Home remedies for Gestational Diabetes can include taking up a sugar-free diet, dietary scheduling, having plenty of high fiber diet, exercising to the extent possible, having plenty of vitamin C rich foods and including good amounts of protein in diet.

Although pregnancy is the most wonderful experience a woman can have, there are many health complications that arise during these nine months of pregnancy. Gestational diabetes, although not common in every pregnancy, nonetheless some pregnant women do develop this form of diabetes.

Source: Q Kadin

What is Gestational Diabetes?

Gestational diabetes affects women in the third trimester and is the least common type of diabetes. Gestational diabetes is like other diabetes and is characterized by low sugar levels. The symptoms are not that severe, but can still cause complications for both mother and child. Hence, it should not be ignored.

The cause of diabetes is the improper functioning of the insulin receptors. Insulin is a hormone that regulates the blood sugar levels. In gestational diabetes, the woman experiences massive spikes and plunges of blood sugar, which can even be fatal in severe situations. Children born to a mother who suffered from gestational diabetes without treatment are at the risk of experiencing childhood obesity and other health issues like diabetes and jaundice. Gestational diabetes can subside after pregnancy, but the mother still remains in the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the future.

Home Remedies For Gestational Diabetes During Pregnancy

There is no proper treatment for gestational diabetes, like any other forms diabetes. And, let’s not forget pregnant women and obstetricians are hesitant about medications due to the effect they can have on the growing baby. Hence, it makes sense to actually use natural home remedies, which sometimes are as effective as insulin therapy.

Sugar-Free Diet

One thing everyone knows about diabetes is that it is most commonly associated with a very sugary diet and obesity. So the obvious way to protect yourself from gestational diabetes is to get rid of sugar completely from your diet. A lot of women don’t like to eliminate sugar from their diets, but there are plenty of alternatives, including stevia and agave nectar, both of which are natural sweeteners and are completely harmless.

Dietary Scheduling

One of the major causes of diabetes in general is an irregular eating schedule. Eating at the wrong time and eating any time of the day can seriously hamper your systems. This still isn’t clear to many people and they take it very lightly. It makes your body adapt to massive influxes of sugar and calories followed by extended periods of not getting sufficient nutrients. This can seriously interfere with and complicate your body’s natural metabolic activity and affect the functionality of your insulin receptors. A great way to prevent and treat gestational diabetes is to start scheduling your diet. Health experts suggest eating small meals every 2 hours so that your body becomes used to regular processing and assimilation of nutrients.

High-Fiber Diet

Doctors always recommend a high-fiber diet for diabetic patients, as well as those with gestational diabetes. Fiber stimulates insulin receptors and also regulates the amount of insulin released into the bloodstream, thereby preventing diabetes. Flaxseed and whole grains are easily accessible and are a great source of dietary fiber.

Exercise

Exercise is seriously a cure for a lot of diseases. And, this is the reason exercising regularly is often stressed upon. The weight gain during pregnancy can be managed in a healthy way. Regular periods of 30 minutes of exercise at least twice a day will get your heart rate up and stimulates the metabolism, thus preventing the development of gestational diabetes. Pregnant women can often take up swimming or any sort of light cardiovascular exercise.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is known for its numerous benefits, especially during pregnancy. Research has shown that women having a good vitamin C intake were less likely of developing gestational diabetes than those who didn’t and they also had a lower chance of developing type 2 diabetes in the future.

Include Protein in your diet

Protein plays a major role in our diet. It helps break down carbs, so that they are easy to digest. The process of food combining is not that well known, but it is important that you try to always pair carbs with a protein. This eases the digestive process and regulates your metabolism, which then regulates the amount of insulin released into the blood. Protein is obviously also important for healthy growth and development of the baby growing inside you.

The symptoms of gestational diabetes are not very vivid and clear and sometimes looked over. These symptoms are often very mild. It is important you consult with your doctor about every little thing you feel. It is better you speak to your doctor about the dietary changes, because our bodily functions are different from another person. It is important you take care of yourself as well as your child, so before taking any decision it is important you consult a professional.