Motherhood is one of the biggest pleasures in a woman's life. However, many women often hesitate to become pregnant because of unnecessary weight gain during pregnancy.
There seems to be relief on the horizon. A team of Irish researchers vouch for the effectiveness of a high fiber diet in preventing excess weight gain during pregnancy. A low glycaemic index (GI) diet during pregnancy cuts down the risks associated with gaining of weight by 20 percent.
A low-glycaemic index diet is a weight loss diet for managing the blood sugar. Foods that are quickly digested have high G.I. and those food types taking slow route to digestion are classified as low G.I.
While a normal diet can put pregnant women at 48 percent (13.7 kg) risk of gaining excess weight, switching to a GI diet lowers the risk by 38 percent (12. 2 kg).
The researchers studied 800 pregnant women at the National Maternity Hospital in Dublin, Ireland. They were divided into two groups of 400 each. One group was provided with a low G.I. diet including wholegrain, brown breads and brown rice instead of white bread, white rice and cornflakes. The other group continued following their usual diet.
All the Pregnant women were monitored during the first stages of pregnancy, then at 28, 34 and 40 weeks. The investigators also recorded the blood glucose levels of the participants.
"Our findings show that women who switch to a low GI diet during pregnancy are 20 percent less likely to experience excessive weight gain," said Fionnuala McAuliffe, lead author and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the UCD School of Medicine and Medical Science, University College Dublin, said in a statement.
"This type of excessive weight gain during pregnancy is associated with an increased need for delivery by Caesarean section, a higher likelihood of post pregnancy weight retention, and a higher predisposition to obesity in later life."
Results of the study have been published in the British Medical Journal.
