Animal fat increases risk of gestational diabetes
Pregnant women who have gestational diabetes can buy over the counter medications such as insulin to help treat their condition.
Pregnant women who have gestational diabetes can buy over the counter medications such as insulin to help treat their condition. Because of the health risks that this illness can pose to the developing fetus, it may be preferable for women to prevent its onset in the first place. New research from the National Institutes of Health and Harvard University suggests that expectant mothers who consumed high amounts of animal fat and cholesterol before getting pregnant had the greatest risk of gestational diabetes.
The conclusion is based on data analysis of 13,000 women who participated in the Nurses' Health Study II. Subjects answered questions on their health and pregnancy status every two years, and completed surveys on dietary habits every four years.
About 6 percent of participants developed gestational diabetes.
After dividing the women into five groups, categorized according to the proportion of dietary calories that came from animal fat, the researchers discovered that subjects who ate the highest proportion of animal fat had about twice the risk for gestational diabetes as women from the lowest group. A similar finding was observed when dividing the groups by level of cholesterol consumption, as published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Replacing 5 percent of dietary calories that come from animal fat with plant-based sources could decrease the risk of gestational diabetes by 7 percent, the researchers concluded.
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