Glucose Intolerance : Definition and Risk Factors

tipstipskehamilan. Glucose intolerance represents a metabolic conditions which result in higher than normal blood glucose levels known as hyperglycemia. Glucose intolerance also means conditions where the body is not processing glucose as it should leading to elevated glucose levels in the blood. Type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus, gestational diabetes mellitus, impaired glucose tolerance and impaired fasting glucose are several categories of glucose intolerance.

Glucose intolerance occurs when the body isn't able to process sugar well. Chronic high levels of blood sugar or glucose trigger the pancreas releases more insulin, leading to higher insulin levels (hyperinsulinemia).

When the immune system sends antibodies to destroy the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, the body cannot produce insulin which leads to a very high level of blood sugar and associated complications and type 1 diabetes develops.

When the body fails to properly use insulin or the body's cells don't respond normally to the insulin the body produces, it is means insulin resistance occurs . When this happens, insulin can’t to move the sugar into the cells of the body, sugar builds up in the blood and rises and type 2 diabetes develops.

When the placenta produces hormones to takes over the support and growth of the foetus (baby in the womb) during pregnancy, the high levels of hormones impede with the body's natural response to insulin and insulin resistance occurs.

If this happens, insulin can’t to move the sugar into the cells of the body. When glucose can not leave the blood and be changed to energy, glucose builds up in the blood to high levels and causes gestational diabetes.

Gestational diabetes may reverse on its own after pregnancy, but type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus are usually permanent. But when a woman had gestational diabetes in a previous pregnancy, she have a 60 percent chance of developing it again in the next pregnancy and puts the woman at a higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes later in life.

When blood glucose is raised beyond the normal range, it might causes impaired glucose tolerance. But it is not so high that a person have impaired glucose tolerance have diabetes. However, impaired glucose tolerance can increase the risk of developing diabetes and the risk of developing cardiovascular disease (heart disease, peripheral vascular disease and stroke).

When a person has elevated blood sugar (blood glucose) in the morning before eating or drinking, it might causes fasting blood sugar levels are not normal and causes impaired fasting glucose. But it is not high enough to be classified as diabetes.

The Risks Of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus For Both Mothers And Babies

tipstipskehamilan. The risks of gestational diabetes is a pregnancy complication that has long-term adverse health implications for both mothers and babies. The risks to the mother are gestational diabetes increases mother risk of preeclampsia and women who had gestational diabetes may develop type 2 diabetes later in life. The risks of gestational diabetes to the baby are excessive birth weight (macrosomia), low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), being obese in the future, type 2 diabetes later in life and respiratory distress syndrome.

Most women who have gestational diabetes deliver healthy babies. However, gestational diabetes ,even though it is a temporary one, if left untreated and not carefully managed can lead to uncontrolled blood sugar levels and cause serious health problems for both mothers and babies.

Some risks of gestational diabetes affect the unborn baby more than the mother. High blood sugar levels, and the excess glucose crosses the placenta directly to the baby can leads to high blood sugar levels in the baby. It is triggers baby's pancreas to produce enough insulin to handle the onslaught of sugar.

Untreated gestational diabetes can result complications that may affect to the baby. The Risks to the baby from high blood sugar levels and increased insulin production are:

Excessive Birth Weight (Macrosomia)

Extra glucose in mother bloodstream crosses the placenta, which triggers baby's pancreas to make extra insulin. This can cause the baby to grow too large. Very large babies (those that weigh 9 pounds or more) are more likely to become wedged in the birth canal, sustain birth injuries or require a C-section birth.

Low Blood Sugar (Hypoglycemia)

Sometimes babies of mothers with gestational diabetes has excess insulin after birth because their insulin production is high in his system. It can lead to low blood sugar, which can trigger seizures if severe.

Obesity and Diabetes

Another risks that is closely associated with babies born from mothers who suffered from gestational diabetesis the presence of jaundice. It is caused by the liver not being fully formed during birth and not performing as it should. While the condition isn't life threatening to your baby, it should be closely watched by a medical professional.

Excess insulin in babies of mothers who have gestational diabetes can increase a risk of developing obesity and type 2 diabetes later in life

Respiratory Distress Syndrome

Gestational diabetes can increase a baby's risk of developing breathing troubles after birth, even if they're not born early. Babies with respiratory distress syndrome may need help breathing until their lungs mature and become stronger.

