Gestational diabetes and nutrition (EN) Gestational diabetes and nutrition (EN)
- Isala
- Patiëntenfolders
- 7202-Gestational diabetes and nutrition (EN)
Nutritional advice is part of the treatment of gestational diabetes. Often only a few adjustments in your diet are needed to prevent adverse health consequences for both mother and child. This leaflet will tell you about food intake when suffering from gestational diabetes; what should you avoid, and what are you allowed to eat and drink.
The role of the dietician
You will discuss what you usually eat each day with the dietician. She will tell you how to get and maintain your blood sugar levels within the normal range. She will also explain how carbohydrates work: how your body makes glucose from carbohydrates. It is important that you eat a balanced diet and that you eat enough to give you and your baby all the nutrients you need.
What's in your food?
Everything we eat falls into one of the following groups:
- carbohydrates;
- fats;
- proteins.
Carbohydrates and fats are used for energy.
Proteins are important building materials.
Carbohydrates play a big role in gestational diabetes.
Carbohydrates are an umbrella term for:
- starch: bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, legumes;
- fructose: fruit, fruit juice;
- lactose: milk, buttermilk, yoghurt, custard, quark;
- glucose: biscuits, candy, sweet sandwich spreads, all types of sugar.
What can you do?
- Spread your meals out over the day. Eat six small meals instead of three large meals.
- Consume as few products with sugar as possible.
- Do not add sugar to tea or coffee.
- Do not drink soft drinks or lemonade with sugar. You can drink diet soft drinks instead (no more than two to three glasses per day).
- Do not drink unsweetened or fresh fruit juice. These juices also contain fruit sugars.
- Eat fruit twice a day.
- Choose savoury toppings for your bread: cheese or cold cuts, peanut butter, salads, sandwich spread, olives, tapenades, fish, etc.
- Have one starch product with your hot meal: potatoes OR rice OR pasta OR couscous OR beans/legumes OR bread.
- Do not eat sweet snacks, e.g., chocolate, cake, biscuits, sweetened desserts, ice cream, tropical fruits (apricots and dates).
- Foods like pizza, chips and pancakes contain more carbohydrates than potatoes, rice and pasta, for example, and should be eaten less. Determine for yourself how much of these products you should eat.
- If you want to take other vitamins and minerals besides the extra vitamin D (10 micrograms a day) and folic acid (400 grams a day), take a multivitamin made for pregnant women. In that case, you no longer need to take extra vitamin D and folic acid (see voedingscentrum.nl - in Dutch).
How much should you eat per day?
This table shows you approximately how much you should eat per day to ensure you and your baby get enough nutrients while consuming a minimum of 175 grams of carbohydrates a day.
|
Product/food |
Recommended daily average |
|
Bread |
6 slices |
|
Potatoes, rice, pasta or legumes |
4–5 potatoes/serving spoons (200–250 grams) |
|
Vegetables |
4 serving spoons (200 grams) |
|
Fruit |
2 pieces (200 grams) |
|
Dairy |
450 ml of dairy products and 30 grams (1.5 slice) of cheese |
|
Meat (products), fish, egg and meat substitutes |
125–150 grams (cooked weight) |
|
Low-fat margarine, margarine, cooking and frying products |
30 grams of low-fat margarine/margarine (5 grams per slice); cooking with liquid cooking products or oils: 1 tablespoon |
|
Drinks |
1.5–2 litres (including milk) |
How many carbohydrates are in my meal?
You can use this carbohydrate list to easily look up how many carbohydrates there are in a snack or meal.
The amount of carbohydrates is also stated on the packaging of packaged products.
You can also find the number of carbohydrates in the Eettabel (Food Table), which is a useful booklet you can purchase from the reception desk of the Dietetics Department or the Voedingscentrum. Ask your dietician where to find reliable online carbohydrate tables.
