Eating well checklist for glucose tolerance test Eating a healthy diet during pregnancy is important for you and your baby Follow us on Twitter @NHSaaa Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/nhsaaa Visit our website: www.nhsaaa.net All our publications are available in other formats
This checklist provides further information to add to the healthy eating checklist you may have completed at the beginning of your pregnancy. You are having a glucose tolerance test because you are at risk of developing gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy). Making a few small changes to your diet will help regulate your blood glucose levels and help you manage your weight, which will be beneficial for you and your baby. Even if your glucose tolerance test is normal, the following checklist will help you identify small changes to your current eating habits. 2
Diet at the moment 1. Your daily eating pattern: Breakfast, lunch, evening meal and supper. Skip a meal most days often breakfast. Skip meals during the day and eat at night. Don t have a set pattern, mainly snack or eat when I feel hungry. 2. Do you eat rice, potatoes, pasta, bread or cereals: At every meal? At one meal every day? Try to keep them to a minimum. 3. At each meal do you: Stop eating when full? Finish everything on your plate? Finish everything on your plate and often have second helpings / finish leftovers? Advice and suggestions Please tick: In order for you to get all the nutrients you require and to keep your blood glucose level stable, it is important that you eat regular meals. Try to get into a regular pattern of having a breakfast, lunch and evening meal; this will help you avoid feeling hungry and over eating. Please tick: These foods will help control your blood glucose levels. It is important to have a portion of these foods at each meal. Try to have higher fibre varieties such as wholemeal / wholegrain breads and cereals. Try not to double up for example, don t have pasta and bread at the same meal. Please tick: Try not to have second portions. Try filling up one half of your plate with vegetables or salad, one quarter with starchy foods such as bread, rice, potatoes, or pasta and the rest with low fat varieties of protein such as meat, fish, chicken, lentils, or beans. 3
Diet at the moment 4. How many portions of fruit do you eat a day? A portion is roughly what you can fit in the palm of your hand or the following: A piece of fruit like an apple, orange or banana. Two small pieces of fruit like tangerines or plums. A small glass of fresh fruit juice (150ml). Three tablespoons of fruit salad/chopped fruit. 5. How many portions of vegetables do you eat in a day? (Do not include potatoes) A portion is: Three tablespoons of cooked or raw vegetables. One cereal bowl of salad. One bowl of vegetable soup. 6. Do you eat red meat, fish, chicken, nuts, eggs or pulses? Every day. Most days. Once or twice a week. Never / rarely. Advice and suggestions I eat portions I eat portions Please tick: Aim for no more than three portions of fruit a day. Although fruit tastes sweet it should not affect your blood glucose, provided you do not eat it in large quantities. It is best to eat only one portion at a time and limit fruit juice to one portion a day. Fruit is a good snack between meals as it is high in fibre and can help prevent constipation. Aim to have at least three large portions of vegetables a day. This will help to fill you up as well as provide you with essential vitamins, minerals and fibre. Fresh, frozen and tinned are all suitable too. These foods provide protein for growth of your baby and are good sources of vitamins and minerals. Try to include two small portions a day. Red meat and pulses such as beans, lentils and chickpeas are good sources of iron. 4
Diet at the moment 7. Do you eat cakes, sweets, chocolate or biscuits: Rarely or never? Once a day or less? Two to three times a day or more? 8. Do you mainly drink: Water, diet fizzy drinks or sugar-free diluting juices? Fizzy and diluting sugary drinks? Tea / coffee? Milk or fresh fruit juices? 9. Do you eat take-away food: Once a week or less? Two to three times a week? Every day? Advice and suggestions Please tick: These foods are high in sugar and fat. If you eat a lot of these between meals they will cause a rise in your blood glucose. Try a small pancake, crumpet, cracker or oatcake instead. Please tick: It is important to drink enough fluid to avoid dehydration. Try to drink six to eight glasses of fluid a day, water, diet and sugar free drinks are the best choice. Tea, coffee and some diet drinks contain caffeine; it is recommended that you do not have more than 200mg of caffeine a day. Drinking too much milk or fruit juice can affect your blood glucose levels; a suitable serving would be 200ml of milk or 150ml of fresh fruit juice. Do not add sugar to drinks. Please tick: The portion sizes of take-away food are often large, so try to share a meal. These foods can be high in sugar, fat and salt so you should try and keep them for an occasional treat. 5
Foods to try to avoid and their alternatives Try to avoid Sugar, glucose, sucrose, dextrose, all sweetened drinks, sweets and chocolates. Sweet pastries, pies, crumbles, cheesecakes, meringues, sponge puddings, trifle, tinned fruits in syrup, table jellies and standard yoghurts. Sugar coated breakfast cereals for example, Frosties, Sugar Puffs, Crunchy Nut Cornflakes. Sweet biscuits including chocolate or cream-filled, shortbread, cakes and buns. Alternative Sugar-free drinks, artificial sweeteners for example Canderel, Sweetex, Splenda. Fresh fruit or fruit tinned in natural juice, sugar free jellies or low calorie and natural yoghurts. Plain porridge, Branflakes, Shredded wheat, Shreddies, plain Special K, Oatbix or Weatabix. Plain biscuits for example digestive, tea biscuits, crackers, oatcakes, small scones, pancakes or crumpets. Adapted with kind permission from NHS Lanarkshire 6
Your notes 7
All of our publications are available in different languages, larger print, braille (English only), audio tape or another format of your choice. Tha gach sgrìobhainn againn rim faotainn ann an diofar chànanan, clò nas motha, Braille (Beurla a-mhàin), teip claistinn no riochd eile a tha sibh airson a thaghadh. 0800 169 1441 Tell us what you think... If you would like to comment on any issues raised by this document, please complete this form and return it to: Communications Department, 28 Lister Street, University Hospital Crosshouse, Crosshouse KA2 0BB. You can also email us at: comms@aaaht.scot.nhs.uk or comms@aapct.scot.nhs.uk. If you provide your contact details, we will acknowledge your comments and pass them to the appropriate departments for a response. Name Address Comment Last reviewed: January 2017 Leaflet reference: ND14-008-CC/PIL17-0230