What Could be Causing Gestational Diabetes?

What Causes Gestational Diabetes?

To successfully treat and prevent recurrence of gestational diabetes we need to understand and — if possible — remove the underlying causes and risk factors. We need to ask: "What else is going on inside the body that might allow gestational diabetes to develop?"

Diagnose your symptoms now!

understand what's happening to your body
check your overall health status
learn what you should be doing right now

Accurate diagnosis of the factors behind gestational diabetes consists of three steps:

Step 1: List the Possible Causative Factors

Identify all disease conditions, lifestyle choices and environmental risk factors that can lead to gestational diabetes. Here are six possibilities:

Need For Exercise
Vitamin B6 Need
Magnesium Need
Gestational Diabetes Tendency
Potassium Need
Chromium Deficiency

Step 2: Build a Symptom Checklist

Identify all possible symptoms and risk factors of each possible cause, and check the ones that apply:

water retention before menstruation

poor mental clarity

moderate aerobic exercise level

sensitivity to bright light

moderate alcohol consumption

non-human estrogen use

having had a small bowel resection

refined white flour consumption

reduced skin elasticity

history of birth control pill use

diuretic use

recent breastfeeding

... and more than 20 others

Step 3: Rule Out or Confirm each Possible Cause

A differential diagnosis of your symptoms and risk factors finds the likely cause of gestational diabetes:

Cause	Probability	Status
Magnesium Need	96%	Confirm
Potassium Need	58%	Possible
Vitamin B6 Need	13%	Unlikely
Gestational Diabetes Tendency	4%	Ruled out
Chromium Deficiency	1%	Ruled out
Need For Exercise	0%	Ruled out

* This is a simple example to illustrate the process

Arriving at a Correct Diagnosis

The Analyst™ is our online diagnosis tool that learns all about you through a straightforward process of multi-level questioning, providing diagnosis at the end.

If you indicate having been pregnant but not now, being pregnant with first child or being pregnant again, The Analyst™ will ask further questions including this one:

Did you ever experience Gestational Diabetes during pregnancy?

Possible responses:

→ Don't know
→ No
→ Yes, marginally in one pregnancy
→ Yes, definitely in one pregnancy
→ Yes, in more than one pregnancy

Based on your response to this question, which may indicate either not having had gestational diabetes or having had gestational diabetes, The Analyst™ will consider possibilities such as:

Gestational Diabetes Tendency

Aerobic Exercise Need

Exercising during pregnancy stimulates glucose transport and can help control gestational diabetes without the use of insulin. Moderate workouts appear safe for most females with gestational diabetes. [The Physician and Sports Medicine, March, 1996;24(3): pp.54-66]

Chromium Deficiency

Impaired chromium utilization may be a cause of gestational diabetes. By impairing pancreatic insulin production, chromium deficiency may increase the tendency towards hyperglycemia in gestational diabetes. [J Am Coll Nutr 15(1): pp.14-20, 1996] Hair chromium concentrations were significantly lower in 68 samples taken from non-diabetic pregnant women than in 42 samples from gestational diabetics (472ng/gm versus 734ng/gm). [Am J Clin Nutr 55: pp.104-7, 1992]

Magnesium Requirement

By impairing pancreatic insulin production, magnesium deficiency may increase the tendency towards hyperglycemia in cases of gestational diabetes. [J Am Coll Nutr 15(1): pp.14-20, 1996]

Potassium Need

By impairing pancreatic insulin production, potassium deficiency may increase the tendency towards hyperglycemia in cases of gestational diabetes. [J Am Coll Nutr 15(1): pp.14-20, 1996]

Vitamin B6 Requirement

By impairing pancreatic insulin production, vitamin B6 deficiency may increase the tendency towards hyperglycemia in cases of gestational diabetes. [J Am Coll Nutr 15(1): pp.14-20, 1996] Supplementation with vitamin B6 may be beneficial during this condition. [Editorial, Lancet: pp.788-9, 1976, J Optimal Nutr 2(4): pp.239-43, 1993]

In one study of 14 women with gestational diabetes, taking 100mg of vitamin B6 for 2 weeks resulted in eliminating this diagnosis in 12 of the 14 women.

Concerned or curious about your health? Try The Analyst™