If you’re pregnant, drinking several sugary soft drinks each week can increase the chance you’ll develop gestational diabetes, a condition that occurs when women who’ve never had diabetes develop high blood sugar levels during pregnancy.
According to new research from Louisiana State University Health Science Center in New Orleans, women who consumed at least five servings of non-diet cola per week faced a 22% greater risk of gestational diabetes when compared to women who consumed less than one serving a month.
The risk was still present after accounting for other diabetes risk factors, including BMI and exercise habits. However, researchers still aren’t sure if cola consumption before pregnancy affects the risk for developing gestational diabetes.
Researchers also found that pregnant women who had five or more sugar-sweetened beverages of any type a week were 23% more likely to develop gestational diabetes compared to women who consumed less than one serving a month.
The good news: Consuming diet cola didn’t increase risk of gestational diabetes. The research is published in the journal Diabetes Care.
According to the American Diabetes Association, gestational diabetes is usually diagnosed around 28 weeks or later. Each year, about 4% of all pregnant women (135,000 cases) in the US will have gestational diabetes. The condition usually goes away after pregnancy, but there’s a higher chance of gestational diabetes in future pregnancies. Women who’ve had diabetes during pregnancy are also at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes years later.
Treatment for diabetes during pregnancy includes special meal plans, scheduled physical activity and possibly daily blood glucose testing and insulin injections. Sticking with treatment helps the mother and baby’s health, and it also lowers the risk of a cesarean section birth.
(Image via stock.xchng)
Post from: Blisstree