Can you eat melon seeds with gestational diabetes?

Written by Xu Dong Dong
Endocrinology
Updated on January 14, 2025
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Patients with gestational diabetes can eat sunflower seeds, but the amount must be controlled and should not be excessive. Each serving should be a small handful, as sunflower seeds contain a high amount of fat. Consuming too much can lead to increased blood sugar and lipids, which is not conducive to controlling blood sugar. When eating sunflower seeds, try to choose plain raw or roasted sunflower seeds, and avoid those with sweet flavors or other heavy flavorings added. Patients with gestational diabetes can also eat nuts in moderation, but the amount should be controlled to about the equivalent of two large walnuts per day, and it is best to consume them between meals.

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Written by Chen Xie
Endocrinology
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Do you need insulin for gestational diabetes?

Gestational diabetes refers to the elevated blood glucose levels found during pregnancy. For patients diagnosed with gestational diabetes, we first need to control diet and exercise to manage blood sugar levels, maintaining fasting blood glucose between 4.0-5.3 mmol/L and postprandial (two hours after meals) blood glucose between 4.4-6.7 mmol/L. If blood sugar control can be achieved through diet and exercise, insulin treatment is not required. However, if blood sugar levels still do not meet the standards through diet and exercise, exceeding the figures mentioned earlier, insulin treatment is necessary. For patients receiving insulin treatment, it poses no harm to either the fetus or the mother. In fact, when blood sugar is well-controlled, it can actually reduce the risks associated with gestational diabetes.

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Written by Chen Li Ping
Endocrinology
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Will gestational diabetes get better?

Gestational diabetes refers to diabetes that appears or is diagnosed during pregnancy and is a distinct type of diabetes. Many women with gestational diabetes may see their blood sugar levels return to normal after delivery as insulin resistance diminishes. It is recommended to conduct an OGTT (oral glucose tolerance test) screening six weeks after childbirth, as the majority of women with gestational diabetes will have normal fasting blood glucose or OGTT values at six weeks postpartum. Approximately 25% to 70% of women with gestational diabetes may develop diabetes again within 16 to 25 years after delivery. Therefore, it is essential to continue monitoring the patient's blood glucose postpartum and to screen early for diabetes.

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Written by Chen Xie
Endocrinology
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Gestational diabetes screening time

The screening time for gestational diabetes refers to all pregnant women undergoing a 75-gram glucose tolerance test between 24 to 28 weeks of pregnancy to measure blood sugar levels and determine the presence of gestational diabetes. However, for pregnant women at high risk, including those with a history of gestational diabetes, delivery of a large fetus, obesity, polycystic ovary syndrome, a family history of diabetes, positive urinary glucose in early pregnancy, or unexplained recurrent miscarriages, fetal malformations, stillbirths, or even a history of childbirth with neonatal respiratory distress syndrome, blood sugar should be monitored as early as possible to understand the situation.

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Written by Chen Xie
Endocrinology
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High-risk factors for gestational diabetes

High-risk factors for gestational diabetes include: women older than 35 years, those with a history of gestational diabetes, history of delivering large babies, obesity, patients with polycystic ovary syndrome, first-degree relatives with a family history of diabetes, early pregnancy checks showing fasting hyperglycemia or positive glucosuria, patients who have had multiple spontaneous miscarriages without obvious causes, fetal malformations, stillbirths, and patients with a history of delivering newborns with respiratory distress syndrome. Women with the above high-risk factors should undergo early testing for fasting blood glucose and a 75-gram glucose tolerance test to diagnose gestational diabetes and initiate early intervention.

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Written by Luo Han Ying
Endocrinology
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Can you drink yogurt if you have gestational diabetes?

Regarding yogurt, there are two scenarios. Currently, you can make yogurt at home with a yogurt maker. If it's homemade yogurt and you haven't added sugar, it is okay to eat because it contains probiotics and nutritious ingredients, which are actually beneficial for pregnant women. However, the yogurt sold in stores contains very high sugar levels because anyone who has made yogurt would know that unsweetened yogurt is very sour. The kind sold in stores tastes that way because a large amount of sugar is added, not to mention various additives. This is very unfavorable for blood sugar control in patients with gestational diabetes. Therefore, we recommend that pregnant women should drink less or even avoid commercial yogurt. In fact, we can obtain these nutrients by drinking regular milk, like pure milk.