|
Food |
Unit |
Carbohydrates (in grams) |
Bread and breakfast products |
||
|
Rusks |
1 piece |
7 |
|
Soft/hard roll |
1 piece |
23 |
|
Brinta (wheat porridge) |
1 tablespoon (5 grams) |
3 |
|
Bread (white/brown) |
1 slice (35 grams) |
16 |
|
Cornflakes |
1 tablespoon (4 grams) |
3 |
|
Cracottes |
1 piece (5 grams) |
3 |
|
Cream cracker |
1 piece (10 grams) |
7 |
|
Croissant |
1 piece |
18 |
|
Cruesli |
1 tablespoon (10 grams) |
6 |
|
Italian roll |
1 roll (100 grams) |
52 |
|
Crispbread |
1 piece |
7 |
|
Raisin bun |
1 piece |
26 |
|
Raisin bread |
1 slice |
18 |
|
Muesli |
1 tablespoon (10 grams) |
6 |
|
Rice cracker |
1 piece |
3 |
|
Dark rye bread |
1 slice (45 grams) |
16 |
|
Light rye bread |
1 slice (25 grams) |
9 |
|
Baguette |
1 slice (10 grams) |
5 |
|
Sandwich topping |
||
|
All types of sweet spreads (such as jam/honey/syrup/sprinkles) |
1 slice (15 grams) |
9 |
|
Diet jam |
15 grams |
5 |
|
Cheese/cheese spread |
1 slice (20 gram) |
0 |
|
Peanut butter |
15 grams |
2 |
|
Salad spread (e.g., curry chicken, cucumber salad) |
1 slice (30 grams) |
2 |
|
Sandwich spread |
1 slice (15 grams) |
2 |
|
Meat products |
1 slice (15 gram) |
0 |
|
Fruit-flavoured sprinkles |
15 grams |
15 |
Potatoes and substitutes |
|
|
|
Fried potatoes |
1 serving spoon (50 grams) |
8 |
|
Boiled potatoes (the size of an egg) |
1 piece (50 grams) |
8 |
|
Lasagna (depending on preparation) |
per 100 grams (2 serving spoons) |
12 |
|
Oven dish (depending on preparation) |
per 100 grams (2 serving spoons) |
10 |
|
Pasta (cooked) |
1 serving spoon (50 grams) |
10 |
|
Chips |
1 serving spoon (50 grams) |
19 |
|
Chips |
1 bag (150 grams) |
57 |
|
Plain pancake |
1 piece (70 grams) |
20 |
|
Legumes (green peas, lentils, beans, field peas) |
1 serving spoon (60 grams) |
10 |
|
Pizza (vegetables/cheese/tomato/meat) |
1 piece (350 grams) |
90 |
|
Rice (cooked) |
1 serving spoon (50 grams) |
18 |
|
Wrap |
1 piece (60 grams) |
32 |
Fruit/vegetables/purée |
|
|
|
Strawberries, fresh |
1 small bowl (100 grams) |
5 |
|
Apricots, dried |
1 piece (3 grams) |
2 |
|
Apricots, fresh |
1 piece (20 grams) |
2 |
|
Pineapple, fresh |
1 slice (100 grams) |
17 |
|
Apple, fresh |
1 piece (125 grams) |
15 |
|
Apple sauce (from a jar/can) |
1 small bowl (200 grams) |
34 |
|
Apple sauce without added sugar (from a jar/can) or home-made without sugar |
1 small bowl (200 grams) |
22 |
|
Banana, fresh |
1 small banana (75 grams) |
16 |
|
Blackberries, fresh |
1 small bowl (125 grams) |
8 |
|
Dates, candied |
1 piece (5 grams) |
4 |
|
Dates, fresh |
1 piece (5 grams) |
2 |
|
Grapes, fresh |
1 bunch (125 grams) |
19 |
|
Raspberries, fresh |
1 small bowl (100 grams) |
7 |
|
Fruit cocktail in syrup (from a can/jar) |
1 small bowl (125 grams) |
18 |
|
Grapefruit, fresh |
1 piece (150 grams) |
10 |
|
Cherries, fresh |
1 small bowl (200 grams) |
26 |
|
Kiwi, fresh |
1 piece (75 grams) |
7 |
|
Mandarin oranges in syrup |
100 grams |
20 |
|
Mandarin oranges, fresh |
1 piece (55 grams) |
5 |
|
Melon, fresh |
1 portion (125 grams) |
8 |
|
Nectarine, fresh |
1 piece (90 grams) |
6 |
|
Pear, fresh |
1 piece (130 grams) |
15 |
|
Peach, fresh |
1 piece (110 grams) |
9 |
|
Plum, fresh |
1 piece (40 grams) |
4 |
|
Raw vegetables |
1 small bowl (70 grams) |
1 |
|
Redcurrants, fresh |
1 small bowl (100 grams) |
5 |
|
Raisins |
1 tablespoon (10 grams) |
7 |
|
Orange, fresh |
1 piece (120 grams) |
13 |
|
Mixed dried fruit |
1 small bowl (80 grams) |
47 |
Dairy products |
|
|
|
Chocolate milk/fruit milk |
1 cup (250 ml) |
30 |
|
Ice cream/cream/soft-serve/sorbet |
1 scoop (50 grams) |
15 |
|
Milk/buttermilk/Optimel drinking yoghurt* |
