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Volume 5 Issue 5

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About Glucose Testing for Gestational Diabetes Gestational diabetes is a dangerous condition — actually, so is high blood sugar even if below the level that qualifies for GDM. Women who are at moderate to high risk do require some form of testing for GDM so they can be followed and treated appropriately if detected. Current guidelines recommend what is called a "two step approach" for screening for gestational diabetes. The first step is a glucose challenge test. Women are given a "drink," called "Glucola," which contains, among other things, 50 grams of a sugar polymer. Your blood sugar level is measured 1 hour after drinking the "Glucola." Women who screen positive go on to the second step, the Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT), with either a 75-gram two-hour test or a 100-gram three-hour test. Again, the glucose drink is given as the vector for the sugar. It comes in concentrations containing 50, 75, and 100 grams of sugar. The medical community considers this "drink" harmless, though it is well recognized that some women just cannot tolerate it due to the digestive system side effects that include nausea, vomiting, bloating, and diarrhea, as well as other adverse reactions including headache, dizziness, and fatigue. But really, it might not be that harmless after all! THE PROBLEM WITH GLUCOLA In an age of increasing concern about the toxic exposures babies are exposed to before birth and the impact of these exposures on their short and long-term health, including the impact on their DNA (genes), it is important to note that at least one of the glucose test drinks, EasyDex by Aero Med (note that ingredient lists from the test companies are notoriously hard to find online), contains something called BVO, or brominated vegetable oil. BVO is also found in at least 10% of all soft drinks in the US, and is included to keep the favoring from floating to the top of the beverage. According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, "Safety questions have been hanging over BVO since 1970, when the FDA removed BVO from its 'Generally Recognized as Safe' list of food ingredients." At that time, the FDA granted BVO 'interim status' as a food additive which allowed its use in soft drinks, but it was and continues to remain banned from European and Japanese soft drinks. BVO is patented in the U.S. and overseas as a flame retardant. Yet it is in EasyDex, a medical testing "drink" consumed by presumably hundreds of thousands of pregnant women in the US!!! Vani Hari (aka The Food Babe), a food activist who is bringing fresh attention to the hazards of the chemical additives in our foods, brought the BVO issue to my attention when we were chatting at a conference. We both agreed that this toxin should not be given to pregnant women! Page 34| Abby's Magazine - www.AbbysHealthAndNutrition.com

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