Question:
I've recently been diagnosed with gestational diabetes and monitor my
blood glucose first thing in the morning and then an hour after each of
my three main meals.
I've been able to control it nicely with diet alone, but I have to
confess that, after that one hour test is behind me, I have been
sneaking a chocolate here and there (never exceeding 20g of carbs at a
time though).
Am I doing something really bad here? I've been advised to take a
total of 200g carbs a day, distributed in units no larger than 40-50g
at a time. I tend to have about 35g carbs for breakfast and lunch
each, and about 50g for dinner. The rest of the time I have snacks,
and while some are fruit, or a glass of milk, some are also a piece of
chocolate.
So my question is, am I doing some damage by consuming these sweet
treats in a small but even distribution across the day?
Answer:
You find out if you are doing damage by testing 1-2 hours after that
snack.
Some things to remember:
a. I know of a very, very good Ob-Gyn who puts her patients on insulin
if they hit 120 mg/dL (6.7 mmol/L) on two different occasions FOR ANY
REASON (after the initial diagnosis of G.D. of course)
b. The penalty for high blood sugar is damage to the baby and/or a high
risk pregnancy.
c. Of all the sweets available to diabetics, chocolate is one of the
best when bG is considered
d. The best chocolate contains 70% cacao. It has minimum effects on
bG and a positive effect on arteries.
(A web site discussing such chocolates by a chocolate-lover
(chocolate-fanatic ? ?).
http://www.xocoatl.org/bars.htm )
Now the bad news:
There is strong evidence that Gestational Diabetes is merely slowly
developing Type 2 diabetes which has been "revealed" because of the high
insulin demands of pregnancy. That means that for the rest of your life,
you would be best served if you followed the anti-Type 2 Diabetes lifestyle
strategy, i.e.
a. Lose fat lb.
b. Gain muscle lb. (ugh)
c. Exercise every day, the more vigorously the better
d. Restrict your carb intake; eat slowly-digesting carbs (low glycemic
index), spread your daily carb over several small meals.
The effects of daily, vigorous exercise can be spectacular for somebody in
your situation.
Two remarks in the exercise area:
a. We have a "sorta" joke for folks like you:
"Become an aerobics instructor and come back on your 85th birthday for
some more advice"
However, I know two aerobics instructors who seem to be doing just that.
One of them, (my next door neighbor), started her daughter on the daily
vigorous exercise regime at age 10. (Umm. . .Type 2 diabetes is
hereditary)
b. One of my aerobics instructors taught our class up to the 8th month
of pregnancy. IOW, pregnant ladies can exercise (cautiously).
Regards
