Can you eat sweet potatoes if you have gestational diabetes?

Written by Chen Xie
Endocrinology
Updated on February 24, 2025
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The overall principle of dietary control for gestational diabetes is to manage the total calorie intake by eating smaller, more frequent meals, dividing the day into five to six meals. This helps not only in controlling blood sugar levels but also reduces the occurrence of hypoglycemia. For patients with gestational diabetes, foods that quickly raise blood sugar, as well as those high in sugar content, starch, and fat, should be limited as these can easily convert into glucose, leading to an increased blood sugar level. Sweet potatoes, which are available in many varieties on the market, some with higher sugar content and some with lower, should be considered accordingly. Those with higher sugar content should ideally be avoided to prevent excessively high blood sugar levels, while those with lower sugar content can still be consumed. However, when eating sweet potatoes, they should be treated as a staple food, and the amount of other staple foods should be reduced accordingly to maintain good control of blood sugar levels.

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Written by Chen Xie
Endocrinology
1min 17sec home-news-image

Can pregnant women with gestational diabetes eat pumpkin?

The general principle for dietary control in patients with gestational diabetes is to manage total calorie intake and to eat smaller, more frequent meals. Eating five to six meals a day can not only help control blood sugar levels but also reduce the occurrence of hypoglycemia. Additionally, it is important for patients with gestational diabetes to eat less of foods that can rapidly increase blood sugar levels, as well as those high in sugar, starch, and fat content since these can easily convert into glucose, causing a rise in blood sugar. Pumpkin, for example, is a food high in carbohydrates and should be consumed in limited quantities. However, this does not mean it cannot be eaten at all. For patients with gestational diabetes, if pumpkin is consumed, it is necessary to reduce the intake of staple foods and rice, treating the pumpkin as a staple food substitute to maintain a balance of total calories and to prevent significant fluctuations in blood sugar, thus keeping it stable.

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Written by Luo Juan
Endocrinology
1min 1sec home-news-image

Can you eat oranges if you have gestational diabetes?

Pregnant women with gestational diabetes can eat oranges, but they should limit the quantity. Since oranges are high in sugar, they should not be consumed in large amounts. In fact, just like mothers with diabetes or those who are pregnant, they need nutrients such as calories, protein, calcium, iron, folic acid, vitamin B, etc. However, attention should be paid to meal frequency. Under a constant total caloric intake, it is advisable to eat small and frequent meals, focusing on the quality and quantity of the diet to maintain stable blood sugar levels. It is necessary to limit the quantity of fruit consumed and avoid fruits that are high in sugar as they should not be consumed in large amounts. Therefore, pregnant women with gestational diabetes can eat oranges, but should not consume them in large quantities and should maintain proper portion control.

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Written by Liu Wen Li
Obstetrics
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How to treat gestational diabetes?

The treatment principle for gestational diabetes is to control blood sugar and then ensure the normal development of the child. There are many methods to control blood sugar. First, it involves diet management guided by a doctor, adjusting the diet's structure and quantity, followed by post-meal exercise. If after a week of adjusted diet and post-meal exercise, blood sugar levels still do not meet the standards, insulin injections can be used to keep the pregnant woman's blood sugar within the prescribed range. This can help reduce the impact of diabetes on the fetus and the pregnant woman.

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Written by Chen Xie
Endocrinology
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Steps for Gestational Diabetes Testing

The screening steps for gestational diabetes involve, for most women, the recommendation to undergo a 75-gram glucose tolerance test at the hospital between 24 to 28 weeks of pregnancy. The method includes fasting blood draw, consuming 75 grams of glucose, and monitoring blood sugar levels one hour and two hours after glucose intake, to determine the presence of gestational diabetes. However, for pregnant women at high risk for diabetes, it is recommended to complete the 75-gram glucose tolerance test early in pregnancy to detect gestational diabetes early and initiate treatment promptly to reduce the risks to both the fetus and the mother.

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Written by Zhang Yin Xing
Obstetrics
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Can pregnant women with gestational diabetes eat grapes?

Fruits are natural vitamins, and consuming fruits appropriately during pregnancy is extremely significant for supplementing vitamins, which can promote fetal growth. Patients with gestational diabetes are not entirely forbidden from eating fruits; however, it's essential to control the intake of fruits, ideally between 100 to 150 grams per day. Grapes are not completely off-limits, but since grapes have a high sugar content, if consumed, the quantity should be controlled to avoid eating too much. Opting for fruits like kiwis and apples, which have lower sugar content, is a better choice for those with gestational diabetes during pregnancy. Gestational diabetes can affect both the pregnant woman and the fetus. For the pregnant woman, it can increase the rate of miscarriages and is likely to complicate with gestational hypertension. Lowered immunity can lead to infections, particularly urinary and reproductive system infections, may cause excessive amniotic fluid, and increase the likelihood of difficult labor due to a larger baby. The impact on the fetus can lead to congenital disabilities, a significantly large baby, or restricted fetal growth, so it is crucial to control blood sugar levels during pregnancy. While ensuring the pregnant woman is not hungry, insulin can be used when necessary to maintain stable blood sugar levels during pregnancy.