Gestational Diabetes and Indian Food: A Practical Guide for Pregnancy

A gestational diabetes diagnosis often comes with a printed handout that assumes a Western menu: toast, pasta, a jacket potato. If your home kitchen runs on roti, rice, dal and sabzi, it can feel as though none of it applies to you.

It does apply. Most of the principles carry across to Indian food well. The work is in adjusting portions, pairing and timing, rather than abandoning the meals your family eats.

What gestational diabetes is

Gestational diabetes is high blood glucose that is first recognised during pregnancy. It is usually picked up on a glucose tolerance test, often between 24 and 28 weeks, or earlier if you have risk factors. Women of South Asian background are considered at higher risk, which is why it is worth knowing about early.

Your GP, obstetrician, midwife or diabetes-in-pregnancy team will guide your monitoring, targets and any treatment. Food is one part of that picture, not a replacement for it.

The basic idea: spread and balance your carbohydrate

Carbohydrate foods raise blood glucose. In pregnancy you still need carbohydrate, since it fuels you and your baby, so the goal is not to cut it out. The goal is to eat it in sensible amounts, spread across the day, alongside protein, fibre and vegetables.

Many people are advised to eat three modest meals and two or three small snacks, rather than a few large meals with long gaps. Your own team will tell you what suits you.

Roti, rice and other staples

• Roti and chapati: Portion matters more than the type of flour. Many people find that one or two medium rotis with a generous serve of dal and vegetables sits better than three or four on their own. Atta, or wholemeal flour, has more fibre than refined flour, and mixing in besan (chickpea flour) or a little oat or ragi flour can add more.
• Rice: Rice is often the food that moves blood glucose the most. Try a smaller serve, fill more of the plate with sabzi and dal, and see how you go. Basmati tends to have a lower GI than many other white rices. Cooling and reheating rice does not make it unsafe if it is chilled promptly and reheated until steaming hot, but ask your team about monitoring how you respond.
• Paratha, naan, puri and bhatura: These are not off the menu forever. They are best kept for occasional meals, in a smaller portion, with plenty of protein and vegetables alongside. Choosing a plain roti on most days leaves room for them.
• Poha, upma, idli, dosa: Breakfast dishes based on rice or semolina are easy to over-serve. Add vegetables, a protein such as paneer, egg, sprouts or yoghurt, and watch the size of the serve.

Dal, legumes and protein

Dal, rajma, chole, chana and other legumes give you protein and fibre, and they tend to have a gentler effect on blood glucose than rice alone. They are some of the most useful foods in a gestational diabetes meal plan.

If you are vegetarian, paneer, tofu, eggs (if you eat them), yoghurt, nuts and seeds, and combinations such as dal with a whole grain can all help. Iron and protein needs matter in pregnancy, so if you are vegetarian it is worth checking in with your care team about them.

Sabzi, salad and cooking methods

Vegetables add fibre and volume with relatively little carbohydrate. Bhindi, cauliflower, spinach, beans, tori, lauki, cabbage and capsicum all work. Aim to fill around half your plate with non-starchy vegetables where you can.

Potato, sweet potato, peas and corn do contain carbohydrate, so count them as part of the carbohydrate on your plate rather than as a free vegetable.

You do not need to give up tadka. Using less oil, measuring it with a spoon rather than pouring it, and avoiding deep-frying most of the time keeps the flavour with less added fat.

Chai, sweets and fruit

• Chai: Many people can keep chai but cut back on the sugar, or leave it out. Check with your team if you are unsure how milk, sweetener and timing affect your readings.
• Mithai and festival food: Gulab jamun, jalebi, barfi and ladoo are very concentrated in sugar. Sharing a small piece after a meal is usually easier to manage than eating them on an empty stomach. Our post on diabetes-friendly festival eating has more ideas.
• Fruit: Fruit is still fine in most plans. Smaller serves, spread across the day and paired with nuts or yoghurt, often work better than a large bowl at once. Mango, banana, grapes and lychee are more concentrated in sugar, so people often find they need smaller portions.
• Juice and sweet drinks: These raise blood glucose quickly. Water, soda water or unsweetened lassi alternatives are easier on your readings.

A simple plate to start from

If you are not sure where to begin, try this at lunch and dinner:

1. Half the plate: sabzi, salad or cooked vegetables
2. About a quarter: dal, paneer, egg, fish, chicken or other protein
3. About a quarter: roti or a small serve of rice
4. A spoon of yoghurt or raita on the side

Then see how your blood glucose responds and adjust with your care team. Everyone responds differently, and your readings are more useful than any rule of thumb.

Pregnancy is not the time for crash dieting

Gestational diabetes does not mean you should try to lose weight or restrict heavily during pregnancy. Skipping meals or cutting carbohydrate very low can be unhelpful for you and your baby. Check any major change with your care team first.

When to see a dietitian

Consider seeing an Accredited Practising Dietitian if you were just diagnosed and feel overwhelmed, if you eat mostly vegetarian or traditional home-cooked meals and the handout does not fit, or if your readings are not settling and you want help working out why.

Karma Nutrition offers pregnancy and women’s nutrition consultations and diabetes and metabolic health consultations at Gold Coast clinics and online across Australia. A GP referral is not required for a private appointment. Some eligible patients may be able to access Medicare-supported care, which is explained in our Medicare guide.

This is general information only and does not replace advice from your GP, obstetrician, midwife or diabetes-in-pregnancy team. If you have gestational diabetes, follow your own care team’s monitoring and treatment plan.

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