Crackers and FACTS on Gestational DIABETES

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During pregnancy, women become even more sensitive to carbohydrates due to an evolutionary adaption in which they become slightly insulin resistant to allow a positive flow of nutrients to the developing fetus through the placenta. If the mom was more insulin sensitive than the fetus we could end up in a nutrient shortage situation. Biology fixes this problem by making mom a little insulin resistant, effectively “pushing” nutrients to the fetus. Problems happen when our typical American diet make this otherwise favorable adaptation dangerous. Too many carbohydrates, even "complex" carbohydrates, and loss of insulin sensitivity due to a diet high in fructose, low in healthy fats and sleep deprivation can push pregnant women into gestational diabetes.

If the moms-to-be decide “this is my chance to eat anything…I’m going to get fat anyway!” ...now we have a really terrible situation for the moms and the fetus.


I also see a lot of pregnant clients who often feel nauseous and only want to feed on Saltine crackers. Well, let's just see how detrimental those little crackers are to our system...INGREDIENTS: Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Folic Acid), Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Salt, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Yeast, Malted Barley Flour, Baking Soda, Vegetable Monoglycerider, Calcium Carbonate.

Dietary trans fats from hydrogenated vegetable oil find their way across the placenta and into the growing fetus. Mothers who consume trans fats are more likley to suffer pre-eclampsia.

The damage continues after birth, as trans fats in the mother's diet also contaminate the milk. These trans fats in human milk displace 'essential omega 3 fatty acids' that helps the baby's brain and nervous system grow and develop. It is also known that dietary trans fats inhibit assimilation of essential fatty acids, so the children of mothers who eat a trans fat-filled diet suffer a nutritional "double double whammy".

1. Trans fats interferes with the activity of a cell receptor involved in inflammation, glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity. This, in turn, leads to infertility due to the condition known as polycystic ovary syndrome.
2. Eating trans-fats have been proven to increase endometriosis.
3. There is an increased risk of pre-eclampsia.
4. The growing fetus takes up trans fat into its tissues. Changing the baby's cells into "partially hydrogenated" at a very early age.
5. Breast milk has less essential fatty acids the baby needs to develop a healthy brain. Omega-3s affect parts of the brain relating to learning ability, mood, and perception, specifically the development of the eye and visual system.
6. The trans fats inhibit the baby's absorption of the already depleted essential fatty acids in its mother's milk.

It has been found that, if a person stops eating trans fats altogether on a given date, it will take anywhere from 9 months to 2 years for the trans fat in their bodies to be cleared through by the natural turnover of fat in body tissue. Because of this, I advise women to try and avoid dietary trans fat for two years before becoming pregnant, not only to avoid passing trans fat to the baby in milk, but also to prevent trans fat being directly passed to the fetus.

"American mothers produce milk that often has only one-fifth to one-tenth of the omega-3 content of the milk that well-nourished, nut-eating Nigerian mothers provide their infants."

Serve with "healthified" chili, recipe found in The Art of Eating Healthy Savory

Try these instead!
1/3 cup almond flour
1/3 cup unflavored whey protein (or dairy free protein powder)
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1-2 TBS water (just enough to hold the dough together)

Served with grain free Baked Brie!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Sift all the dry ingredients together. Slowly add in water, 1 TBS at a time until dough can hold a ball shape. Grease 2 pieces of parchment paper. Place 8 TBS dough onto greased parchment, top with the second piece of parchment (greased side down). Roll the dough using a rolling pin on top of the parchment. Roll until 1/16th in thick square. Remove the top piece of parchment. Place the bottom parchment (with the rolled out dough) onto a cookie sheet, repeat with remaining dough. Score the dough with a pizza cutter into 2 X 2 inch squares. Place cookie sheet in oven and bake 6 minutes, remove from oven and score the crackers with the pizza cutter again. Bake for another 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven to completely cool. Makes 4 servings.

NUTRITIONAL COMPARISON (per 1 serving)
Saltine crackers = 125 calories, 20 carbs, trace fiber
"Healthified" Crackers = 104 calories, 2 carbs, 1g fiber


So if you are feeling queasy and need something to ease the nausea, try these crackers with my "Healthified" Chicken "Noodle" Soup! Recipe for the soup can be found in my cookbook: NUTRITIOUS and DELICIOUS