“How Much Do You Know About Food Nutrition” Series | Worried about gestational diabetes, eat more vegetables and less rice?

Many people now have a certain understanding of gestational diabetes. Many pregnant women are already afraid of sugar and are very worried about being labeled as having gestational diabetes. Nutrition clinics often encounter pregnant women who "dare not eat rice". They think that rice can increase blood sugar levels and they should eat less rice. However, is it really okay to "eat more vegetables and less rice"?

The main nutrients of staple foods such as rice and noodles are carbohydrates. The glycemic index (which can be understood as the blood sugar-raising ability) of these ordinary white rice, noodles and other staple foods is indeed not low. Eating too much can easily lead to problems such as high blood sugar and excessive weight gain.

However, carbohydrates are very important for pregnant mothers. They are the main source of energy in their daily diet. If there are too few carbohydrates and the total energy of pregnant mothers is insufficient, it will cause malnutrition problems such as insufficient weight gain and small fetuses. On the other hand, when carbohydrates are insufficient, the body will use more fat for energy, which means that the body will break down its own fat, and ketone bodies will be produced during the fat decomposition process. Ketone bodies can cause serious harm such as miscarriage and impaired fetal neurological development. Therefore, eating too much or too little staple food is not good.

So, how should pregnant mothers eat staple foods?

Determine the amount. Carbohydrate intake during pregnancy should account for 50%-60% of total energy, and the daily carbohydrate intake should be at least 150g (Note: this 150g is not the weight of the food, but the weight of the carbohydrates contained in the food). Fruits, vegetables, and milk in the daily diet also contain carbohydrates. In the early stages of pregnancy, drinking 250 ml of milk, eating 200g of fruit, and 500g of vegetables every day, plus eating 125g of rice (325g of rice) is enough for 150g of carbohydrates. In the middle and late stages of pregnancy, you need more staple food. At this time, you can eat a piece of bread or 1 corn as a snack in the morning or afternoon, and avoid adding all of it to the main meal, which will cause a greater increase in blood sugar after the meal.

Add some coarse grains. With the improvement of living standards, food is becoming more and more refined. However, in addition to fine white rice and noodles, there are also many coarse grains and beans in the staple food, such as corn, sweet potatoes, brown rice, buckwheat rice, buckwheat noodles, red beans, kidney beans, etc. These coarse grains are rich in dietary fiber. When mixed with white rice and white noodles, they can delay the digestion and absorption of carbohydrates, thereby effectively controlling the level of blood sugar increase.

More colors. Vegetables are rich in dietary fiber and water, low in starch and energy, so you can eat more of them. Eating enough vegetables with staple food can also greatly slow down the rate of blood sugar rise after a meal. If it is not convenient to cook for breakfast, you can eat some raw cucumbers and tomatoes instead. In addition, it should be noted that some root vegetables have high starch content and relatively high energy, such as potatoes, lotus roots, yams, taro, etc. If you eat these vegetables, you need to reduce the staple food appropriately.

This article was scientifically reviewed by Mu Yibing, deputy chief physician of the Nutrition Department of Hunan Provincial Maternity and Child Health Hospital.