Are you wondering what to eat before your pregnancy glucose test? You’re not alone! I’m sharing healthy food ideas to eat the day of your gestational glucose tolerance test.
Pregnancy is such an exciting, yet stressful time in a woman’s life. Things such as pregnancy cravings, knowing how much to eat for you and your growing baby, getting enough of all the right nutrients, being safe while exercising, feeling the baby move, getting the house ready for a baby, choosing a baby name, and more all add to the excitement and stress. Seriously – the list could go on and on!
Another thing to add to the list: your pregnancy glucose test. Most women – especially first time moms – get a little nervous about it.
What is a pregnancy glucose test?
A pregnancy glucose test, also known as a gestational oral glucose tolerance test, screens for potential gestational diabetes. It is usually performed between 24 to 28 weeks of pregnancy in women who have not been diagnosed with diabetes before. There are two different strategies for testing. A one-step approach and a two-step approach.
One-step strategy:
In the one-step strategy, you’ll need to fast for at least 8 hours (usually overnight) before going to your doctor’s office. Once you arrive, they will draw blood to test your fasting glucose level. Afterwards, you’ll receive a sugary drink containing 75 grams of glucose to drink. You will then have your blood drawn at 1 hour and 2 hours after drinking the glucose.
If any of the three blood glucose level draws are higher than normal, a diagnosis of gestational diabetes can be made.
Two-step strategy:
In the 2-step strategy you do not need to fast prior to the test. Your doctor will give you a sugary drink containing 50 grams of glucose for you to drink. After drinking the glucose, you will need to have your blood drawn 1 hour later to test for your blood glucose levels. If your levels do not come back normal, you will be asked to come back for additional testing.
The second step of the test is a 3 hour oral glucose tolerance test. With this test, you will need to be fasting before going to your doctors office. Once you arrive, they will draw blood to test your fasting glucose level. Afterwards, you’ll receive a sugary drink containing 100 grams of glucose to drink. You will then have your blood drawn again at 1 hour, 2 hours and 3 hours after drinking the glucose. If any of the 4 blood glucose level draws are higher than normal, you may be diagnosed with gestational diabetes.
Depending on which strategy your doctor performs in their practice will determine if you will be allowed to eat before your test or not.
My doctor said I don’t have to fast – so what should I eat before my pregnancy glucose test?
I see this question in mom groups on Facebook and I’m sure it crosses a lot of pregnant women’s minds when they are due for their glucose screening: “What should I eat before my pregnancy glucose test?”
It is common to worry about it – it is a test after all. Put the label ‘test’ on something and, of course, people want to do well on that test. It’s human nature to want to pass. And if you are anything like me, you’ll be thinking about what you’ll be eating beforehand so it won’t mess up your test results.
To help all of you worry warts like me, I’m sharing what to eat before your pregnancy glucose test, so your breakfast or lunch won’t skew your results.
But first, I’m going to start off with what NOT to eat before your glucose tolerance test. Avoid anything high in sugar and simple carbohydrates. This is because they can send your blood sugar sky rocketing, which when you drink the sugary glucose drink your doctor gave you, it will only go higher. This may lead to a false positive.
Avoid foods commonly high in simple carbohydrates, such as:
- Sugary breakfast cereals
- Bagels
- White bread
- Chips
- Crackers
- Fruit smoothies
- Granola
- Fruit flavored yogurts
- Donuts and Pastries
- Muffins
- Cookies
- Cakes
- Ice Cream
- Candy
- Regular soda
- Sports drinks
- Sweet tea
- Flavored coffee beverages
- Juice
Note that the above list is not all inclusive of foods to avoid, nor is it defining of each item. For example, there are some brands of fruit flavored yogurts, such as siggi’s, that don’t add ridiculous amounts of sugar and would be fine to eat before your test. As always, read the nutrition facts labels and ingredients list to help guide you in making a decision.
Now onto what would be a better idea to eat. Nutrient-dense foods that are made up of complex carbohydrates and fiber and foods that are naturally low in overall carbs are excellent choices to eat before your pregnancy glucose test.
Foods high in complex carbohydrates and fiber:
- Whole wheat bread
- Brown rice
- Quinoa
- Whole Wheat Pasta
- Beans
- Lentils
- Nuts and nut butters
- Seeds
- Oats
- Some fruits
- Vegetables
Foods lower in overall carbohydrates:
- Non-starchy vegetables
- Meat
- Poultry
- Fish
- Eggs
- Soy (Tofu, Tempeh)
- Olives and Olive oil
- Avocados and Avocado oil
- Nuts and nut butters
- Seeds
- Cheese
- Plain Greek yogurt
Again, this list is not all inclusive of healthy foods that are high in complex carbohydrates and fiber and foods low carb foods. This is just to give you a general idea of foods that might be a good idea to eat before your glucose screening.
Now, lists of individual foods are good and all – but how does that translate into actual meals? Below are some meal ideas for breakfast and lunch, as well as some snacks that would be good options to eat before your pregnancy glucose test. Depending on what time of day your test is, you may only need breakfast ideas – or you might need all three!
What to eat before your pregnancy glucose test Share on XBreakfast ideas:
- Scrambled eggs mixed with sautéed greens and onions topped with salsa. Side of whole wheat toast and turkey sausage link
- Oatmeal, like this peanut butter banana oatmeal or pumpkin pie overnight oats. Just watch how much added sugars you mix in.
- Breakfast quesadillas on whole wheat tortillas
- Shakshuka
- Egg “muffins”
- Egg and veggie frittata
- Sweet potato and kale hash with eggs
- Crustless quiche
- Quinoa porridge
- Baked ham and egg breakfast cups
- Egg and veggie breakfast casserole
- Low added sugar protein shake/whole foods smoothie
- Avocado egg boats
Lunch ideas:
- Tuna sandwich on whole wheat bread or avocado tuna lettuce wraps
- Tomato avocado grilled cheese sandwich
- Power bowl with a mix of veggies, whole grains and lean protein, like this Roasted sweet potato and cauliflower power bowl or this Teriyaki chicken power bowl with spelt
- Grilled chicken sandwich and a side salad
- Grilled turkey avocado sandwich
Snack ideas:
- Roasted red pepper dip or hummus with veggies or whole grain chips or crackers
- String cheese
- Peanut butter energy bites
- Apple slices, banana or celery with nut butter
- Trail mix
- Nuts
- Plain Greek yogurt mixed with fruit, granola and vanilla extract
Hopefully these lists give you a good idea of what to eat before your pregnancy glucose test. As I said previously, read nutrition facts labels and ingredients lists to help guide you in making a decision on what would be best for you to eat.
“I ate these foods and was still diagnosed…”
I do want to give a big disclaimer. If your body is already in the stages of gestational diabetes, simply eating these foods the day before or of your glucose tolerance test will not make it so you magically pass the test.
Sometimes gestational diabetes just happens – it does not discriminate. Our hormones go crazy when we’re pregnant and sometimes there is nothing we can do about that.
If you are diagnosed with gestational diabetes don’t beat yourself up about it. Simply do your best to get and keep your blood sugar levels in your target ranges. You can learn more about gestational diabetes here. Work with your doctor, dietitian and/or certified diabetes educator to help you on your journey to delivering a healthy baby. You got this!
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