Glucola (Glucose test) & Safe Foods in Pregnancy: Busting Myths and Easing Fears

The PedsDocTalk Podcast: Child Health, Development & Parenting—From a Pediatrician Mom

Dr. Mona Amin

Medicine, Kids & Family, Health & Fitness, Parenting

4.9 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 26 November 2025

⏱️ 49 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Pregnancy comes with a lot of rules, warnings, and fear based posts online. But how much of that advice is actually rooted in science, and how much is leftover noise that keeps parents stressed for no reason? In today’s episode, I sit down with Dr. Jessica Knurick, a nutrition researcher and registered dietitian who has spent years breaking down food myths in the pregnancy and postpartum space. Together we walk through the biggest areas of confusion, why so much misinformation spreads so fast, and how to make calmer, more confident choices during pregnancy. We talk about: The most common food rules that get blown out of proportion Why certain foods get labeled as “dangerous” without context What the real risk of listeria looks like, and how to lower it Sushi, soft cheese, runny eggs, deli meat, and why the blanket rules don’t tell the full story How to think about risk in pregnancy without spiraling The truth about the glucose test and why the alternatives online fall short What high mercury fish means and why fish is still an important part of pregnancy nutrition Where fear based content online pulls parents in and how to protect your headspace To connect with Dr. Jessica Knurick follow her on Instagram @drjessicaknurick and check out all her resources at https://www.jessicaknurick.com/ My Experience with Gestational Diabetes: https://youtu.be/QCtGft6p7c0 00:00 Why fear around food and the glucose test is rising 01:25 Why Dr. Jessica Knurick’s work matters in pregnancy nutrition 03:44 How misinformation spreads during pregnancy 06:13 The gray area behind food rules and risk 08:36 Soft cheese, deli meat, and runny eggs: what’s actually risky 11:06 The truth about listeria and real foodborne illness risks 14:12 Sushi, fish, mercury, and what research actually shows 17:04 How to approach food safety without spiraling 20:29 Real life examples of weighing pros and cons in pregnancy 23:34 What the glucose test really measures 25:53 Why screening happens at 24–28 weeks 27:52 Common myths about the glucose drink 30:30 Alternatives like jelly beans, pancakes, and OJ: why they don’t work 33:54 When at home monitoring is appropriate 42:17 A helpful tip for managing symptoms after the test 43:24 Final message on protecting your mental space in pregnancy Our podcasts are also now on YouTube. If you prefer a video podcast with closed captioning, check us out there and ⁠subscribe to PedsDocTalk⁠. Get trusted pediatric advice, relatable parenting insights, and evidence-based tips delivered straight to your inbox—join thousands of parents who rely on the PDT newsletter to stay informed, supported, and confident. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠! And don’t forget to follow ⁠⁠⁠⁠@pedsdoctalkpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram—our new space just for parents looking for real talk and real support. We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on the ⁠PedsDocTalk Podcast Sponsorships⁠ page of the website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	I would just call it chemophobia that is very strong in social media spaces, which is this fear of chemicals, any kind of chemical.
0:08.8	There's a fear of sugar because there's this kind of anti-sugar movement.
0:12.8	And so it's like, why would we be giving people 50 grams of sugar?
0:15.7	That's not like normal or 100 grams of sugar and that's not normal under like normal constraints.
0:41.4	And so one of the things I try to educate on is why a challenge test is important, right? Because it's true. Like, and if you kind of think about it, it's like, okay, well, I don't really eat like that. So why do I have to go and do that? I'm just going to eat. Like if I'm not doing that, then my system won't be stressed. But the whole idea is to really stress the system to make sure we identify any underlying issues that maybe we couldn't identify if we were just monitoring you with how you normally
0:46.6	eat.
0:47.0	And then we would miss gestational diabetes.
0:49.1	And then, you know, a month down the road, it would present itself in a worse way.
0:59.1	Music down the road, it would present itself in a worse way. Welcome to the Pied Stock Talk podcast. It's Dr. Mona here. And today we're talking about
1:03.3	something I wish more pregnant people heard real explanations about instead of fear-based
1:08.0	content online. Lately, I've seen the same pattern play out in my messages and in my office.
1:13.4	People are terrified of the glucola test, terrified of ingredients, terrified of the sugar,
1:19.0	and even more terrified of the idea that there isn't some safer workaround that TikTok
1:23.5	has promised them.
1:25.1	And I get it.
1:25.8	When I was pregnant with my daughter, I had gestational
1:28.0	diabetes. That drink, the glucola test and that drink, was the last thing I felt like taking.
1:33.6	But it was the test that found my gestational diabetes. And it changed the course of my pregnancy
1:38.1	care in the best way possible. And frankly, it's not that bad. It tastes like very high
1:43.8	sugar content, phanta. But it was the test
1:47.4	that found my GDM and I needed that information. And I see so many pregnant people now who deserve
1:53.2	solid guidance instead of being scared out of helpful evidence-based testing. That's why I adore
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Dr. Mona Amin, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Dr. Mona Amin and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.