Ayurveda For Gestational Diabetes Treatment

Gestational diabetes is a condition characterized by high blood glucose levels that are first recognized during pregnancy. The condition occurs in about 4 percent of all pregnancies. In 95 percent of those cases, diabetes disappears away after childbirth. For about 5 percent of the women, diabetes stays after childbirth. After a woman has had gestational diabetes, she is at risk for developing diabetes type 2 later in life.

Insulin is the hormone required to take the sugar from your blood and transfer it into your cells for energy. If the mother’s pancreas can’t make this additional quantity of sugar in the foods she eats will remain in the blood flow and cause high blood sugars. This is gestational diabetes.

Gestational-diabetes symptoms are usually mild and not life-threatening to the woman. However, it may pose problems like hypoglycemia (low blood glucose ) and respiratory-distress syndrome to the baby. Women with gestational diabetes are more predisposed than ordinary to growing toxemia, a crucial condition for both mother and child.

Typically, exercise and diet can control gestational diabetes. However, some women may have to take insulin.

Just about all women have some degree of impaired glucose tolerance because of hormonal changes that occur during pregnancy. It’s the hormonal changes (hormones produced by the placenta that resist insulin) in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, together with the growing needs of the embryo, which increase a pregnant woman’s insulin needs by around three times the normal volume.

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In Ayurveda, Madhumeha disease could be correlated with Diabetes Mellitus. Though there isn’t any direct reference of Gestational Diabetes,  Garbha Vriddhi is called a complication. This Garbha Vriddhi can be known as an overweight fetus or Macrosomia. In Garbha Vriddhi labor is tough.

Diabetes is the most common medical complication of pregnancy and it has increased by about 40%. The rising prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes in general and younger people, in particular, has resulted in an increasing number of pregnancies for this complication.

Women can be separated into:

— people who have been known to possess Diabetes before pregnancy — Pregestational or Overt

— people diagnosed with Diabetes during pregnancy — Gestational.

There’s keen interest in events that precedes Diabetes which contains the miniature environment of the uterus, where it’s thought that early imprinting can have effects later in life. For example, in utero exposure to maternal hyperglycemia contributes to fetal hyperinsulinemia, causing an increase in fetal fat cells, which contributes to obesity and insulin resistance in childhood. This, in turn, contributes to impaired glucose tolerance and diabetes in adulthood. Thus a cycle of esophageal exposure to Diabetes resulting in childhood obesity and glucose intolerance is put in motion.

Ayurvedic Management Of Gestational Diabetes:

Ayurveda assists in restricting maternal and fetal complications. DIet, Herbs, and yoga asanas are useful as a supportive therapy together with the modern medication under supervision.

Ayurvedic Diet at Gestational Diabetes:

Vegetables: Bitter gourd, fenugreek leaves, tomatoes, bell pepper, spinach, cucumber, radish, sponge gourd, drumstick leaves & fruits, broccoli, kale, lettuce, cauliflower, cabbage.

– Pulses: Largely legumes — green gram, Bengal gram, black-eyed pea, garbanzo beans, chickpea.

– Spices : Turmeric, cinnamon, garlic, fenugreek seeds

– Cereals : Wheat, oats, barley, pearl millet

– Berries: Plums, oranges, kiwi, lime, guava, peaches, gooseberry, coffee plum / black plum, apple,

Dry Fruits: Almond, apricot, walnut.

Useful Ayurvedic Herbs :

1.  Jambul (Eugenia jambolana)Powder from Jamun core is beneficial.

2.  Gurmar(Gymnema Sylvestre).

3.  Bitter Gourd/bitter melon (Momordica charantia)

4.  Ashwagandha(Withania somnifera)

5.  Neem

6. Turmeric

7. Guduchi(Tinospora cordifolia)

8.  Triphala

9. Shilajit

10.  Bel (Aegle marmelos).

Pranayam breathing exercises:  Every cell in our bodies needs oxygen to work properly. Prana is a Sanskrit term that means life force and Ayama means extending or extending. Therefore, the term”pranayama” translates into the constraint of the life force. Additionally, it is referred to as the expansion of breath. Research demonstrates that a regular practice of controlled breathing may reduce the effects of stress on the body and increase overall physical and psychological wellbeing.