1 glass (150 ml) |
7 |
|
Optimel yoghurt* |
1 small bowl (150 ml) |
7 |
|
Optimel custard* |
1 small bowl (150 ml) |
14 |
|
Porridge without sugar |
1 small bowl (150 ml) |
15 |
|
Pudding |
1 small bowl (150 ml) |
30 |
|
Custard (vanilla/various flavours) |
1 small bowl (150 ml) |
21 |
|
Fruit-flavoured yoghurt/quark |
1 small bowl (150 ml) |
21 |
Meat/fish/chicken or substitutes |
|
|
|
Meat croquette |
1 piece (65 grams) |
11 |
|
Vegetarian hamburger |
1 piece (75-100 grams) |
9 |
|
Fish fingers |
1 piece (25 grams) |
3 |
|
Meat/fish/chicken without bread crumbs |
1 portion (100 grams) |
0 |
|
Soup |
|
|
|
Broth or clear soup without vermicelli |
1 cup (250 ml) |
1 |
|
Cup-a-soup, various flavours |
1 cup (175 ml) |
±14 (depending on the flavour) |
|
Cream soup or clear soup with vermicelli |
1 cup (250 ml) |
±7 (depending on the type) |
|
Hearty soup |
1 cup (250 ml) |
15 |
Drinks |
|
|
|
Crystal Clear (in carton)* |
1 glass (150 ml) |
1 |
|
Diet soft drink (diet cola, diet orange soda, Rivella, Crystal Clear, etc.)* |
1 glass (150 ml) |
1 |
|
Sugar-free lemonade (Slimpie, Burg Limo Light, Teissiere 0%, AH 0%, Diaran)* |
1 glass (150 ml) |
1 |
|
Tea/coffee/water |
1 glass (150 ml) |
0 |
|
Fruit juices, normal soft drinks, Roosvicee (all kinds, including diet), Lessini, diet Lessini, lemonade, unsweetened fruit juices, iced tea, diet iced tea, Roosvicee 50/50 |
1 glass (150 ml) with syrup, per 35 ml undiluted |
Not advisable because of the liquid sugars (4-20 grams) |
|
* The Voedingscentrum (Nutrition Centre) recommends drinking no more than 7 glasses of diet drinks a day, because of the sweeteners. |
||
Various |
|
|
|
Marie biscuit |
1 piece (5 grams) |
4 |
|
Wholemeal biscuit |
1 piece (10 grams) |
7 |
|
Cube of cheese/sausage |
1 piece |
0 |
|
Bon bon |
1 piece (15 grams) |
10 |
|
Cocktail nuts |
1 handful (25 grams) |
12 |
|
Crisps |
1 handful (25 grams) |
1 |
|
Mini bag of crisps |
25-30 grams |
5-16 |
|
Chocolate (dark/milk/white) |
1 piece (5 grams) |
3 |
|
Liquorice/candy/marshmallow |
1 piece (5 grams) |
4 |
|
Spiced gingerbread |
1 slice (25 grams) |
18 |
|
Liga Evergreen |
1 packet (2 pieces, 2 x 20 grams) |
26 |
|
Chocolate éclair |
1 piece (65 grams) |
12 |
|
Gingerbread loaf |
1 slice (25 grams) |
18 |
|
Peanut sticks/salty sticks |
10 pieces (10 grams) |
7 |
|
Peanuts/various nuts |
1 tablespoon (20 grams) |
2 |
|
Snack-a-jacks |
1 piece (10 grams) |
8 |
|
Snack-a-jacks specials |
1 piece (15 grams) |
13 |
|
Snelle Jelle (spiced gingerbread loaf) |
1 slice (70 grams) |
49 |
|
Snelle Jelle (gingerbread loaf) |
1 slice (55 grams) |
40 |
|
Spiced biscuit |
1 piece (10 grams) |
7 |
|
Sultana biscuits |
1 packet (2 pieces) |
20 |
|
Cake: cheesecake, cream cake, flan |
1 slice (100 grams) |
30 |
|
Pie: apple pie |
1 slice (100 grams) |
41 |
|
Popsicle |
1 piece (50 grams) |
11 |
|
Salty biscuit (Tuc) |
1 piece (4 grams) |
3 |
Further information
Diabetes Centre Isala
www.diabetescentrumisala.nl
Voedingscentrum
www.voedingscentrum.nl
Diabetes Association Netherlands
www.DVN.nl
Breastfeeding
www.borstvoeding.com
Contact
If you have any questions about your nutrition, or if your blood sugar levels are still too high (above 7 mmol/L an hour and a half after a meal), please contact your dietician:
Zwolle
Dietetics
+31 38 424 53 27 (available Monday–Friday from 08:30 to 17:00)
Meppel
Dietetics
+31 522 23 33 38 (available Monday–Friday from 08:30 to 17:00)
If you are unable to make your appointment, let us know as soon as possible and we will schedule a new one.
Deze brochure is ook beschikbaar in Nederlands: 'Zwangerschapsdiabetes en voeding'