When a woman who is pregnant develops gestational diabetes, then she needs to reduce her consumption of carbohydrates.
She does not, however, want to reduce her daily intake of essential vitamins.
The plate of the gestational diabetic contains portions with a specific quantity of carbohydrates.
Those same portions must provide her with sufficient vitamins, so that her daily vitamin consumption remains at an acceptable level.
A woman with gestational diabetes should eat from a very colorful plate.
Her plate should contain dark leafy vegetables and bright orange vegetables, good sources of important vitamins.
That same plate must have plenty of high fiber, low carbohydrate vegetables.
By the same token, that plate must have a limited amount of any vegetable with high starch content.
The woman with gestational diabetes would never eat pasta and corn at the same meal.
Such restrictions insure control of the woman's carbohydrate intake, while also guaranteeing the intake of a sufficient amount of vitamins.
Such restrictions have been clearly depicted in the food pyramid for the gestational diabetic.
The bottom of the pyramid contains more than bread, cereal, pasta and rice; it also contains beans, legumes and starchy vegetables.
The presence of such foods in the bottom section of the pyramid provides added insurance that an adequate intake of vitamins and fiber will occur on a daily basis.
At the same time, this special food pyramid focuses on the need for a limited consumption of starchy foods.
The diet for a woman with gestational diabetes controls the amount of glucose in the woman's bloodstream, while keeping the same woman well-supplied with vitamins.
Regulation of the blood glucose in the pregnant woman, combined with maintenance of her vitamin consumption, helps that woman to seize control of her health.