Stuff (and the consumption thereof)

This upcoming Wednesday brings our 28 (and 1/2) week appoint with the Pregnant One’s OB/GYN. Prior to that, on Monday she goes in for her standard glucose screening and glucose tolerance test to check for gestational diabetes. I was having a conversation with my mom about this earlier today and after a brief explanation of what it was and how it worked, she shook her head and wondered where tests like that where when she was pregnant in the 70′s, and how women survived pregnancy at all before modern technology.

Which brings up an interesting point. Did gestational diabetes always exist, but there was no test or diagnosis for it, or is it a recent development?

I’m by no mean a organic food nut, vegan, vegetarian, granola eater, or anything of that sort. Heck, during the first 4 months of the pregnancy, I think I was putting on more baby weight than my wife. That being said, this pregnancy has really made me pay attention to what it is that we eat and what’s really on those ingredient lists. My current pet peeve is that lab-created gooey nastiness known as High Fructose Corn Syrup. A sugar product produced from genetically modified corn, this stuff is found in everything from sodas to bottled teas.

Due to something of a recently developed dairy intolerance, we’ve been trying to use yogurt as a good source of calcium for the Pregnant One. Not to mention, those happy little bacteria found in yogurt make lactose intolerance a non-issue, in addition to keeping things “moving along” as it were.

Next time you’re in the store, try this little experiment: Find the yogurt without high fructose corn syrup. Go ahead. Give it a shot. There might be one or two brands there, but the vast majority of major brands (*cough*Dannon & Yoplait*cough*) and store brands have HFCS as one of their main ingredients.

So, what’s an expectant couple to do? You have this “stuff” that’s linked to obesity, diabetes, and other ickiness, which doesn’t leave a large leap to gestational issues. I mean, I’m not a doctor or a scientist, but you’d think that avoiding this stuff would just be a good idea (he says with a bottle of Coke in the fridge).

Alas, it’s probably just one of many instances coming up in my life where I just can’t put momma and baby in a plastic bubble to protect them. Poop.

edit: In all fairness, Dannon apparently makes a Naturals brand product that lacks HFCS. Unfortunately, it’s more expensive and we don’t have that product available at our local stores.