How To Prevent And Treat Gestational Diabetes With Functional Medicine

Gestational diabetes affects up to 10% of women during pregnancy. It can have long-term adverse effects for both the mother and the child. Not only does it put the baby at risk for above-average birth weight, but gestational diabetes in the mother can also lead to increased risk of insulin resistance, diabetes, and weight gain for the child in adulthood. It can also lead to higher rates of type 1 and type 2 diabetes post-pregnancy for the mother.

In this episode, Dr. Hyman sits down with Dr. Elizabeth Boham to discuss the Functional Medicine approach to preventing and treating gestational diabetes. They discuss the common drivers of gestational diabetes, why pre-diabetes in the mother is also a concern, and much more.

Elizabeth Boham is a physician and nutritionist who practices functional medicine at The UltraWellness Center in Lenox, MA. Through her practice and lecturing she has helped thousands of people achieve their goals of optimum health and wellness. She witnesses the power of nutrition every day in her practice and is committed to training other physicians to utilize nutrition in healing. Dr. Boham has contributed to many articles and wrote the latest chapter on Obesity for the Rankel Textbook of Family Medicine. She is part of the faculty of the Institute for Functional Medicine and has been featured on the Dr. Oz show and in a variety of publications and media including Huffington Post, The Chalkboard Magazine, and Experience Life. Her DVD Breast Wellness: Tools to Prevent and Heal from Breast Cancer explores the functional medicine approach to keeping your breasts and whole body well.

This episode is sponsored by AquaTru and BetterHelp.

[BCResilience]

I am normal weight female (even still) in my second trimester of my second pregnancy with gestational diabetes both times. I have a normal WHR, HbA1c and many other metrics. I have a family history of course. As a side note, my prenatal has Myo-inositol too and the right form of folate and I recommend it for others (made by Eu Natural).

[jeehiesung]

So how do we fix this problem of a broken metabolism? I understand cut back on carbs, but could you please explain other interventions?

[ck]

I respect both of you in your fields highly but believe you’re severely over-categorizing pregnant women with gestational diabetes prognosis.
Can you discuss the, minority perhaps, women who may be already eating correctly but their body isn’t used to the glucose (even alternative “healthier” glucose options) and so their body reacts poorly to the glucose? Bc I don’t eat sugar with the exception of coconut sugar in moderation, I juice Frits and veggies everyday, I use low glycemic sprouted bread in moderation and I exercise but I just received news that for the first time I have GD. I’m 44 and this is my 7th pregnancy. Age and increased births are factors I believe but you didn’t touch on this and I really wish you would.

Thank you

[troyfrazier]

Dr. Hyman, who would you recommend in your Functional Medicine field in the Dallas / Ft. Worth area?

[yellowbeachgirl]

I eat paleo 80/20 but have a hard time eating big portions as I am not ever hungry. I eat when I start not feeling well, that's when I know my body needs to eat. I'm 14 weeks pregnant rn and haven't gained any weight. How can I get my calories up, any specific ideas for someone who is never hungry?

[loulou]

GDM is absolutely not 100% preventable. Yes, lifestyle factors CAN play a huge role. But so can genetics. They even go on to explain how some ethnicities (such as Asians) are more prone to it. So Docs, how do you expect people to prevent that? Reincarnate as a different race?

IMO It is risky to frame GDM in such a way, because plenty of slim healthy women end up with it. There's a reason why it's standard to screen ALL pregnant women at the outset of the third trimester. If pregnant women watch this and think "Well I'm not any of the categories listed here, I must not have GDM" and skip the screening it could be dangerous.

[johnbiswanger]

Seems there is confusion about fiber: Many people who eat nothing but meat and animal products get little to no fiber.

[angelbowman]

Can I just say the tone in this, especially from Mark is disappointing. I was a healthy, low BMI woman who took care of myself and walked 1hr a day weekdays for exercise. I made my own lunch and never ate ready meals, (or soda and fries, for that matter). I was shocked that I had sugar in my urine and regularly tested that. Mark dont assume that GD just affects women that are 'less than' with their health. I now have recently discovered quite a lot of hair loss postpartum and have to fight every day to improve my oestrogen levels.
I was also in a relationship where I wasn't receiving consistent love and I believe this stress played a large part.
So please check where you are coming from when you are dealing with this subject for goodness sake! Its not as simple as 'fat woman=GD=bad'. GD is a hormonal problem and as such requires a multi pronged hormonal approach.