Recently, a friend talked to me about high blood sugar during pregnancy, and my experience as a novice doctor came to mind:
A young pregnant woman was diagnosed with gestational diabetes . I thought I was "eager to protect the patient" and started immediately. Warning: "Why is your blood sugar so high? What did you eat and are you exercising?", "Did you drink too many drinks, how many portions of fruit did you eat, and did you eat out for all three meals?", "It is possible to have high blood sugar during pregnancy. You will give birth to giant babies and have a high rate of injuries during delivery. Newborns will have hypoglycemia. If you don't control it well, you may become diabetic in the future!" She looked pale and just said softly: "Okay, I'll do it again! Take a look." He stood up and walked out of the clinic.
At that time, I was discouraged and wondered if there was something I didn’t explain clearly that made her not take notice. It wasn't until nutritionist stopped me after the next consultation that I suddenly understood. "Doctor Wu Wu! Are you being mean to your patients today? The mother with gestational diabetes just cried as soon as she came out of the clinic!" It turned out that this new mother was bombarded by me, and she was panicked and at a loss. He just did that in the clinic.
More than 90% of patients suffer from gestational diabetes, which can be improved through exercise and diet.
On the way home, I reviewed it again. In the future, I should report the "good news" to the patient first. Because unlike ordinary diabetes, more than 90% of gestational diabetes can be well controlled with diet and exercise, and the chance of developing diabetes in the future will be greatly reduced. Moreover, it is not that difficult to grasp a few key points.
Doctors often recommend that diabetic patients lose weight to help control blood sugar. However, pregnant women need to provide nutrients needed for fetal growth, which is not suitable for weight loss. They also need to increase their daily calories by 300 calories. Therefore, the key to diet is to improve the quality, not Lower heat.
Point 1: You still need to eat starch, but in a limited amount.
People with diabetes should strictly limit starch, especially not eat? When it comes to blood sugar control, everyone always regards carbohydrate as the number one war criminal, but this concept does not apply to gestational diabetes.
Because fetal nutrition mainly comes from maternal sugar, carbohydrates must account for 40% of calories during pregnancy. Moreover, if you adopt a ketogenic or low-carbohydrate diet, the large amount of ketone body produced in the body will affect fetal neurological development.
Pregnant women who love starch don’t have to suffer, as long as they switch to non-processed, less refined, and low-GI whole grains.
Generally speaking, a pregnant woman needs about 1,800 calories a day, 40% of which should come from carbohydrates. This translates to about 720 calories (about 12 servings) of carbohydrates for a whole day. To avoid hypoglycemia, you can evenly distribute your needs between three meals a day and lunch and midnight snacks. It is recommended to have 3 servings of breakfast, 4 servings each of lunch and dinner, and 1 serving each of afternoon snack and late night snack.
For example, 1 bowl of brown rice, whole wheat rice, white rice, two slices of white toast or 1 steamed bun is equal to 4 servings.
As for snacks, 1 serving of carbohydrates is approximately equivalent to 1 bowl of 80% full fruit, 240 ml of milk or 120 ml of yogurt, you can mix and match as you like.
Be sure to avoid bread and cakes. These are high in sugar. Eating a small slice can easily lead to excessive carbohydrates. Also note that some starchy staple foods contain many empty calories. For example, rice balls require a lot of oil to be kneaded, and they use high-GI glutinous rice. Sauces for fried rice, chow mein, and sizzling noodles often contain excess sugar and fat.
Key point 2: Choose the right vegetables and fruits, which are good for health
"I heard that eating more fruits during pregnancy will improve your skin!" Let me clarify first, the child's skin quality has nothing to do with the diet during pregnancy, just like eating pearl powder It will turn white, just like a mother who eats too much soy sauce will not turn her baby black. Eating too much fruit will make it difficult to control blood sugar during pregnancy.
Although fruits are rich in vitamin C and dietary fiber, they also contain a lot of sugar. It is recommended that the daily intake of fruits should be no more than 2 servings, about 2 fist-sized portions. Try to choose low-GI fruits such as apples, tomatoes, grapefruit, and guava.
