Higher Complex Carbohydrate Diets in Gestational Diabetes

Chapter
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Part of the Nutrition and Health book series (NH)

Abstract

Nutrition therapy is the single treatment component that will reach every woman with GDM independent of diagnostic criteria. Despite the adaptive insulin resistance of pregnancy, an optimal mixture of higher quality complex carbohydrates with less glycemic potential, lower fat, and appropriate protein in the context of higher overall diet quality holds potential for promotion of good glycemic health while meeting pregnancy nutritional goals. The preponderance of evidence from randomized trials in GDM to date suggests that a balanced liberalization of higher quality complex carbohydrates results in good glycemic control, improved insulin action and improved maternal glucose tolerance, improved lipemia, and vascular benefits, while low-GI diets in particular may reduce the need for insulin, and lower postprandial glycemia. Identifying a diet for GDM that can alter maternal/fetal metabolism in late pregnancy when fetal growth accelerates are critical to reducing short- and long-term metabolic risk in this growing cohort of mothers and infants. Nutrition therapy in GDM holds great potential to effectively treat this population by optimizing the intrauterine environment.

Keywords

Gestational diabetes Diet Nutrition Glycemic index Complex carbohydrates Diet quality Glucose Insulin resistance Glycemia 

Abbreviations

AUC

Area-under-the-curve

BMI

Body mass index

DASH

Dietary approaches to stop hypertension diet

FFA

Free fatty acids

GDM

Gestational diabetes mellitus

GI

Glycemic index

GL

Glycemic load

LGA

Large-for-gestational-age

RCT

Randomized clinical trial

TG

Triglycerides

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Copyright information

© Springer International Publishing AG 2018

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and DiabetesUniversity of ColoradoAuroraUSA

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