--- title: Here's Why You Should Avoid Fried Food During Pregnancy description: So much for those burger-and-fries cravings. A new study published in Diabetologia found that women who eat more fried food before conceiving are at greater... canonical: https://time.com/3482653/fried-food-gestational-diabetes/ author: Mandy Oaklander article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-10-09T18:59:11.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:07:30.765Z article:section: Health og:title: Here's Why You Should Avoid Fried Food During Pregnancy og:description: So much for those burger-and-fries cravings. A new study published in Diabetologia found that women who eat more fried food before conceiving are at greater... og:url: https://time.com/3482653/fried-food-gestational-diabetes/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta7d8a9e979583a7f/69875f7ccd6848d239096f41/fried-chicken.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Fried chicken og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here's Why You Should Avoid Fried Food During Pregnancy twitter:description: So much for those burger-and-fries cravings. A new study published in Diabetologia found that women who eat more fried food before conceiving are at greater... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta7d8a9e979583a7f/69875f7ccd6848d239096f41/fried-chicken.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here's Why Women Should Avoid Fried Food Before Pregnancy > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Health Matters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Health Matters is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The latest health news and expert advice on living well. Health Matters makes the fast-moving world of health more useful, surprising and human, from the latest science and medical breakthroughs to practical ideas for living better. 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It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators.  by [Mandy Oaklander](https://time.com/author/mandy-oaklander/)  ## Mandy Oaklander Oaklander is a senior editor at TIME. Oct 9, 2014 6:59 PM UTC  This fried chicken will give you a heart attack. This fried chicken will give you a heart attack. Getty Images  by [Mandy Oaklander](https://time.com/author/mandy-oaklander/)  ## Mandy Oaklander Oaklander is a senior editor at TIME. Oct 9, 2014 6:59 PM UTC So much for those burger-and-fries cravings. A new [study](http://www.diabetologia-journal.org/#inside%5Fthis%5Fissue) published in _Diabetologia_ found that women who eat more fried food before conceiving are at greater risk for developing gestational diabetes—the kind that starts or is first noticed during pregnancy. Researchers looked at diet questionnaires from about 15,000 women enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study II. Once they adjusted for BMI, researchers found that women who ate fried food seven or more times a week had an 88% greater risk for gestational diabetes than those who ate fried food less than once a week. **MORE**: [Mom’s Diabetes Linked To Autism and Developmental Delays](http://healthland.time.com/2012/04/09/moms-obesity-diabetes-linked-with-autism-and-developmental-delays/) Interestingly, the association was particularly strong with fried foods eaten _away_ from home compared to home-cooked fried food. Restaurants tend to reuse their oil for multiple fryings, a practice that deteriorates oils through oxidation and hydrogenation. “Refrying may produce more of those detrimental chemicals,” says co-author Cuilin Zhang, MD, an investigator at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Frying also creates inflammatory compounds that may contribute to cell damage and diabetes—which Zhang suspects are related to the fried food. No one would argue that a chicken nugget is a health food, but that kind of dining may be more hazardous when you’re getting ready to eat for two. ### QUIZ: Should You Eat This or That?  Which is better for you: Half cup of ice cream or 3 scoops of sorbet? Getty Images (4)  Answer: A half cup of ice cream If you eat what you’re craving, you’re more likely to feel satisfied and eat less. And scoop for scoop sorbet contains twice the sugar with none of the filling dairy protein and fat. Getty Images (5); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME  Which is better for you: Real butter or spray on fake butter? Getty Images; Tara Johnson for TIME  Answer: Butter Serving size for spray butters (even low-calorie ones) are around a 1/3 second spray. What on earth does that mean? You're better off using a small amount of real butter as opposed to guessing how much you're using of the mystery melange of up to 20 ingredients. Getty Images (1); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME  Which is better for you: A turkey burger or a sirloin burger? Getty Images (2) ![Answer: Sirloin burger
Restaurant turkey burgers are often made with dark meat and the skin, so they’re not necessarily better for you \(and for the record, they aren't low-fat\). You can get a sirloin burger that’s 95% lean meat and gives you 20 g of protein. Just be careful with the toppings.](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte1b297940ae4e4e0/6986970ce53aba0cb54d318e/sirloin-burger.gif?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp) Answer: Sirloin burger Restaurant turkey burgers are often made with dark meat and the skin, so they’re not necessarily better for you (and for the record, they aren't low-fat). You can get a sirloin burger that’s 95% lean meat and gives you 20 g of protein. Just be careful with the toppings. Getty Images (1); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME  Which is better for you: Almonds or pretzels? Getty Images (2)  Answer: Almonds Almonds are high in protein, fiber and fat and will keep you feeling fuller longer. Give high-sodium pretzels about an hour and you'll feel hungry again thanks to the high-carb no-fat or protein content. Getty Images (1); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME  Which is better for you: Special K or eggs? AP; Getty Images  Answer: Eggs In the morning, you want a meal that will fill you up. Eggs offer protein and fat for satiety, but Special K cereal really only offers carbs and, well, air. If you want carbs to kick off the day, you're better off pairing eggs with a slice of 100% whole grain toast. Getty Images (1); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME  Which is better for you: Fat free salad dressing or regular salad dressing? Tara Johnson for TIME  Answer: Regular salad dressingTo absorb fat soluble vitamins like Vitamins E and K in vegetables you need to consume them with a fat to aid nutrient absorption. Fat-free dressing, meanwhile, is low-calorie but gets its flavor from added sugar and salt. Tara Johnson for TIME (5); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME  Which is better for you: A low fat cookie or dark chocolate? Getty Images (2)  Answer: Dark chocolate “People believe fat free is calorie free,” says Keri Gans, a registered dietitian in New York City. “Go for the real thing.” Fat free cookies tend to be high in carbs, sugar and fake sugar. Try a nice piece of antioxidant-rich dark chocolate instead. Getty Images (2); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME  Which is better for you: Low fat Greek yogurt or 100 calorie Yoplait yogurt? Tara Johnson for TIME  Answer: 2% Greek YogurtA little fat is good in the morning to keep you full—plus it has upwards of 17g of protein per container. Fat-free "fruit" yogurt is high in sugar—7 to 10 g per serving—and lower in protein. Tara Johnson for TIME (2); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3482653/fried-food-gestational-diabetes/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3482653/fried-food-gestational-diabetes/"},"headline":"Here's Why Women Should Avoid Fried Food Before Pregnancy","datePublished":"2014-10-09T18:59:11.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:07:30.765Z","description":"So much for those burger-and-fries cravings. A new study published in Diabetologia found that women who eat more fried food before conceiving are at greater...","url":"https://time.com/3482653/fried-food-gestational-diabetes/","keywords":["diabetes","Pregnancy","Diet & Nutrition"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta7d8a9e979583a7f/69875f7ccd6848d239096f41/fried-chicken.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mandy Oaklander","jobTitle":"Oaklander is a senior editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/mandy-oaklander/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta7d8a9e979583a7f/69875f7ccd6848d239096f41/fried-chicken.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Fried chicken","caption":"Fried chicken","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/diabetes/","name":"diabetes"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3482653/fried-food-gestational-diabetes/","name":"Here's Why Women Should Avoid Fried Food Before Pregnancy"}}]}] ```