Yoga asanas: While no one yoga pose can help to prevent or alleviate gestational diabetes, practicing this stream of beneficial poses on a regular basis as a recommended part of a regular exercise regimen may help to reduce stress and regulate glucose levels. Always consult with a yoga expert before starting any routine.

– Alternate Nostril Breathing (Nadi Shodana)

– Sun Salutations (altered ) — feet hip-distance apart

– Warrior 2

– Standing Twist

– Seated Forward Bend (Paschimottansana)

– Bharadvaja’s Twist

– Mountain (Tadasana) — arms stretched upward

– Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana)

– Lunge

– Tree Pose (Vrksasana)

– Garbha Vriddhi: In Garbha Vriddhi, there’s an excessive increase in the proportion of stomach and perspiration. Labor is difficult.

Physical Activity: Physical activity during pregnancy decreases the risk of Gestational Diabetes. Resistance exercise helps prevent insulin therapy in obese women with Gestational Diabetes.

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1. Gestational diabetes mellitus is defined as carbohydrate intolerance of variable degree with onset or first recognition during pregnancy [1]. The incidence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is growing worldwide. This disorder has many detrimental consequences for the woman, the unborn fetus, and the child. According to the International Diabetes Federation India is among the Diabetes capitals of the world, harboring approximately 4 million women with GDM alone. IDF estimates that 6 million births are affected by some kind of hyperglycemia in pregnancy in India alone, of which 90 percent is due to GDM. The management of GDM intends to mediate the effects of hyperglycemia by controlling blood sugar levels. The principal way to deal with GDM is through lifestyle changes like diet, exercise and checking blood sugar levels. In contemporary science, subcutaneous insulin treatment (mainly) or oral contraceptive agents are being used for treating women with GDM not controlled by lifestyle modification. However, both treatments have certain constraints and have reported possible risks for mother and fetus. So it’s the need of the hour to set up and adopt a much safer evidence-based management protocol for handling GDM through Ayurveda treatment fundamentals i.e. aahara, vihara(yoga, meditation, breathing exercises) and herbs with antidiabetic potential. The current study aims to invent an evidence-based Ayurveda regime in the management of GDM.

2. Gestational diabetes is among the most frequent health problems for pregnant women [2]. GDM is defined as carbohydrate intolerance of variable severity with onset or first recognition during the current pregnancy. The condition usually presents late in the second or during the third trimester. It happens in 3-5 percent of all pregnancies. The patient needs more regular antenatal supervision with a regular checkup of fasting plasma glucose level that ought to be less than 92 mg percent. The management of high blood sugar is achieved by restriction of diet, exercise or without insulin. Specific Exercises (aerobic, brisk walking) programs are safe in pregnancy and might obviate the need of insulin treatment. The Ayurvedic management includes certain alteration in diet and lifestyle of pregnant girls like the use of complicated & modified sugars such as Honey, Jaggery, use of medications such as Amalaki (Emblica Officinalis), Giloya (Tinospora Cordifolia), Methi (Trigonella foenumgracum), Haridra (Curcuma longa), Gudmara (Gymneme Sylvestre), Bitter gourd (Momordica charantia), Jambu (Syzygium cumini) and Shigru (Moringa oleifera), etc.. Yoga & Pranayama like deep breathing, Ujjayi pranayama assist in regulating blood glucose level. With the support of Ayurvedic principles, the gestational diabetes mellitus & its complications can be prevented and controlled.

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In Ayurveda, Madhumeha disease could be correlated with Diabetes Mellitus. Though there isn’t any direct reference of Gestational Diabetes Garbha Vriddhi is called a complication. This Garbha Vriddhi can be known as an overweight fetus or Macrosomia. In Garbha Vriddhi labor is tough. Ayurveda helps manage GDM by dIet, herbs, and yoga asanas that are useful as a supportive therapy together with the modern medication under supervision.

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