A healthy diet early in pregnancy can reduce the risk of gestational diabetes

Obesity is an important risk factor for gestational diabetes, and more and more pregnant women are overweight or obese

A mother-child study conducted at Turku University and Turku University Hospital in Finland investigated the relationship between dietary intake and the onset of gestational diabetes in 351 overweight or obese women

The nutritional intake of these women was calculated based on the diet diary, and on this basis, two dietary patterns were identified, a healthier diet pattern and an unhealthy diet pattern

Lotta Pajunen, a PhD student at the Institute of Biomedical Research at the University of Turku, said: "Our results show that following a healthy diet early in pregnancy can reduce the risk of gestational diabetes

Diets that increase inflammation in the body increase the risk of gestational diabetes

The study also found that a higher dietary inflammation index, that is, a diet that increases low-level inflammation markers in the body, is associated with an increased risk of gestational diabetes

Several methods were used in the study to check dietary intake during early pregnancy

"Eating vegetables, fruits, berries, whole grain products, and unsaturated fats is especially important