Managing your blood glucose does not just mean cutting down on simple carbohydrates – it means having a better understanding of how complex carbohydrates work. Certain types of carbohydrate, especially highly processed foods, such as white bread, release their sugars very quickly, which is unhelpful to you if you are controlling your sugar levels.
By keeping glucose levels fairly constant, you are more likely to avoid dips in energy, which can lead to cravings for sugary foods and the temptation to go for bigger portions of food.
Having a low glycaemic index (GI) diet
A very restricted diet, is not recommended when you are pregnant. However, choosing low glycaemic index foods more often, watching your portions, and limiting the amount of high glycaemic index foods you eat, can help you to manage your blood glucose levels.
As a general rule, you need to replace foods with a high glycaemic index (such as white bread and sugary foods) with foods with a low to medium glycaemic index, such as wholegrain bread, brown rice, pasta, pulses, fish or chicken.
There are many factors that affect the GI rating of a food:
- whether it is processed - this usually increases the GI rating
- how much fibre it has - wholegrains (NOT wholemeal, which is ground up grains) and high-fibre foods increase the GI rating
- how much protein it has - protein lowers the GI rating
The amount of carbohydrate you eat, and when you eat it, usually depends on several things, including how hungry you get, your blood glucose levels and your weight gain. You should aim to have at least 175g of carbohydrate per day.
I had plain porridge for breakfast, then a piece of fruit mid-morning and at lunchtime just a wholemeal sandwich and a yoghurt, and another piece of fruit in the afternoon. At tea time I’d have something like a baked potato with chilli but small portions. Gemma, mum of one
Managing your glucose levels without cutting out carbs
Here are some tips for managing your glucose levels without cutting carbs out completely.
- Spread your carbohydrate intake through the day.
- If you treat your diabetes with insulin or tablets (not Metformin alone) check your blood glucose levels before going to bed. If your blood glucose reading is low, having a carbohydrate snack for supper can help reduce the risk of your blood glucose levels dropping overnight.
- Many women find carbs hard to tolerate at breakfast time. Try having breakfasts with smaller portions of carbs.
- Choose carbs that are low GI.
If you have gestational diabetes, you need to keep an eye on your fat content too. Fats do not contain carbohydrates, but they are very calorific, so if you need to manage your weight then it’s a good idea to keep your fat intake low.
Read more about diet and exercise with gestational diabetes
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Managing your weight with gestational diabetes
Women who are overweight are at higher risk of developing gestational diabetes, although many women who develop it are not overweight at all.
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Staying active with gestational diabetes
Exercise during pregnancy has a wide range of benefits for you and your baby. If you have gestational diabetes, you have even more reason to exercise: it can help reduce your blood glucose.
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Meal ideas for gestational diabetes
Here are some suggested low glycaemic meal ideas that could help control your blood sugar levels if you have gestational diabetes.
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Gestational diabetes and your diet
If you have gestational diabetes, your diet will become an important part of managing your condition and keeping your pregnancy safe.
Read more about treatment for gestational diabetes
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Gestational diabetes and your mental wellbeing
Most women are daunted initially by the unfamiliar territory they find themselves in with gestational diabetes. Find some tips here on how to cope mentally.
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Gestational diabetes and giving birth
The emphasis is on trying to keep the birth as normal as possible unless there is a particular reason to do things differently.
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Managing your weight with gestational diabetes
Women who are overweight are at higher risk of developing gestational diabetes, although many women who develop it are not overweight at all.
-
Staying active with gestational diabetes
Exercise during pregnancy has a wide range of benefits for you and your baby. If you have gestational diabetes, you have even more reason to exercise: it can help reduce your blood glucose.
-
Gestational diabetes and your diet
If you have gestational diabetes, your diet will become an important part of managing your condition and keeping your pregnancy safe.
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Treatment for gestational diabetes
Gestational diabetes is treated by making changes to diet and exercise to manage blood sugar levels, and using medication if necessary.
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Monitoring your own glucose levels
If you have gestational diabetes, measuring your own blood glucose levels will become something you do regularly.
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Taking medication and insulin for gestational diabetes
Some women can control their glucose levels through diet and exercise alone but the majority will need to take tablets or injections to help control it.
Sources
- NHS Choices [ accessed April 2015] What is the glycaemic index? http://www.nhs.uk/chq/pages/1862.aspx?categoryid=51 Review date: 23/08/2015
- NICE (2015) Diabetes in pregnancy: management of diabetes and its complications from preconception to the postnatal period, National Institute of Health and Care Excellence https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng3
- Institute of Medicine (2007) Dietary Reference Intakes: Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids. Washington, DC, National Academies Press, 2002 IN doi: 10.2337/dc07-S048 Diabetes Care January 2007 vol. 30 no. suppl 1 S48-S65
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ℹLast reviewed on March 1st, 2015. Next review date March 1st, 2018.
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