Gestational Diabetes
“The only correlation of significance is that women diagnosed with gestational diabetes are at a higher risk of developing overt diabetes later in life, but no increased risk for the baby or other prenatal complications”.
-Heart and Hands by Elizabeth Davis
Gestational Diabetes is an excess of glucose in the body that happens during pregnancy and usually goes away after birth.
Blood sugar instability is common in pregnancy as a woman’s caloric needs increase significantly. Our amazing bodies show us signs in order to help us maintain a healthy pregnancy. Gestational diabetes is not a sign of worry but rather a suggestion to take better care of yourself and your baby. If your blood sugar is high, it is a sign that your nutrition, sleep and exercise are less than optimal. Whether you have gestational diabetes or not, all pregnant women should be encouraged to eat healthy exercise, sleep well and maintain stable blood sugar. A lot of times the spike in glucose can be due to an underlying sign of diabetes or a mom who is not eating, exercising or sleeping well, causing the body to not be able to produce enough insulin to keep the body in balance.
Finding out if you have glucose intolerance (options):
Denying testing
Since there is no harm to the baby and testing your glucose only gives insight into how likely it is for you to get diabetes in the future, you may choose to deny all testing and avoid an inaccurate “high-risk” label in your pregnancy. Plus if you already know that you do not have diabetes from previous health testing, you may not find a reason to test.
Finger-prick blood glucose testing
This can be a great way for you to get real-time feedback on what your blood sugar is doing. Testing is most accurate when done at random intervals.
Here are the guidlines you will want to keep in mind:
Before a meal: glucose should be 95 mg/dl or less
One hour after a meal: glucose should be 140 mg/dl or less.
Two hours after a meal: glucose should be 120 mg/dl or less.
You will want to try to keep your glucose below these numbers and closer to 72-85 if you can. This helps decrease your chances of developing diabetes in the future. I will discuss more on how exactly to keep these numbers low below.
A1C blood test
This test shows what your blood glucose was over the past 3 months and can be done in your initial blood work at the start of your pregnancy. It gives great insight into how your body tolerates glucose over an extended period of time. If your A1C comes back good, there is no need to worry about minor spikes and dips in glucose here and there. The A1C shows that even with variation, your body is able to keep glucose stable over a 3 month period. This is the most holistic approach to glucose testing as it looks at the big picture of glucose metabolism.
Glucose Drinks
While this is a highly innacturate form of testing, it is still a standard practice in most hospitals and is still an option if you would like. This test sees how your body responds to 50g of glucose. The testing isn’t an accurate representation of a woman’s health due to the fact that most healthy women are not exposed to this ammount of sugar are are likely to not have a great reaction to the test. On top of this, 50g of glucose is an extrememly large amount of glucose that most women should not be eating in pregnancy and leaves most women feeling bad after. It works by drinking 50g of glucose and an hour later having your blood drawn to check your glucose level. You want your glucose to be under 140 after this test. However, this test does not allow you to exercise, pair the glucose drink with high protein (which helps with glucose metabolism) to help the body metabolize the sugar. If you do choose to do this test I reccomend a high protein breakfast of 20-30g of protein before the test and to follow the glucose drink with a brisk walk and pushups or some type of muscle training to help the body metabolize the sugar better.
Glucose drinks you can choose from:
The Fresh Test: 50g glucose.
Ingredients: Non-GMO Glucose, Crystalized Lemon and Organic Mint.
Followed by a finger prick or blood draw, your choice!
Juice (of your choise): 50g glucose.
Followed by a finger prick or blood draw, your choice!
Glucola drink: 50g glucose. (Make sure to choose the one that is dye free)
Standard Ingredients: water, dextrose (glucose from corn), citric acid, natural flavor, sodium hexametaphosphate,, 10% sodium benzoate.
Followed by a finger prick or blood draw, your choice!
Healing with Nutitrition, Exercise and Sleep
Nourish
Eat a well-balanced diet with good sources of protein, whole grains, complex carbs, probiotics, fermented foods, vegetables, locally grown fruits and healthy fats (sardines, anchovies, clams, oysters, fish, olives, seeds, nuts).
Keep carbs under 30 g to avoid a spike in blood sugar and pair each carb with a protein-rich food
Begin taking a daily probiotic (femdophilus is great because it also has strains which help fight off GBS simultaneously)
“Data from animal models suggest that probiotics can reduce blood glucose and insulin resistance. Interestingly, research shows that gut microbiota are involved in diabetes and metabolic disorders, revealing that diabetic patients have altered gut microbiota compared to non-diabetic counterparts” Link to study
Protein snack before bed (if you are waking in the night this is usally a sign of low blood sugar and that your body is not getting enough nutrient dense calories), try peanut butter, greek yogurt, leftover dinner.
Eat a teaspoon of cinnamon and bitter melon extract daily
Lower carb intake and focus on complex carbs which have a low glycemic index and cause a lower spike in blood sugar
Get sunlight for at least an hour every day, vitamin D deficiencies are related to gestational diabetes
Eat magnesium rich foods, have been shown to help with diabetic’s controlling their sugars (calm magnesium, leafy greens, dark chocolate, pumpkin seeds)
Consider taking a B6 vitamins, 100mg, 3x daily can help with improving the oral glucose tolerance in patients with gestational diabetes with a B6 deficiency
Move
Workout 30 minutes/5 days a week. Interestingly enough, this study showed that lifestyle changes were more effective at changing Type 2 diabetes symptoms than the drug Metformin. Metformin (850 mg twice daily) reduced diabetes by 31% while lifestyle changes reduced diabetes by 58%. The lifestyle changes were described as a goal of 7% weight loss and 150 minutes of exercise a week (which is equivalent to 30minutes/5 days a week and very easy to add into one’s schedule).
Strength training like rock climbing, lifting weights helps with gluces metabolism
Our bodies are made to walk 7 miles a day, try to get near that
Try high intensity interval training, it improves blood sugar 1-3 days after exercising
Walk after each meal
Stand more than sit,
“standing for 180 minutes after lunch reduced the post-lunch blood sugar spike by 43% compared to sitting for the same amount of time.” This study
Exercise in a fasted state before eating
Sleep
Try cold therapy to help with glucose regulation and to promote better sleep
Melatonin
Turn off screens around 7 p.m or try blue blocker glasses
Aim for at least 8 hours of sleep a night
Try blackout curtains
Good books to read
Real Food for Gestational Diabetes by Lily Nichols
Sources:
Heart and Hands by Elizabeth Davis
Holistic Midwifery by Anne Frye
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4498615/#:~:text=Data%20from%20animal%20models%20suggest,%2Ddiabetic%20counterparts%20%5B10%5D.
https://bengreenfieldlife.com/article/biohacking-articles/best-ways-to-control-blood-sugar/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24297826/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4498615/#:~:text=Data%20from%20animal%20models%20suggest,%2Ddiabetic%20counterparts%20%5B10%5D.
https://www.levelshealth.com/podcasts/optimizing-blood-sugar-a-deep-dive
