Gestational Diabetes Diet and Diet Plan

The treatment of diabetes during pregnancy may involve lifestyle modification (LSM) alone or a combination of LSM and insulin therapy. Lifestyle modification includes dietary modifications and regular physical activity in the form of daily walks. Dietary modifications have a major role to play in controlling your blood sugar. The following are some diet changes you might be in need of if you have gestational diabetes:

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Have small and frequent meals: Large meals after a long gap can increase your blood sugar. In this situation, you need to take small meals at frequent intervals of three hours rather than having three major meals only. Plan your day with breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as three small meals in between like mid-meal snacks and a bedtime snack.

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Include protein for slow absorption of glucose: Protein absorbs slowly as compared to carbohydrates, which helps control your blood sugar. So try to include protein along with carbs. Good protein sources include milk, meat, eggs and fish. Protein can also be obtained from pulses, soybean, groundnuts, etc. You can have many carbohydrate and protein combination meals such as dal and chapati, daliya khichdi, brown rice chapati, chapati with wheat and besan, scrambled egg with chapati, etc.

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Meet your iron requirements: Due to increased blood requirement, low hemoglobin level (hemoglobin deficiency) is very common during the pregnancy, and iron is one of the nutrients that is responsible for that. To meet the additional iron needs of your body, whole grain cereals, whole pulses, some leafy vegetables like mustard leaves and bathua, dried fruits like almonds and walnuts, dates, egg yolk and organ meat can be consumed.

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Have a calcium-rich diet: Calcium is an essential nutrient during pregnancy. Additional calcium is required for the growth and development of the bones of the fetus. Calcium-rich sources include milk, dairy products, pulses, soybean, egg, etc. For better absorption of calcium, check your vitamin D levels and speak to your doctor about supplementation if required.

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Increase fiber consumption for constipation: During pregnancy, due to fetal pressure, constipation can become a common problem. Therefore, foods rich in fiber like fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grain cereals and whole pulses should be consumed along with plenty of fluids. An intake of about 40 gm of fiber is recommended daily.

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Judge your carbs correctly: Most of the carbohydrates should be given in the complex form rather than simple sugars as they break down more slowly to release glucose. The presence of fiber increases intestinal transit time, delays gastric emptying time and slows glucose absorption. Soluble fiber present in oats, barley, fruits and legumes has been shown to reduce blood sugar levels.

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Turn to low glycemic index foods: Choosing low glycaemic index (GI) foods may help manage your blood sugar levels. GI is a measure of how quickly foods containing carbs affect your blood sugar levels after you eat them. While some foods affect sugar levels quickly and so they have a high GI, others take longer to affect blood sugar levels and so they have a low GI.

You can benefit by switching to lower GI foods whenever possible and choosing some healthier carbs. Some of these foods include rajma, lentils, apples, oranges, methi, spinach, barley, oats, buckwheat (kuttu) etc.

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Choose low GI and high fiber fruits. Fruits are the best food options for snacks but combining fruits with your big meals can increase your blood sugar levels. So try to have whole fruits (not juice) at snack time. You can include apples, pear, oranges, muskmelon and sweet lime in your diet. You can discuss quantities with your nutritionist.

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Vegetables are a good source of water, fiber, iron, zinc and much more. Adding one vegetable in every meal can help you control your blood sugar. You can have soup, stir fry, salad, stew or cooked vegetables to add to this food group in your diet. As starchy vegetables have high carbohydrate content, try to avoid them. You can have spinach, fenugreek leaves, amaranth, sponge gourd, bottle gourd, brinjal, tomato and drumsticks on a regular basis.

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Some food can worsen your blood sugar levels, which can be harmful for the mother and the fetus as well. Following are some such foods that should be avoided -

• Simple carbohydrates: Fruit Juices, all-purpose flour, bakery products, sugar, honey and jaggery
• Fried foods: Samosas, kachoris and pakoras
• Processed foods: Jam, jelly, chips, namkeen, biscuits and breakfast cereals
• Food rich in Ajinomoto: Chinese food and ready-to-eat foods
• Junk food: Pizzas, burgers and french fries

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Following is a sample daily diet that you can use as a guide to design your diet plan: 

• Early morning: Low fat milk (1 cup) + soaked almond and walnut (8+4)
• Breakfast: Paneer stuffed besan cheela (2) + green chutney
• Mid Meal: Apple (1 small sized)
• Lunch: Vegetable salad (15-30 minutes before your meal) + millet chapati (2) + toor dal (1 bowl) + bottle gourd curry (1 bowl) + Cucumber raita (1 bowl)
• Evening tea: Tea (1 cup) + roasted makhanas (1 bowl)
• Dinner: Vegetable soup (1 big bowl, 30-45 minutes before dinner) + besan chapati (2) + paneer and vegetable curry (6-7 pieces) 
• Bedtime: Badam milk (1 glass)

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