Pregnant Woman Diet

Pregnant woman diet or gestational diet is the most crucial phase during pregnancy. As food may either have beneficial or detrimental effects on fetal and mother. With proper pregnant woman diet planned out, it will reduce the probability of having gestational diabetes and would therefore improve the health and development of new born baby. This article highlighted several effective gestational diets in which pregnant mother can adopt or follow during their pregnancy.

Gestational diabetes is defined as a physiological condition in which women exhibit high blood glucose or
hyperglycemia during pregnancy. Till date, there is no concrete evidence that specify the cause of the elevated blood glucose. However, it is believed that during pregnancy, woman produces several hormones (not known) to disrupt or hinder cellular glucose uptake. Hormones which are involved in the development of fetus also block the action of the mother’s insulin in her body where this problem is known as insulin resistance.

It could also be due to diminish maternal insulin sensitivity, thus resulting in high blood glucose levels. With increasing insulin resistance it develops into Gestational Diabetes. Statistically, an approximate 4% of all pregnant women have Gestational Diabetes and it is estimated that over 130,000 cases of gestational diabetes arise in the United States each year.

The elevated blood glucose level affects both the mother and baby in late pregnancy. During late pregnancy, the disease prevents insulin from crossing over the placenta, leaving other nutrients and glucose to pass through the placenta normally. As insulin is blocked and does not cross the placenta, this gives the baby higher glucose content due to low insulin. The fetal homeostatic system senses the presence of high glucose level, it resulted in the release of insulin from the baby’s pancreas in order to get rid of the excess glucose in the circulatory system between the mother and the fetus.

Research has proven that with the incorporation of proper design of Pregnant Woman Diet, it can drastically reduce blood glucose level. The following few pointers will outline some of the main approaches that have proven to be effective in maintaining blood glucose level or prevent gestational diabetes with proper gestational diet.

Some General Rules to follow for Pregnant Woman Diet:

1. Eat a variety of foods: Will increase the distribution of both calories and carbohydrates evenly throughout the day. In addition, by breaking three standard meals into more snacks break may aid in calories moderation which may also contain lower carbohydrate.

2. Do not skip meals: Will aid in keeping blood glucose level in equilibrium throughout the day.

3. Eat a good breakfast: Limit simple carbohydrates intake such as bread, cereal, fruit juice and milk. Same time, individual should seek other source of protein such as white meat (chicken and fish).

4. Include high fiber foods: Food product such as fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grain and cereals are some food which contain high fiber. These foods are described as complex minerals or proteins, which requires more time to metabolize and absorbed by the body. This helps in keeping the blood glucose level from going too high after meals.

5. Pregnant woman diet should limit the intake of food or drinks that contain high sugar content

6. Decrease the intake of milk: As milk is high in lactose (a form of simple sugar), if pregnant women drinks too much milk, they are more susceptible to gestational diabetes. Thus, women have to seek other source of food as an alternative source of calcium.

There are several ways in which you can reduce blood glucose level via proper pregnant woman diet. If you are suffering from gestational diabetes during gestational pregnancy, some of which are discuss on how to plan your pregnant woman diet or gestational diet which can be found in “The Diabetes Guide.” In addition, it also provide possible ways of reducing glucose level and some mode of preventive measures for diabetics. Michael is giving a more in-depth review of the various ways in which you can maintain blood glucose level by controlling what you eat during pregnancy.

February 2012
M	T	W	T	F	S	S
« Aug
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29

One Response to Pregnant Woman Diet

Archives

Categories

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Blogroll