Lily Nichols: Nutrition for Gestational Diabetes

As a PCOS and fertility dietitian, I work hard to help my patients get pregnant, with the goal of having a healthy pregnancy and bringing home a healthy baby. But the work is far from over once pregnancy has been achieved. We then have to shift the focus to maintaining a healthy pregnancy. One of the biggest threats my patients with PCOS face is gestational diabetes. In fact, people with PCOS are 2x as likely to develop gestational diabetes compared with the general population. So obviously, I get a LOT of questions on managing gestational diabetes in PCOS pregnancy.

That's why this week, we're talking to an expert on the topic of gestational diabetes, Lily Nichols. Lily is a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist, Certified Diabetes Educator, researcher, and author with a passion for evidence-based prenatal nutrition. She uses her research to share realistic, whole-food-based recommendations to those seeking optimal pregnancy nutrition.

In this episode, Lily and I talk about the latest research on nutrition for gestational diabetes and where the current guidelines fall short.

This Week We Talk About:

• The research on pregnancy and gestational diabetes Lily has participated in and how her work has affected prenatal guidelines in some countries
• Why it takes so long for guidelines to incorporate current and emerging research
• Why she wrote and published her book on gestational diabetes
• How to incorporate her nutrition recommendations in a realistic and accessible way
• Potential risk factors for gestational diabetes

• Why it's so important that nutritionists stay up to date on the latest research

Mentioned in this episode

PCOS Meal Prep Made Easy Workshop – In this hour-long workshop, I break down what foods you want to include for PCOS and what you may want to consider avoiding or minimizing. Learn my simple 3 step formula for planning meals with PCOS.