Untreated gestational diabetes may also affect to pregnant mother including after birth. The Risks of gestational diabetes to the mother are:

Preeclampsia

During pregnancy gestational diabetes increases mother risk of preeclampsia, is a condition during pregnancy when there is a sudden, sharp rise in blood pressure, swelling and excess protein albumin leaks into the urine that can be life threatening to both mother and baby.

Future Type 2 Diabetes

Women who have gestational diabetes more likely to get it again during a future pregnancy. The women is also more likely to develop type 2 diabetes as she get older. However, making lifestyle choices such as eating healthy foods, drinking water, doing something active and exercising can help reduce the risks of type 2 diabetes later in life.

Foods To Eat With Gestational Diabetes

tipstipskehamilan. Foods to eat with gestational diabetes should not simply to avoid carbohydrates. Altough carbohydrates are the main source of glucose, they are also body's primary source of energy for pregnant women and baby. But don’t over consumption of foods rich in carbohydrate concentration to regulate blood sugar level. Fatty and sugary foods should be kept at a minimum because they are the biggest causes of rising blood sugar as well as weight gain. Consuming just the right amounts of nutrients and vitamins it is also an important to ensure a healthy baby in spite of the pregnant mother with gestational diabetes conditions.

Although blood glucose level usually returns after the birth of child, It is can be very alarming and scary for a pregnant woman if she was told he has gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes, if not controlled properly may causes the problems for mother and the baby.

Women who suffered from Gestational diabetes are risk prone of affecting type 2 diabetes later in life and risk prone of preeclampsia. And without treatment, gestational diabetes also can let the baby produce excessive insulin, gain much weight and strengthen the risk of premature delivery.

They are the reasons why it is essential that it be managed through healthy eating with foods choices to eat with gestational diabetes. A dietician is an expert in food and nutrition and can help mother create meals that are not only to your liking but will also provide mother and the baby enough vitamins and nutrients while keeping pregnant mother condition under control.

A healthy breakfast or snacks for women with gestational diabetes can eat low consumption of carbohydrate or limit fat intake to 30 percent or less of daily calories. It is might begin with whole grain toast with sugar-free jelly, a teaspoon of butter or margarine, one egg and a side of fresh fruit.

At lunch could include a leafy green salad with a variety of vegetables, topped with a vinegar and oil dressing or a light variety with low sugar, soups with incorporate a host of vegetables and a substantial source of protein like lean meats like turkey or chicken are also great salad toppers.

Fit In Pregnant Women GDM Meal Plan With Gestational Diabetes Recipes

tipstipskehamilan. Gestational Diabetes Recipes are an important part of pregnant women treatment plan to caring for pregnant women health and also the health of her unborn child. To find good gestational diabetes recipes that are appropriate and yummy it does not have to be hard. With just a few changes to the recipes that can found in internet, pregnant women can make them more healthy and nutritious so they fit in her gestational diabetes meal plan.

Gestational diabetes is usually a result of hormones are produced during pregnancy and type 2 diabetes is similar, maintaining a healthy diet, the sugar, low sodium, low and high in protein and vitamins is very important.


Once pregnant women have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes, the physician will be able to recommend either a dietician to help and give some sort of a guideline to follow about healthy eating and diabetic cooking.


In pregnancies affected by gestational diabetes, carbohydrates play a very important role. When the body breaks them down, carbohydrates turns into sugar. It would be best interest for pregnant women to follow a low carbohydrate diet and watch her carbohydrate consumption.


There are cookbooks that are available on the market today or on the internet with low carbohydrate recipes for the gestational diabetic. Women with gestational diabetes can still eat carbohydrates, she don't have to eliminate them completely, just limit her total grams at meal time.


Some recipes for women with gestational diabetes are add green or yellow vegetables as a side and decrease the main dish portion size, adding the colorful vegetables improves the nutritional value of the meal by adding vitamins and minerals.


Other recipe is flavor the meals with spices instead of salt. It is caused pregnancy tends to cause swelling anyway, and salt can contribute to water retention. Try some of the seasoning blends made for the ethnic type of food to give it more flavors without the extra salt.


