In case you missed it:
– Part 1 What is it and how to test
Part 2 Let’s talk about diet 
Part 3 How to navigate the supermarket 
Part 4 What to eat when suffering from GD 

Supplements To Manage GD And Tips To Fight Cravings

There is very little research done on pregnant women because, as you can imagine, it is unethical to conduct tests on pregnant women. There are though several supplements that have been used for years on pregnant women and are regarded as safe.

My advice is to work with a professional who will help you find what your body needs specifically. A practitioner trained in disorders of blood sugar metabolism will be able to support all three organs of blood sugar, gently and safely for you and baby.

If you were to use food as medicine, I would recommend eating organ meats 2-3 times a week. Organic liver is a powerhouse of nutrients that will help your body regulate glucose levels. If you dislike liver, you can take it in forms of desiccated liver tablets.

Another good supplement to take is chromium picolinate. Chromium is a key mineral that helps the body better & more efficiently utilize glucose.

As far as herbs are concerned, you really need to be cautious and only work with a practitioner who is knowledgeable in herbalism, as too many herbs are contraindicated in pregnancy and can be very dangerous to the fetus and to bring the pregnancy to term.

An herb that is safe to use is cinnamon bark standardized pure extract. Another safe herb is Gymnema Sylvestre. This is a great herb to manage blood glucose level; it is also a great herb to help you curb sugar cravings. A little trick for you mamas, and everyone out there, if you have a sweet tooth, what you can do is open a capsule of gymnema and sprinkle it on your tongue. It will numb your taste buds so the next time you take a spoonful of whatever sugary treats you want to eat, it won’t taste sweet anymore. If you are unable to detect the sweet taste, you may not want to eat it after all. This is a little trick that can often help.

As far as cravings are concerned, a spoonful of coconut oil with a little bit of honey or a spoonful of coconut oil with a spoonful of almond butter will do wonders! The fatty acid and the little sweet taste of the almond butter or honey, will curb the cravings fast.

Remember that cravings are often a sign that the body is missing some nutrients. That is how our physiology evolved.

It takes time for your taste buds to cleanse and time for your body to switch from running on sugar to running on fatty acids.

Ideally, a woman will want to switch to a healthy diet prior trying to conceive. But of course that is not always the case. Please know that a good practitioner will work with you and help you manage your GD, but you need to know that you may experience some cravings. They are a natural part of transitioning to a better diet.

In normal circumstances, I would help a client implement baby steps, changing just one or two things a week, and she would be able to eat a great diet in just a few months. The baby steps would add up, so that the transition would not be overwhelming, but unfortunately, when we have a diagnosis like Gestational Diabetes, most often, the choice is between a radical changes of diet or take medications like insulin or metformin. While it can feel like a lot to make changes faster and almost overnight, a good diet and a good supplement will ensure that you’re building a healthy baby.

The conventional GD diet can be brutal… I can only think of all those women out there who are eating the wrong kind of diet who are drinking diet soda pop because it has no sugar; women who are told to eat sugar-free Jell-O. These foodstuffs do not build healthy babies.

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