During the second trimester you will probably be asked to take a glucose test where they will have you drink a beverage, often referred to as Glucola, consisting of 50 grams of sugar. After drinking the beverage you are made to wait an hour and then have your blood drawn to see how your body reacted to the sugar. What they won’t tell you about this test is……
First of all this beverage is full of toxic ingredients from dyes to flavoring, and to top that off most are made with a synthetic sugar which your body is not able to process. So what does that mean for you, your health, and your fetus? Does this affect your test results?
Great questions!
There are issues with this test resulting in false positives and women are then subjected to being monitored more closely through the remainder of their pregnancy.
These false positives are most often due to the fact that we are not accustomed to consuming 50 grams of sugar in a 5 minute space of time, often on an empty stomach as well. So your blood sugar spikes and stays higher than it would eating a regular high carb meal. If that spike exceeds their parameters then you fail the test and are diagnosed with GD.
If you have been diagnosed for GD in previous pregnancies then you will probably be tested earlier in your subsequent pregnancies as they will use that as a reason to monitor you more closely from the beginning of care.
But here’s the thing……
What if it is completely normal to have elevated blood sugars during pregnancy? See I recently learned this myself and it blew my mind!
AND it makes perfect sense when you think about it.
During pregnancy our bodies produce more blood, our blood is busy supplying nutrients to grow a strong, healthy baby, and this means higher volumes of everything! Right? Your blood sugar will be higher at different stages as your baby is growing and that is how your body was created to work, it knows exactly what your baby needs at all times.
We see this in breastfeeding as well.
Now does it make any sense to have pregnant women drinking a synthetic, toxic beverage with 50 grams of sugar just to see what her blood sugars do?
I do have good news for you though! You can decline these tests or choose an option that aligns with you. Here are a few of those options that are healthier for you and your baby!
1) Opt to have your A1C ran instead of consuming that toxic beverage.
2) Opt to have your fasting blood sugar ran, then go eat a nice high carb breakfast, and return to have your blood sugar levels checked again.
3) Decline altogether unless/until there are signs of GD that warrant needing to know.
Here are some things you can do to lower your risk of having higher levels of sugar in your bloodstream as well:
1) Eat a healthy diet.
2) Limit processed foods.
3) Limit your intake of refined sugars.
4) Limit empty carbs such as bread and fried foods.
