Gestational Diabetes – Low GI Foods

I was only 23 weeks pregnant when my doctor first began to suspect that my body was struggling to break down sugar. The first sign that something was wrong was when the dip stick test came back positive for sugar in the urine. So, out came the portable Blood Sugar Level (BSL) monitor. It turns out that the two pieces of white toast smothered in delicious strawberry jam that I had devoured for breakfast had sent my BSL over 9. The look on the doctors face was priceless! Apparently a healthy persons sugar levels will vary between 4 and 7. So, I was sent off to fast for 12 hours and then endure a two hour Blood Glucose test.

As expected, the results came back positive for Gestational Diabetes and I was referred onto a Diabetes Educator. I left her office feeling confident and reassured that out of all the complications this pregnancy has seen so far, the Diabetes was the one variable I controlled. The diet guidelines she gave me were surprisingly good. I get to eat all the time, and most importantly, the meals themselves are healthy and very satisfying.

Five to Eight percent of women will develop Gestational Diabetes, so I thought I’d start sharing my experiences with the Low GI diet in segments. If I typed it out all at once, I’d be here forever!

The Glycemic Index
^{Taken from “The Glycemic Index” Fact Sheet, written by DiabetesWA}

What is the glycemic index?

The Glycemic Index (GI) is a measure of the effect that a carbohydrate containing food has on blood glucose levels compared to the effect of the same amount of pure glucose, on blood glucose levels.

What does the GI tell us?

The GI gives us a ranking of carbohydrate containing foods based on the effect that food will have on a person’s blood glucose level. This not determined only by its sugar content. In fact, many foods that are high in complex carbohydrates (starches) affect blood glucose levels more rapidly than foods that are high in sugar.

How can the GI benefit me?

Research has shown that by eating a diet with a lower GI, people with diabetes can reduce their average blood glucose levels. This is important in reducing the risk of developing diabetes-related complications.

A healthy eating plan that incorporates low GI foods combined with physical activity can help reduce the risk of heart disease. This is achieved by improving the body’s ability to use glucose for energy and helping to lower blood fats (triglycerides) and raise HDL (“good”) cholesterol. Low GI foods may also help improve satiety (feelings of fullness), which may help with weight management.

Some Low GI Foods are:

• Multigrain Breads
• Cereals such as All Bran, Guardian, Porridge, Special K, etc.
• All types of Pasta
• All types of Beans – with broad beans being the exception
• Starchy veges such as sweet potato, corn and peas
• Fruits such as cherries, grapefruit, peach, dried apricots, apples, pears, plums, oranges, grapes, kiwifruit, mango, banana, etc
• Milk, low fat yoghurt, custard, low fat icecream

High GI foods that should be avoided:

• White bread, bagels, blackbread, Wonderwhite, gluten-free bread, Lebanese , Turkish, Naan, etc.
• Sultana Bran, Cornflakes, Coco Pops, Rice Bubbles, Fruit Loops, puffed wheat, etc.
• Brown rice, calrose rice, jasmine rice, broken rice, glutinous rice
• Potatoes, french fries, parsnip
• Dates, watermelon
• McDonalds, HJ’s, KFC, Red Rooster, Chicken Treat, Wendys, etc

Should you find yourself unable to avoid eating something on the bad list, ensure that you follow up with exercise, or try to include some low GI foods in with it to lower the overall impact the high GI food has. Next time I’ll share with you all how I altered my usual diet to include the healthy stuff I usually wouldn’t touch with a 10 foot pole (Kidney beans, anyone?!).