Eating healthy foods during pregnancy is important for the baby’s growth and development. Keto diet has few benefits on pregnant women such as prevention of gestational diabetes, reduced cravings among others.

But low carb diet is not safe for pregnant women because in keto diet, the body uses ketones instead of glucose which is not ideal during pregnancy. Some of the reason to not follow the keto diet are :

• Deficiency in nutrition:  Limiting your food on a keto diet can put you and your baby at risk for nutritional deficiencies. Pregnant women need higher levels of folate because folic acid helps to prevent birth defects. For this, you have to eat leafy vegetables, fruits and nuts having enough carbs for your baby.

• Fewer cravings: Pregnancy is not the right time for weight loss. Studies show that pregnant women need 200-300 extra calories per day to provide adequate nutrition for both mother and the baby. 

• Keto flu: Keto flu is the side effect when the body enters into a ketosis state. This makes you feel brain fog, headache, insomnia, irritability, muscle soreness, poor focus and sugar cravings. This is going to worsen along with pregnancy symptoms.

Even after all these reasons, if you still need to follow a ketogenic diet while being pregnant, please consult your physician first.