Gestational Diabetes Foods to Avoid

What foods should be avoided when you have gestational diabetes? Here's a list and replacements.

How to Eat with Gestational Diabetes

The funny thing about gestational diabetes is that there's no one size fits all.

Generally, it's recommended to avoid high carb foods, starchy foods, white grains, etc. but every woman can tolerate different foods.

Some moms can eat a few potatoes with dinner, while others can even take a bite of a potato without spiking their blood sugar. Some can eat bananas, and others spike from bananas. Some can eat white rice and get a reading within range, and others have to eat brown rice.

It all depends on you!

Although it can be frustrating figuring out which foods your body can handle, it allows you more freedom, so it's a good thing. Be patient with yourself as you figure it out.

Foods to Avoid with Gestational Diabetes

The following list is not all-inclusive, but it is general items that contain high carbs and are either nutritionally empty or low fiber. Essentially, they are foods that will likely spike anyone's blood sugar.

• sugary drinks (soda, some smoothies, hot chocolate, etc.)
• juices (because they're normally made from concentrate)
• dried, canned or packaged fruit*
• large portions of fruit*
• refined sugar
• pastries
• baked goods (desserts, bagels, donuts, etc.)
• breakfast cereals
• granola
• white grains - flour, bread, rice, pasta, tortillas
• packaged snack foods
• trans fats** (margarine, fried foods, etc.)

*Whole fruits are encouraged because they have necessary vitamins and minerals; however, they are simple carbs that your body digests quickly. They must be strictly portioned. 

Small whole fruits are safest. Examples of whole fruits are oranges, apples, pears, peaches, berries, etc. – fruits that still have their peelings or outer shells and are in their natural form. 

Fruits not considered whole fruits are juices, concentrates, dried, or otherwise transformed.

**Trans fats are found in margarine, some peanut butter and other spreads, deep fried foods, baked goods, and other processed foods.

Sometimes the amount of trans fat per serving isn’t enough to annotate it on the nutrition label. To know whether a food contains trans fat, check the ingredients for “hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated.”