New study shows gestational diabetes may be managed through nutrition therapy

What you eat significantly impacts metabolic health, especially in people with diabetes or insulin resistance. During pregnancy, the effects of diet are amplified because, as the popular saying goes, “you’re eating for two.”

People who are pregnant have nutritional needs that differ from those who aren’t, and the study shows that when gestational diabetes is involved, those needs shift once again.

Specific vitamins and nutrients, such as folate, B12, vitamin D, iodine, fatty acids, protein, and complex carbohydrates, need to be consumed in varying amounts to meet the needs of both the unborn child and parent and lower or manage high blood sugar levels so they don’t negatively affect health.

For example, vitamin B12 and folate need to be supplemented during pregnancy. However, the recent study suggests that high levels of folate increase the risk of gestational diabetes. Because of that, both must be consumed in the right amount.

Specific nutrients and their role in gestational diabetes

Vitamin B12 and folate are just two examples of the nutrients needed, and in the right amounts, for optimal health during pregnancy. However, the study doesn’t stop there when considering which nutrients are required and why.