For a really great way to add fiber and lower the fat in meal, take a favorite casserole recipe and change a few things. Start with replacing some of the meat with a bean. Women with gestational diabetes can use either black beans for meat or white kidney beans for chicken. The women can also trade out the regular pasta or rice for a whole grain product.

Pregnancy Glucose Tolerance Tests for Pregnant Women Might Be at a Higher Risk of Developing GDM

tipstipskehamilan. The glucose tolerance test is a test to screen for gestational diabetes which is a complication of pregnancy that caused by a high blood sugar condition that starts or is diagnosed during pregnancy. This tests are performed between 26 and 28 weeks of pregnancy. So If midwife or GP recognises that pregnant women might be at a higher risk of developing gestational diabetes, the pregnant women will be offered a Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT).

Glucose, or commonly called blood sugar, is an important energy source that is produced by the process of digestion of food that is needed by all the cells and organs of our bodies. It is also produced by the body during pregnancy and to be delivered by the placenta to the baby. It is the only source of nourishment of the baby during that period.

The placenta also makes sure that they produce hormones that can help in the development of the baby. However, these hormones become a burden to actually make use of insulin. The placenta tends to elevate its production of anti-insulin hormones about halfway through pregnancy.

An event, they termed as insulin resistance, can occur in which anti-insulin hormones tend to interrupt the motion of glucose from the bloodstream towards in body cells when they are made in excess amounts. This will in turn result the body to not produce ample insulin. Thus, this can bring about diabetes because of too much glucose build up.

If the levels of glucose are high, the woman may be at risk for gestational diabetes and it can affect both the women and baby's health. Routine testing with the glucose challenge test and possibly the glucose tolerance test will be done.

Routine testing with the glucose challenge test and the glucose tolerance test are performed between 26 and 28 weeks of pregnancy. These tests help determine whether pregnant women body is processing the sugars her consume properly.

For glucose challenge test pregnant women will be given a syrupy sweet drink. An hour after drinking the solution, her blood will be drawn as this will be when peak blood glucose levels will be reached. If the levels of glucose are high, most likely the next step will be to take the glucose tolerance test.

For the glucose tolerance test, the pregnant woman will be asked to consume at least 150 milligrams of carbohydrates or glucose for a few days prior to testing. The women will be asked to fast for 14 hours before the test. The health care provider will then draw the blood to measure glucose levels at the start of the test and at time intervals following the initial test.

If blood sugar is found to be higher then 128 mg/dl after fasting, or higher than 200 mg/dl on any occasion, and if these results are confirmed on a subsequent day, pregnant women will be diagnosed with gestational diabetes and she will not be tested again. So testing for gestational diabetes early on in pregnancy is important for both mother and baby.

Pathophysiology Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

tipstipskehamilan. Pathophysiology gestational diabetes mellitus is the study of the physiological changes during pregnancy result in impaired glucose tolerance which develop gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). The physiological changes during pregnancy are caused by changes in insulin level or insulin resistance as a decrease in its blood level that cause hyperglycemia and finally gestational diabetes mellitus.

Pathophysiology is the study of alteration seen in natural mechanical, bodily, and biochemical functions that are maybe caused by a disease or as a result of an irregular syndrome. The pathophysiology of a given disease or syndrome describes its causes, symptoms and effects.

In the pathophysiology of gestational diabetes mellitus we learn to understand the physiological changes mainly the endocrine changes during pregnancy in the feto-placental unit, which might explain the development of insulin resistance and GDM. In the pathophysiology of GDM we can also learn to understand role of the adipose tissue in gestational diabetes mellitus.

The placenta supplies a growing fetus with nutrients and water. It also produces a variety of hormones to maintain the pregnancy. A result of the normal secretion of several placental hormones, including placental growth hormone, placental lactogen, progesterone, and corticotropin-releasing hormone, which stimulates the production of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) in the pituitary gland and cortisol in the adrenal glands impede with the body's natural response to insulin, which results in a condition referred to as "insulin resistance".

As pregnancy progresses and the placenta grow larger, hormone production also increases and so does the level of insulin resistance. This process usually starts between 20 and 24 weeks of pregnancy.

In some cases, insulin resistance is increased by excessive weight gain during pregnancy. If insulin secretion does not increase sufficiently to counter the insulin resistance imposed by these changes, gestational diabetes occurs.