Maybe you have heard that we are what we eat. Strangely enough, since our bones, brains and organs are built from what we eat and drink, this is technically true. Health and wellness are also strongly linked to what we eat. Thus, our blood sugar affects miscarriages and pregnancies more than just with gestational diabetes.
I decided to start making some major changes to my diet the month I turned 40. Moving forward, I knew I wanted another child and I wanted to make sure I was alive to watch my children grow. I had some testing done to determine if I had any health issues that could be contributing to my miscarriages, but everything came back clean. The only thing that I did notice was that my blood sugar level was a touch high.
Deciding to Make Changes
My doctor assured me that it was still within normal range and I was not prediabetic. Basically, that if I had not done my own research, I would have considered it normal, and my doctor would have as well. I knew from my reading that being prediabetic or diabetic can contribute to miscarriages, but I was not those things. I also didn’t want to become those things.
I knew I sometimes had symptoms of hypoglycemia, which meant my body was swinging from blood sugar highs to lows. Having stable blood sugar would be better for my body over time and help possibly with maintaining a pregnancy and living a longer life. Problems with blood sugar affects miscarriages, but it is hard to know how much of a role it plays. But this is where the hard part came in. I had always had a sweet tooth, and I had kept it mostly under control, but in recent years I had allowed myself to eat a bit too much sugar on a regular basis.
To maintain my blood sugars, I needed to increase my protein intake and vegetable intake. I knew that, and had known that, for years. But to truly be effective, I needed to cut sugar from my diet, not just limit it. Trying to limit sugar had only partially worked in the past and made me crave sugar all the time. I already didn’t consume artificial sweeteners or high fructose corn syrup because of all of the negative health consequences, but sugar was harder.
Taking the First Step
I took the plunge and 5 months before I was to try to conceive again, I cut out sugar and fruit juice from my diet. At first my plan was to have cheat days for holidays and birthdays. Quickly, I learned that sugar was a contributor to my bloat and GI problems. I found that taking Maca Powder and eating protein when I craved sugar helped with the initial change, but two weeks in I started experiencing yeast die-off in my gut. This caused significant bloat and lasted about two weeks.
After the first 4 weeks I found it much easier. I was still allowing myself honey, maple syrup, fruit and black-strap molasses. After that first month, I started paying attention to my intake of these other sweeteners. I started with limiting my fruit intake to 4 servings a day. I wanted to make sure that my focus was on protein and vegetables, not eating lots of fruit.
The other big change I made at this point was I started fermenting all of my grains. This meant sourdough everything with a long (6+ hour) fermentation time. Sourdough breaks down the starches in flour and makes it more digestible but also allows for a slower release of sugars from breaking down the carbohydrates. I also soaked my rice and beans before eating them to break down the starches and make them more digestible. I stopped eating oats all together because they are difficult to digest.
Taking Incremental Steps
A month later, three months before trying to conceive, I started working on limiting my maple syrup, honey and molasses intake to no more than a tablespoon a day. My goal was not just to stabilize my blood sugar at this point, but also to decrease the yeast in my gut as much as possible to optimize a healthy gut biome and allow my gut to heal. To facilitate this, I also started taking a high-quality probiotic called Terraflora Deep Immune Probiotic and I cut my fruit to 2 servings a day.
Two months later, one month before trying to conceive, I further cut my fruit consumption to one serving a day and my sweetener consumption to 1 teaspoon or none a day. By this point, this did not feel restrictive and was a fairly easy switch to make. I also found my taste buds had changed and lots of fruit by themselves now started tasting too sweet. I really only wanted to pair fruit with unsweetened yogurt, or with cheese, or in sourdough muffins for consumption.
The Plan Moving Forward
My plan moving forward is to maintain this diet, along with other diet changes that I will discuss in part 3 of my plan, through the first trimester of pregnancy and past the danger of miscarriage. I will then slowly loosen my diet to go back to up to 4 servings of fruit a day and one small “cheat” day a month for holidays and birthdays.
The plan is for these changes to be for life. I ended up losing 10 pounds changing my diet, without increasing exercise, though I would have liked to, and not counting calories. I also overall feel better and have more energy. Even if I don’t conceive, for these reasons, I do plan to continue with no sugar normally and being cognizant of how much fruit and natural sweeteners I am consuming. My research shows that stable blood sugar affects miscarriages, but I don’t know if I have been affected in any way by this. I want to continue to keep all of my teeth, stay a healthy weight and live a nice long life.
Happy Healthy Eating!
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