Vegetables are also important sources of nutrients during pregnancy and are rich in vitamins. folic acid , lutein , other phytochemicals .But be aware that some root starches that look like vegetables are actually carbohydrates: such as potato stew, corn soup, and fried pumpkin. These must be counted as carbohydrates, not vegetables. It is recommended to replace them with bell peppers and mushrooms. (Recommended reading: Be careful when eating corn as a vegetable! 2 and 1/3 corns = the amount of starch in a bowl of rice)
Point 3: Avoid spicy, sour and salty foods, which can easily cause blood sugar to spike
Try to eat moon cake , afternoon tea snacks with good sisters, these refined sugars are obvious and easy to avoid, but the devil is hidden in the details. Food that does not taste very sweet may also hide a lot of sugar.
For example, sweet and sour pork ribs, braised beef, fried pork chops, Thai spicy and sour fish, and tomato scrambled eggs. In order to increase the color and flavor of the food, sugar and bread flour are added to increase blood sugar levels. Therefore, when eating dinner, especially eggs, meat and other proteins, try to choose steamed, Sichuan blanched , dry-fried dishes, and season with salt, pepper, onion, garlic and other natural spicy dishes.
Point 4: Measure blood sugar after three meals and learn to control your diet
In addition, I would recommend pregnant women with gestational diabetes to self-measure blood sugar at home. In addition to the fasting blood sugar value in the morning, use the blood sugar after three meals to match the diet record. You can see which foods can raise blood sugar levels (it varies from person to person). By correcting it again and again, diet control will become more and more in place.
Blood glucose measurement target:
●Fasting: ≦ 95mg/dl
●One hour after a meal: ≦140mg/dl
●Two hours after a meal: ≦120mg/dl
(Measurement time point after a meal, choose one)
Key points 5 : Milk, sugar-free soy milk, replace sugary drinks
Whether it is slightly sugary, less sugary or semi-sugar, just one cup of hand-cranked drinks on the market can easily cause your blood sugar to spike.
But sugary drinks are a great way to relieve stress for many people, and strict restrictions make it even more difficult to do so. It is recommended not to be too hasty. You can change from one cup a day to half a cup a day, one cup every three days, and gradually to one cup a week, or replace it with milk, sugar-free soy milk, or sparkling water with lemon slices. It can also take into account calcium and protein. ingest.
would like to remind you that some "mother's milk powder" claims to add many important nutrients, but also adds a lot of sugar for taste. It should also be regarded as a more nutritious sugary drink, and pregnant women with gestational diabetes should avoid it.
Point 6: Strength training is effective in controlling blood sugar, please ask a professional to do it better
Everyone knows that regular exercise is very helpful for blood sugar control, but how should you exercise when you are pregnant? Especially at the stage of testing for gestational diabetes, most mothers are already pregnant and sweating profusely and out of breath whenever they move.
Just like diet control, exercise should also be done gradually, with small meals and frequent meals. I recommend starting with a 10-minute brisk walk every day. After a week, gradually increase it to 30 minutes each time, three times a week. To avoid hypoglycemia, do not take it for more than 1 hour at a time.
Muscle strength training is more effective in improving insulin sensitivity . However, due to weight gain and changes in the center of gravity during pregnancy, it is easier to cause sports injuries due to incorrect posture during training. It is best to ask a professional coach for guidance.
Control blood sugar, prepare healthy meals, turn crisis into an opportunity for healthy living
"Ah! Blood sugar is a bit high, let's talk about what you usually eat for three meals, or are you busy trying mooncakes recently?" Yes. After the painful experience of making patients cry, my tone and words have also been greatly adjusted. After all, for pregnant women, every test is like being judged.
At this time, it is even more important for the medical team to work together. With the mother as the center, dietitians provide dietary hygiene education, endocrinologists assess blood sugar changes and prescribe medications in a timely manner, and obstetricians use ultrasound to track fetal size, amniotic fluid volume, and establish exercise guidelines, all of which are indispensable.
I have also noticed that some mothers control their blood sugar and keep food records by themselves. At the same time, they slowly understand the characteristics of various ingredients, regain control over food, prepare healthy meals by themselves, and unexpectedly let their husbands and family The , blood lipids, , blood sugar and even weight also dropped.
Gestational diabetes is a crisis for mothers, but it can also be a turning point. Let us look at it optimistically and proactively, deal with it, and turn it into an opportunity to strengthen the healthy life of mothers and even the whole family.
