Can I cause myself to get gestational diabetes by eating too much sugar?
Posted in Definition on 31. Mar, 2010
I am eating everything that I need to, as far as nutritional value, but I’m also eating candy and sweets because I’m having some major sweet cravings. It’s not causing me to gain a ton of weight, I’ve only gained 4 lbs at 27 weeks. I have my glucose screening a week from today, just wondering if I’m going to cause myself to get gestational diabetes.
Nope. It’s mostly hereditary.
Yes.
By eating to much sweets you can cause gestational diabetes.
My aunt got it during pregnancy from only drinking Iced Tea (Don’t know why she did that). It doesn’t run in our family.
I have gestational diabetes with absolutely no family history of it.
When anyone eats any food/drink containing carbohydrates (not just sugar) it breaks down in to glucose in your body. Glucose is what gives your body energy. In order for glucose to enter your cells insulin is required. Your pancreas makes insulin. Pregnancy hormones cause cells to be insulin resistant. In most women, their pancreas is able to produce adequate amounts of insulin, but in about 3-8% of pregnant women, their pancreas can not keep up with the demand. For this reason, too much glucose remains in the blood and is not transferred into the cells. This is Gestational Diabetes. You can not make yourself have Gestational Diabetes by over eating sweets or drinking too much sweet tea. Sweets are the most commonly thought of things with carbohydrates, but there are many other foods/beverages to consider. Things such as bread, rice, pasta, cereal, milk, yogurt, fruit, juice, dried legumes (beans), starchy vegetables (potatoes, corn, green peas), and starchy snacks (crackers and chips) will affect your blood sugar levels equally as sweet snacks will. Once in your blood system, from a glucose perspective, your body doesn’t know a chocolate chip cookie from a glass of milk, both of which contain carbohydrates. I had Gestational Diabetes with my 4th pregnancy. I was actually not feeling well most of my pregnancy and didn’t eat much of anything and rarely sweets. There are some things that increase your risk of developing Gestational Diabetes, but eating too many sweets is not one of them.
No you wont!!
Gestational diabetes is actually caused by hormones the placenta makes. Some women can continue to produce enough insulin to counteract those hormones and others can’t thus giving them gestational diabetes.
Eating sweets will NOT make you or give you gestational diabetes. There are risk factors making it more likely you MAY get GD but nothing will actually give you GD. Its all due to the placenta.
You are more at risk for GD if you have a family history of diabetes, have previously had a large baby, are from certain ethnic backgrounds, are over 35, have previously had GD, are overweight or obese or have PCOS. And again these just put you more at risk but doesn’t mean you will actually end up with GD.
(I had GD with my last pregnancy and currently with this one)
estational diabetes mellitus (GDM) resembles type 2 diabetes in several respects, involving a combination of relatively inadequate insulin secretion and responsiveness. It occurs in about 2%–5% of all pregnancies and may improve or disappear after delivery. Gestational diabetes is fully treatable but requires careful medical supervision throughout the pregnancy. About 20%–50% of affected women develop type 2 diabetes later in life.
Even though it may be transient, untreated gestational diabetes can damage the health of the fetus or mother. Risks to the baby include macrosomia (high birth weight), congenital cardiac and central nervous system anomalies, and skeletal muscle malformations. Increased fetal insulin may inhibit fetal surfactant production and cause respiratory distress syndrome. Hyperbilirubinemia may result from red blood cell destruction. In severe cases, perinatal death may occur, most commonly as a result of poor placental perfusion due to vascular impairment. Induction may be indicated with decreased placental function. A cesarean section may be performed if there is marked fetal distress or an increased risk of injury associated with macrosomia, such as shoulder dystocia.
For more information go to http://www.diabeteserectiledysfunction.com/
here is a good website to look for diabetes tips
http://people-with-diabetes.net/
No, you cannot give yourself gestational diabetes. I am on my second pregnancy with it. You don’t even have to have a family history of diabetes or even be overweight to get it.