PCOS or Diabetes and Controlling Blood Sugars

Maybe you have PCOS or maybe you have diabetes and you are needing to lower your blood sugars so you can increase your chances of conceiving that precious babe. Having controlled blood sugars prior to conceiving is crucial to both your and baby's health. Remember focusing on that preconception period is one of the most single most important things we can do to prevent adult chronic conditions for our future babies. Here's a few tips from a dietitian and certified diabetes educator:

1) Plan your meals around your protein, healthy fats, and nonstarchy vegetables and THEN add in carbohydrate containing foods to fit your needs. For example tonight, we are smoking pork shoulder and I have foil packs of asparagus, spinach, and carrots (all cooked with either coconut oil or olive oil). Then I will have a bowl of fruit on the table for whoever wants for dessert.

2) Freezer vegetables can be your best friend when you have little time to prepare foods. I used to ALWAYS use fresh vegetables, until recently when life just seemed to get a little more chaotic after work with having a toddler and 9 month old. My favorite recently is cauliflower rice--at just 4 grams of carb per cup and 5 minutes in the microwave, you can't go wrong.

3) Are your blood sugars often high first thing in the morning? It could be that you are experiencing the "dawn phenomenon" where your blood sugars are dropping between 2:00 to 3:00 in the morning. If this is the case, your blood sugars are more likely to respond to diet and lifestyle changes. There are several possible culprits to this, including: too high or too low carb intake, dinner too early or too late, having the wrong type of bedtime snack or not having a bedtime snack. Work with your dietitian or diabetes educator to trial and error if adjusting any of the above help with lowering those fasting reading into target.

4) Lastly, choose nutrient dense foods. There are so many nutrient dense foods that not only help improve your blood sugars because they are low in carbohydrates, but they also improve your chances of conceiving a healthy baby while fueling your overall health. So think eggs, full fat dairy products, fatty fish, dark green and leafy vegetables, good quality meat, and liver/organ meats. These foods are rich in methyl donors and methylation cofactors (think choline, folate, B12, B6, and B2). A diet lacking in these nutrients has been tied with offspring being of higher weight, more insulin resistant, as well as having altered immune responses and elevated blood pressure.

These tips not only help you have better blood sugar control, but ALSO help to set your future baby up for a healthy future. And what better gift to give your future baby than providing them with the best chance for a healthy development.

Love and baby blessings,

Andrea