Gestational Diabetes Requires A Low GI Diet
May 16, 2010 by Sue Kennedy
Filed under Pregnancy
Including a low GI diet is very important if you have gestational diabetes as it will help you over a long period of time. Implementing good eating habits is essential when you have gestational diabetes and you wish to achieve optimum health and avoid developing type 2 diabetes. Once you reach the second and third trimesters, your energy levels increase, but this does not mean that you should add a lot more food to your diet, you only require about 1200 kj extra per day. These extra kilojoules should only contain nutrient-rich foods, which will be the most beneficial for you.
Following are a few tips on how to implement a low GI diet if you have gestational diabetes:
* Make sure you eat on a regular basis and only small amounts
* Add plenty of fruits, vegetables, and salads to your diet
* Ensure you drink lots of water and avoid alcohol
* Reduce the amount of foods that are high in saturated fats like cakes, cream, processed foods, biscuits, chips, butter and takeaway foods
* Limiting the amount of food and drinks that contain refined sugar or added sugar
* Limit the use of iodised salt, so that you can prevent iodine deficiency
* Try to include pasta, legumes, rice, low GI breads, cereal, and low fat dairy products in your diet
* Include good sources of protein into your diet like lean meat, fish, seafood, chicken, eggs, and nuts
A daily low GI diet food guide would include:
* 6 to 10 servings of low GI breads, cereals and other starchy foods
* 5 to 6 servings of vegetables
* 3 servings of healthy fat-rich foods
* 3 servings of lean meat or alternatives
* 2 to 3 servings of low fat milk products
When you are breastfeeding your daily food guide will need to be adjusted slightly by adding more of the main food groups and limiting the amount of meat in your diet, the reason for this is that your iron needs are much higher during pregnancy. Your daily food guide while you are breastfeeding would include:
* 8 to 10 serves of low GI breads, cereals and other starchy foods
* 6 or more serves of vegetables
* 4 to 5 serves of fruits
* 3 serves of healthy fat-rich foods
* 2 serves of low fat milk products
* 2 serves of lean meat or alternatives
Simply implementing these guidelines for a low GI diet if you have gestational diabetes will enable you to manage your diabetes as well as give you every chance at not developing type 2 diabetes. To be able to achieve optimal health and a happy healthy life for you and your baby, you must include a low GI diet.
Learn more about Gestational Diabetes. Stop by Sue Kennedy’s site where you can learn all about how a Low GI Diet can assist you to avoid type 2 diabetes and achieve optimum health for you and your baby. You can get a unique content version of this article from the Uber Article Directory.
