of brown bread with 1 tsp of low fat bread spread Or 1 cup cooked oatmeal with skimmed milk added

Mid Morning:

• 1 fruit Or 1 vegetable with high water content like tomato or cucumber

Lunch:

• 1 bowl vegetable preparation (cooked)
• 1 skimmed milk yoghurt
• 2 wheat or cereals
• A small bowl green salad
• 1 small bowl pulse preparation or lean meat preparation
• Can add 1 tsp of vegetable oil to the preparation

Evening Snack:

• 3 crackers

Late Evening:

• ½ cup sugar free pudding or custard Or ½ cup sprout mixture with tinge of lemon juice

Dinner:

• A small bowl of steamed vegetables
• 1 tsp of margarine added
• 1 Cup of cooked pastas
• 1 cup fruit salad

Late Night:

• 1cup of skimmed milk

Nutrition Diet plan for Gestational diabetes:

• Break fast Meal: 30 grams of Carbohydrates, Any amount of protein, moderated fat.
• Brunch Snack: 30 grams of Carbohydrates, Any amount of protein, moderated fat.
• Lunch Meal: 45 grams of Carbohydrates, Any amount of protein, moderated fat.
• Evening Snack: 30 grams of Carbohydrates, Any amount of protein, moderated fat.
• Dinner: 45 grams of Carbohydrates, Any amount of protein, moderated fat.
• Late Night Snack: 30 grams of Carbohydrates, Any amount of protein, moderated fat.

Especially for a diabetic pregnant woman, selection of healthy diet is very important. To control diabetes, diet is a natural way and if you strictly follow a healthy diet with exercise and medications, you can keep your blood glucose at a stable level. A well-balanced diet, with low fat, high carbohydrates and high fiber will be very helpful to you and to your unborn child if you are able to adhere it.

Vegetarian diet consumption will exclude high-calorie foods and the saturated fat in animal products. Instead of this, you can eat foods with necessary vitamins and minerals that help to control your blood glucose levels more effectively. Vegetables, fruits, legumes and whole grains are such type of diet.

If you can strictly follow gestational diabetes diet plan, whether vegetarian or not, surely you and your unborn child stay healthy.

Gestational Diabetes information from Youtube:

Healthy Food Choices for Gestational Diabetes from Youtube:

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