Food cravings, especially sugar cravings, affect many women while pregnant. Craving sweets can put you at risk of consuming too much sugar during pregnancy, harming your baby. Hence, you should not overeat sugar and keep your sugar intake in check to prevent any possible dangers.
In this article on Hipregnancy, we will cover all you need to know about eating too much sugar during pregnancy, including its side effects, tips to limit your sugar intake, and frequently asked questions about sugar consumption in pregnancy.
Keep reading this article to the end to find out the most important facts you need to remember whenever you want to eat too much sugar.
Also Read: carbohydrates during pregnancy
Can pregnant women eat sugar?
All pregnant ladies should be aware of the relationship between nutrition and pregnancy to give birth to a healthier baby. One of the things expecting mothers should be extra careful about is sugar.
“I ate a lot of sugar during pregnancy, is it bad for the baby?” According to studies on Hipregnancy, consuming sugar and sugary foods in moderation is not harmful to pregnant ladies and their babies. However, eating too much sugar during pregnancy can put both the mom and the baby at risk of health issues.
You may want to know how much sugar is too much for pregnant ladies. To answer this question, we should say there is no standard recommendation for sugar intake during pregnancy.
Why? The consumption of sugar while pregnant depends on many factors, including blood sugar levels, weight, and metabolic rate, but the general guideline says that you can consume up to 25 grams of sugar while pregnant.
Hipregnancy recommends limiting your sugar intake, especially refined sugar and sugar foods like cake during pregnancy, and eating healthier options, such as fruits and vegetables.
Side effects of too much sugar during pregnancy
Overconsumption of sugar is harmful for everyone, and pregnant ladies are no exception. If you check the list of things not to eat when pregnant, you will find out most items on the list contain excess sugar. Here’s the top reasons to avoid too much sugar when pregnant;
- Consuming too much sugar can lead to excessive weight gain during pregnancy. Weight gain is not abnormal while pregnant, as your body should support the growing baby. Still, overconsumption of sugar and sugar foods can put you at risk of unhealthy weight gain and obesity that leads to birth complications.
- Fatty liver syndrome is a common problem among pregnant ladies who consume too much sugar during pregnancy. Unfortunately, pregnant ladies who consume sugar in excess will put their babies’ lives at risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes later in life, as these babies crave more sugar and sugary foods in comparison with others.
- Most pregnant women feel tired during pregnancy. Tiredness and fatigue are pre pregnancy symptoms any ladies may experience. Eating too much sugar in first trimester makes your tiredness worse, as sugary foods just cause a temporary spike in your blood sugar that rapidly drops. Moreover, other pregnancy symptoms, like mood swings, vomiting, and heartburn, get worse when you add too much sugar to your diet while pregnant.
- Last but not least, consuming too much sugar during pregnancy can increase the risk of preeclampsia. Hipregnancy warns you about preeclampsia, as it can cause serious complications and puts the health of both the mom and the developing baby at risk.
Tips to reduce consumption of too much sugar during pregnancy
You should limit your sugar intake while pregnan to prevent possible risks associated with eating too much sugar in pregnancy, . Here are some tips to help you control sugar cravings and reduce sugar consumption during pregnancy;
- Avoid or limit foods, snacks, and desserts containing too much sugar during pregnancy. It is better to cut down on pastries, cakes, ice cream, and other sugary foods containing refined sugar to prevent risks associated with eating too much sugar during pregnancy. Pregnant ladies struggling with gestational diabetes should pay extra attention to the mentioned tips and follow the best diet for gestational diabetes during pregnancy.
- Do not keep junk foods at hand. It is more advisable to buy junk food and sugary foods when you have sugar cravings, but not all the time. (For more on this, read how much junk food is ok during pregnancy?)
- Add more sweet fruits into your diet to satisfy sugar cravings. To learn about the safe options, check out our article titled best fruit for pregnancy.
- Check the ingredients of packaged foods before buying them. This can help you to know the sugar content of your food and, if necessary, change it with another option, low in sugar content.
Conclusion
Pregnancy is a great time to practice limiting your sugar intake. You should be aware that eating too much sugar during pregnancy can lead to several pregnancy complications, even miscarriage.
Hence, all doctors recommend limiting sugar consumption while pregnant. In this article on Hipregnancy, we provided tips to help you control eating too much sugar while pregnant.
Do you know any other tips that can help expecting mothers limit their sugar intake? If yes, do share your thoughts with us and other moms-to-be.
FAQs
1.Can you get gestational diabetes from eating too much sugar during pregnancy?
Yes, overconsumption of sugar during pregnancy can cause gestational diabetes. Consider that if you don’t limit your sugar intake, your diabetes worsens and puts your developing baby’s health at risk. Remember that untreated, gestational diabetes can lead to high blood pressure, stillbirth, and premature birth.
2.Can too much sugar cause miscarriage?
Unfortunately, consuming too much sugar during pregnancy can increase the risk of miscarriage. High blood sugar levels can put both the mom and the developing fetus at risk and even it can cause miscarriage. Consuming sugary foods in moderation and avoiding refined sugars can reduce the risk of miscarriage and keep your baby healthy.
3.What are the effects of sugar on the baby in pregnancy?
Overconsumption of sugar in pregnancy negatively affects the baby, during pregnancy, and even after birth. High blood pressure, low oxygen levels, poor lung and nervous system development, and low blood iron levels are common problems in babies due to consuming too much sugar during pregnancy. Breathing problems, macrosomia, congenital disabilities, and enlarged heart are other health issues that may happen to babies after birth.