Fruits and Vegetables Gestational Diabetes
In gestational diabetes, it is important that you control what you eat. This does not necessarily mean that you should avoid eating certain foods. On the contrary, you can eat any type of food that you want, provided that you do so in moderation. This is to avoid raising your blood sugar levels to uncontrollable heights. The important thing is to keep a balanced diet with all the nutrients still present in your meal so that both you and your baby can grow healthy. On your diet try fruits and vegetables gestational diabetes!
That being said, carbohydrates are very important parts of your meal. It will give you the energy to do your daily activities, although too much of it can raise your blood sugar levels. Therefore, here are the serving sizes for fruits and vegetables.
Each fruit here contains 15 grams of carbohydrates:
|
Fruits |
Size of One Serving |
| Apple, orange, pear, or peach | 1 small piece the size of a tennis ball |
| Banana or mango | ½ piece |
| Grapefruit | 1 large piece |
| Small grapes | 17 pieces |
| Honeydew or cantaloupe | 1 cup |
| Raisins | 2 tablespoons |
| Unsweetened, canned fruit | ½ cup |
| Papaya or watermelon | 1 cup cubed |
| Apple, orange, or grapefruit juice | ½ cup |
| Applesauce | ½ cup |
| Fresh blueberries or blackberries | ¾ cup |
| Kiwi fruit | 1 piece |
| Dried fruit | ¼ cup |
| Fresh strawberries | 1 ¼ cup |
| Lemon | 1 large piece |
| Nectarine | 1 cup |
| Diced pineapple | ¾ cup |
| Canned pineapple | 1/3 cup |
| Raspberries | 1 cup |
| Fresh cherries | 12 pieces |
| Dates | 3 pieces |
| Figs | 2 small pieces |
| Plum | 2 pieces |
| Diced rhubarb | 3 cups |
| Low-calorie cranberry juice | 10 ounces |
| Unsweetened orange, grape, or pineapple juice | 4 ounces |
| Unsweetened lemon juice | 6 ounces |
On the other hand, each vegetable here contains 5 grams of carbohydrates:
|
Vegetables |
Size of One Serving |
| Raw broccoli | 1 cup |
| Cooked broccoli | ½ cup |
| Spinach and other greens | 1 cup |
| Raw cauliflower | 1 cup |
| Raw carrots | 1 cup |
| Fresh pepper | 1 cup |
| Canned tomato | ½ cup |
| Leafy vegetables | 1 cup |
| Tomato sauce | 2 tablespoons |
| Vegetable or tomato juice | 1 cup |
| Chopped asparagus | 1 cup |
| Bamboo shoots, beans, Brussels sprouts, or bean sprouts | ½ cup |
| Cabbage, celery, collard greens, green beans, fresh mushrooms, mustard greens, radishes, or squash | 1 cup |
| Chili pepper | 5 small pieces |
| Turnips, kale, leeks, okra, onion, sauerkraut, scallions, or rutabagas | ½ cup |
Take note that vegetables contain 1/3 of the carbohydrate of a regular serving of any other carbohydrate. You can eat 3 times as much of them as other carbohydrates for the same 15 gm. Vegetables and whole fruits also contain more fiber and keep you feeling full longer than other foods, so they are an important part of your overall plan to reduce your blood sugar.
Tips on Including Fruits and Vegetables in your Diet- Fruits and Vegetables Gestational Diabetes
- Eat vegetables with only little or no fat, dressings, or sauces.
- If you want to have salad dressing, choose the low-fat type.
- You can also steam vegetables using low-fat broth.
- When cooking vegetables, add a small piece of smoked turkey or lean ham instead of fat.
- Sprinkle herbs and spices on your vegetable salad because these flavorings have almost no fat or calories.
- If you do use fat in cooking vegetables, choose soft margarine, olive oil, or canola oil.
- Eat smaller pieces of fruit rather than make them into juices.
- If you are going to make a fruit juice, do not add any more sugar.
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