How to Manage Gestational Diabetes

If you have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes, you may initially feel alone, confused and frustrated that this has happened to you. Yes, gestational diabetes can be considered a minor complication of pregnancy, but it’s quite common and can often be managed through a gestational diabetes diet and exercise program.

Almost 18 per cent of pregnant women will be diagnosed with gestational diabetes, so you are certainly not alone! There is also plenty of support and education on how to manage gestational diabetes, and this complication also means you may get extra doctors’ visits and scans (so more chances to see your little one in utero!).

Pregnant woman managing gestational diabetes — Less sugar, but more scans! A perk to managing gestational diabetes. Source: Adobe Stock

We’ve teamed up with Optivance, the makers of the Optivance Mummy Smoothie for Pregnancy to share some important insights about gestational diabetes – what it is and how it can be managed through diet, including some yummy recipe ideas.

At first, managing gestational diabetes can seem complicated and you may feel nervous anytime it’s meal time, but try not to stress! We’ve tried our best to make our gestational diabetes management plan as concise and simplified as possible (because the last thing you need is more confusion!).

Firstly, what is gestational diabetes?

Diabetes is a condition in which the body’s blood glucose levels are not being maintained at a low enough level to be in a healthy range.

Gestational diabetes is a form of diabetes that occurs during pregnancy. It is not the same as Type 1 diabetes or Type 2 diabetes, and isn’t necessarily caused by eating too many sweets or unhealthy snacks.

How to manage gestational diabetes — Source: Adobe Stock

How diabetes works:

When you consume carbohydrates, your body breaks it down to glucose (blood sugar), the main energy source for your body. Glucose may be used immediately by your body, or stored in cells for later use.

So, how does glucose in your blood get moved into your cells for it to be used later? The answer is insulin, which is an important hormone produced by your body that enables the uptake of glucose into the cells of your body.

During pregnancy, and as the baby continues to grow, the mother’s insulin requirements are significantly increased. If the mother is unable to produce enough insulin, or if she becomes insulin resistant (because her insulin is unable to effectively keep her blood glucose levels at a healthy level), then she will be diagnosed as having Gestational Diabetes.

The main concern with gestational diabetes is that it impacts not only you, but also Bub. If there is too much glucose going to bub, it can cause your baby to make more insulin which can result in your baby growing larger more quickly. This can lead to complications both during and after birth.

The Glucose Intolerance Test

During your pregnancy, you will be checked for Gestational Diabetes sometime around week 24 to 28. Many pregnant women won’t have any symptoms at all but some symptoms of gestational diabetes include increased thirst, excessive urination or thrush. These could indicate that you might have Gestational Diabetes and you may ask for early testing to be done. Gestational Diabetes usually does not continue after pregnancy.

Some women can manage gestational diabetes through diet and exercise. Others may require prescribed medication but this is something your doctor, dietician or diabetic nurse educator will determine.

Eating healthy during pregnancy is important for every mum-to-be and, if you are diagnosed with gestational diabetes, you will need to write down what you eat for every meal and take your blood sugar levels. This can seem overwhelming at first, but once you get used to it, it’s easily manageable and can be even a bit fun, especially if you are an organised person.

A log book is part of the process when managing gestational diabetes. Source: Adobe Stock

To manage Gestational Diabetes you will need to:

Monitor your carb intake
Reduce your intake of sugar

NOTE: Saturated fat is not a diabetes risk factor. It is the large amount of carbs, especially sugar (fructose) in people’s diets that is the key risk factor associated with obesity and diabetes.

Calculating Carbs and Low GI Foods

No one wants to spend their downtime counting carbs and checking the GI count on foods. The good news is that many of the foods you are probably already eating are already low in GI including beans, pasta, noodles, rice, some dips, cheeses, fish and nuts, plus plenty of fruits and veggies. You will need to avoid extra-sugary items, including soft drinks and sweets.

What about carbs? To make carb counting a bit easier, many dieticians will use carbohydrate exchanges. One carbohydrate exchange is equivalent to approximately 15 grams of carbohydrate. Many programs allow you to have 2-4 carb exchanges per meal.

