During pregnancy, you may be advised to limit consumption of sugar and other nutritive sweeteners such as corn syrup, fructose, dextrose and honey. These types of sweeteners contain calories and increase blood-sugar levels, factors that may cause...
Although a healthy diet is important during all stages of life, the food you eat during pregnancy is particularly critical: What goes into your own body also goes into your child's. Refined sugars, while not outright toxic, are one type of food...
Millions of Americans suffer from diabetes, a condition resulting in high glucose levels. Glucose, a sugar in your blood, is meant to provide your body with energy. However, it requires insulin, a hormone the pancreas produces, to carry it to your...
Prenatal vitamins are multivitamin supplements taken before and/or during pregnancy that support proper fetal growth and the health of the mother. If you don't take these vitamins, you can potentially increase the risks of developing certain...
Nearly 8 percent of the U.S. population, about 23.6 million people, has diabetes, according to the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse, or NDIC. In diabetes the body can't properly regulate the sugar it extracts from food. This causes...
A small percentage of women will have gestational diabetes during pregnancy. It isn't clear what causes it, but researchers believe hormones from the placenta block the mother's insulin production. Gestational diabetes will not cause the same...
Type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes (diabetes only during pregnancy) are the three types of diabetes. Type 2 is the most common. About 23.6 million people in the U.S. have diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease...
At the beginning of the third trimester, pregnant women receive their last round of prenatal blood tests, one of which is a test for gestational diabetes. A positive test result means a slightly higher pregnancy risk category. Yet, gestational...
Diabetes is a metabolic condition characterized by high levels of sugar, or glucose, in the blood. Normally, when glucose enters your blood, your body signals a physiological response that keeps blood sugar levels steady. In those with diabetes,...
The National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse estimated that 23.6 million people in the U.S. have diabetes. Diabetes comes in three forms: type 1, type 2 and gestational. Many of their symptoms and complications are the same, but they differ in...
Millions of Americans have been diagnosed with diabetes. The presence of diabetes increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. Diabetes is also the leading cause of blindness, kidney disease and amputations. Insulin resistance and low glucose...
According to the Mayo Clinic, diabetes is a group of diseases that affect how your body uses blood glucose, commonly called blood sugar. The body breaks down foods into glucose, which enters the bloodstream, and eventually tissue cells, to provide...
Women who develop diabetes while they are pregnant suffer from a condition called gestational diabetes or gestational diabetes mellitus, also called GDM. The disease strikes about 5 percent of women who are pregnant, or close to 200,000 a year,...
The pancreas is an important organ found in the body. The Islets of Langerhans, found in the pancreas, contain insulin producing cells called beta cells. Insulin is a hormone that reduces blood sugar levels by moving glucose into cells in the...
Glucose is your body's preferred fuel source. Too much or too little can have adverse health effects. Your pancreas produces a blood sugar-controlling hormone called insulin, which maintains balance. Diabetes is when your blood sugar remains high,...
Being pregnant and thinking about labor and delivery can bring about feelings of anxiety. Though it's a completely natural process, labor can be painful. Many women choose to get pain relievers or an epidural to help ease the pain. However, many...
Diabetes mellitus is a disease where the body does not produce enough insulin or cannot use insulin efficiently. Insulin breaks down sugar for energy. When the body cannot do this, glucose and fats remain in the blood and damage organs and...
Healthy pregnant women should get 150 hours of moderate-intensity exercise every week, recommended by the "2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans." Exercise benefits the overall health of pregnant women including cardiorespiratory...
Diabetes mellitus, or diabetes, is a group of diseases characterized by high blood glucose levels that result from defects in the body's ability to produce and/or use a hormone called insulin. There are several types of diabetes and each one is...
The hormonal changes that take place during your pregnancy can affect how your body uses the hormone insulin, which helps move glucose into your cells. In gestational diabetes, your body cannot use insulin efficiently and more sugar remains in the...
Diabetes is a general term for a condition in which the body is not able to use glucose properly. Although the physiology differs, all types of diabetes are characterized by high levels of glucose in your bloodstream. If glucose levels are allowed...
Doctors order blood glucose tests to screen for diabetes, pre-diabetes and hypoglycemia. Your doctor may order a blood glucose test as part of a general physical examination or if you have symptoms of hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia. Pregnant women...
Diabetes that develops during pregnancy, called gestational diabetes, doesn't just affect women who had the disease prior to becoming pregnant. In fact, if you are overweight, over the age of 25 or have a family history of diabetes, you're more...
Pregnant women with diabetes are more likely to have complications during pregnancy than women who aren't diabetic. Diabetes in pregnancy can be caused by the pregnancy (also known as gestational diabetes) or can be Type I (insulin dependent) or...
The underlying complication in all types of diabetes is inordinately high or low blood sugar levels. The treatments vary according to the type of diabetes you have. For instance, type I diabetics suffer from a lack of insulin that is important in...
During pregnancy, your body undergoes a number of changes as it prepares to bring your new baby to term. During the second trimester, or about week 20 of a woman's pregnancy, about 5% of women contract gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes...
Gestational diabetes occurs when a woman develops abnormally high blood sugar during pregnancy due to a decrease in the body's ability to utilize insulin. Untreated, this disease can cause problems for both mother and baby, but managing...
Serum glucose, also referred to as blood sugar, is the concentration of sugar in the blood. It comes from the breakdown of carbohydrates that you consume. It is the primary source of energy for the body's cells. If glucose levels are too high or...
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter, or a chemical produced by your body's nerve cells. Neurotransmitters are responsible for sending the brain regulatory messages about bodily functions, such as sleep or hunger. Serotonin sends the brain regulatory...
Gestational diabetes is a rare diabetes develops in women during pregnancy. Watch this video for more on this unique condition and how to prevent and treat it.
