Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that a woman may develop as a result of being pregnant. Gestational diabetes is considered to be less serious than regular diabetes. A proper diet and sometimes, insulin injections, are usually what a patient needs to recover from this disease. The patient’s condition is also known to improve automatically right after giving birth.
But there are times that an already diabetic patient becomes pregnant. This condition is called pre-existing diabetes and it is different from gestational diabetes. But for both types of disease, observing proper diet is the key to good health. It is mandatory for mothers to follow a certain pregnancy diabetic diet plan so that their and the baby’s health are nurtured.
More Calorie Intake
For women with pre-existing diabetes, it is recommended that their calorie intake be increased by 300 calories, especially during the 2nd and the 3rd trimesters of their pregnancy stages. If a diabetic patient consumes 1200 calories each day, then it should be increased to 1500 during the span of her pregnancy. This is to make sure that the fetus would also receive the right amount of nutrients that it needs.
It is also vital for pregnant diabetic women to follow a diet that is high in vitamins and minerals. An increase in dairy products and proteins is acceptable, but never in fats. The two minerals pregnant mothers should take are folate and iron. If your obstetrician is able to give you a pre-natal vitamin, then that should be enough to compensate for the minerals that the baby needs, considering the fact that you can’t simply eat all the foods expected of you.
Six Food Groups
The pregnancy diabetic diet groups all food types into six main categories. These are milk and milk products, breads and cereals, vegetables, meat, fruits, and fats. For milk and milk products, pregnant mothers are required to take 4 servings of them each day. One serving of low-fat and skim milk is one cup. For low-fat cheese, one serving is equivalent to one and a half ounces.
For the meat, fish, poultry and other meat substitutes group, the required amount for a pregnancy diabetic diet would be as many as 56 servings in a day. While this seems to be too much, take note that a single service of cooked lean meat, poultry, or fish is only an ounce. For peanut butter, it is only one tablespoon. One egg, a quarter of a cup of low fat cottage cheese, and half a cup of lentil or cooked beans, are considered as one serving.
The same amount of servings per day is required of cereals, breads, and the starches group. One slice of bread made out of whole grains is one serving. Five pieces of crackers, a muffin, pancake, waffle, and biscuit are all one serving each. For cereals, three-fourth cups is also one serving. Cereal is a good source of protein as well as B complex vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Pregnant women are advised to take them on a regular basis.
For the fruits group, only two servings in a day is allowed. Usually, half a cup of fresh fruits is a single serving. And so it follows that you can only consume one cup of fruits in a given day. Fruits are good sources of Vitamin C as well as dietary fiber. Apricots, on the other hand, are a good source of Vitamin A.
The vegetable food group follows the same principle as the fruit food group. Only two servings per day is needed. Half a cup of cooked vegetables is one serving. For raw vegetables a single serving is one cup. For mixed vegetables, it is going to be one-thirds of a cup. Pregnant women have to eat vegetables rich in Vitamin A daily.
Fat requirements are negligible. This means that it is not necessarily needed by the body on a daily basis. One serving of fats from butter, margarine, oil, and mayonnaise is one teaspoon. The pregnancy diabetic diet does not include fats, although it has a food group of its own.