Here are some foods that contain 1 carb exchange (15 grams):

1 cup of milk, soy milk or buttermilk
⅔ cup of plain yogurt
1 slice of bread (weighing 28 grams), ¼ large bagel or a ½ hamburger bun, hot dog bun, pita bread, English muffin
⅓ cup rice, pasta, millet, couscous
½ cup beans (pinto, kidney, garbanzo, lentils)
½ cup starchy vegetable (potato, corn, peas, sweet potato, yam)
½ cup oatmeal, kasha, bulgur
1 small tortilla (flour or corn, 6″ size)
6 saltine crackers
3 cups popcorn
Fruits such as 1 small apple, orange, peach, pear, or nectarine (½ if large fruit), 1 small banana (½ of average banana), ½ grapefruit, ½ cup unsweetened applesauce, ¾ cup fresh pineapple chunks, blueberries, or blackberries, 17 grapes, 1¼ cups strawberries, or watermelon, 1 cup rockmelon, honeydew, or paw paw or 1 large kiwi fruit
½ cup orange juice, apple juice, or grapefruit juice

These foods contain less than 5 grams of carbs (so 1/3 of an exchange).

Serving: ½ cup cooked or 1 cup raw – Veggies including artichokes, asparagus, green beans, beets, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, eggplant, greens, kohlrabi, leeks, okra, onions, pea pods, peppers, spinach, summer squash, tomato, tomato sauce, turnips, and zucchini.

The following meats, protein foods, and fats contain little or no carbohydrate.

meat, chicken, tuna, fish
margarine, butter, mayonnaise or oil
cheese, cottage cheese, cream cheese or sour cream
tofu seeds, eggs, olives or nuts
avocado

As you can see, there are plenty of yummy foods you can still enjoy daily! You may also wish to use a carb-counting program, such as that found on the National Diabetes Services Scheme (NDSS) website.

Now, let’s talk about Optivance for Managing Gestational Diabetes

One of the biggest concerns for mums with gestational diabetes is how can they ensure they are getting all the nutrients they need when they need to keep such a strict routine. Sure, you are cutting out carbs, but are you also missing out on other key ingredients such as protein, vitamins and minerals, folate and Omega-3 Fatty Acids?

Pregnant woman with gestational diabetes — Source: Adobe Stock

Another big concern is you may feel hungry ALL the time. This isn’t just a GD thing – most pregnant mums are extra hungry but due to the dietary restrictions, you could experience even more hunger pangs.

The solution to both of these concerns is the Optivance Mummy Smoothie for Pregnancy.

Created by nutritionist and mum, Kristy, the Optivance Mummy Smoothie for Pregnancy is packed with all the good stuff pregnant mums need but is also low in GI and only 1 carb exchange!

With the Mummy Smoothie range, the carbohydrates are measured at 12.8 grams and nutrient-dense with 15g of high-quality protein and Omega-3 Fatty Acids (DHA) and 100% of the recommended amounts of folate (in the bioavailable form), iodine, B vitamins, Vitamin D, probiotics and collagen.

Optivance Mummy Smoothie just add fruit — Quick, easy and great for your body, Optivance’s Mummy Smoothie ticks the boxes!

Drink it as an alternative to pregnancy tablets as well as part of your gestational diabetes meal plan. Further, the 12.8g of carbohydrate contains 11.7g of lactose (the ‘sugar’ of natural milk) and there is no added sugar in any Optivance product.

A smoothie a day not only ensures you are getting the nutrients you especially need during pregnancy, but it can also be just the ticket to keeping those hunger pangs at bay and managing gestational diabetes.

Gestational Diabetes smoothie recipes

Consider starting your morning with one sachet of The Optivance Mummy Smoothie for Pregnancy (1 carb exchange) with 250ml of water, mixed with two of any of the ingredients below (for a total of 3 carb exchanges). If you have been advised to only have 2 exchanges, just add 1 ingredient below. Yum!

1 cup (250mL) of full cream cow’s milk, coconut milk or oat milk
200g natural/Greek yoghurt (unsweetened) or 100g sweetened yoghurt
1 tablespoon of cacao
¼ cup raw rolled oats
½ large banana (100g)
1 cup blueberries
1 ¼ cup mixed frozen berries
¾ cup mango pieces (approx. 150g)

mum central — Optivance have done the hard work, so you don’t have to! Source: Supplied

A smoothie a day for a healthy, happy pregnancy

Take a look at the Optivance website for more recipes for managing gestational diabetes. And, be sure to check out the Optivance Mummy Smoothie for Pregnancy and Pre-conception!

Optivance Smoothie for managing gestational diabetes — All the vitamins and minerals your growing baby needs! Source: Supplied

Each $55 package includes a 2-week supply which equates to one smoothie for less than $4 a day. For managing gestational diabetes, this is a simple and effective option, but even if you have not been diagnosed with GD, these smoothies are still a huge blessing for pregnant mums. See for yourself and read our recent reviews from these pregnant mums.