Low carb lifestyle while pregnant

[Anonymous]

I just found out I am pregnant and am thinking I may need to change up my eating habits a bit. About 7 months ago I did 2 rounds of Whole 30 and since then would consider myself mostly Paleo but I do eat some dairy. My diet is 85% meat, fruits and veggies, and 15% nuts and dairy. That said, I don’t really eat any grains, even gluten free, and don’t eat much in the way of starchy veggies like potatoes. I eat no soy or legumes and very rarely have sugar. The main reason I eat this way is because I feel great first and foremost.

Now that I am pregnant I think I may need to add some healthy carbs back in - maybe gluten free grains or things like sweet potatoes? I want to avoid going off the deep end like I did with my last pregnancy where I lived on pasta and carbs. But I want to be healthy at the same time.

Does anyone have recommendations? Anyone else low carb and modify slightly during pregnancy?

[Anonymous]

Eat peanuts to prevent peanut allergy! A slice of whole-grain toast with PB in the morning would do the trick on all fronts.

[Anonymous]

You can look at the GW midwives diet. People ridiculenit here, but I mostly followed it and gained 15-20lb each pregnancy- which was important because I am overweight.

Things you can try to add in - sweet potato, beans, hummus, whole grains like farro and barley, 12 grain or other wheat bread with seeds, homemade granola, quinoa, lentils.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure you need to change a thing, OP. Over on Reddit, there are women who stay ketogenic through most of their pregnancies, with their doctors' support (reddit.com/r/ketobabies), so I'm sure your own way of eating is perfectly healthy.

That said, do your baby a favor by eating peanut butter on the regular. Regular consumption of PB in pregnancy has been linked to lower likelihood of peanut allergies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure you need to change a thing, OP. Over on Reddit, there are women who stay ketogenic through most of their pregnancies, with their doctors' support (reddit.com/r/ketobabies), so I'm sure your own way of eating is perfectly healthy.

That said, do your baby a favor by eating peanut butter on the regular. Regular consumption of PB in pregnancy has been linked to lower likelihood of peanut allergies.

Thanks that’s a good call out - I love peanut butter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure you need to change a thing, OP. Over on Reddit, there are women who stay ketogenic through most of their pregnancies, with their doctors' support (reddit.com/r/ketobabies), so I'm sure your own way of eating is perfectly healthy.

That said, do your baby a favor by eating peanut butter on the regular. Regular consumption of PB in pregnancy has been linked to lower likelihood of peanut allergies.

Thanks that’s a good call out - I love peanut butter.

Eh. More powerful are the findings showing early and regular introduction of PB to infants greatly reduces the risk of peanut allergies. I ate PB daily with all three kids, and one is still allergic to them. I mean, eat PB, sure, but if you really want to prevent peanut allergies, start your baby off around 6 months and give peanut products (like Bamba) daily.

[Anonymous]

Why are peanut allergies so common?

[Anonymous]

If you’re eating plenty of fruits and vegetables you’re eating plenty of carbs.

Eskimos eat full blown keto traditionally and have healthy babies.

[Anonymous]

OP, please.

Do not poll here on DCUM. Do you really think you will get sound medical advice, as opposed to just the opinion, "I read a great article and this worked for me," from who knows who?

Please talk to your doctor about this, or even better, a registered dietitian.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you’re eating plenty of fruits and vegetables you’re eating plenty of carbs.

Eskimos eat full blown keto traditionally and have healthy babies.

And you got your nutrition degree where?

This is absolutely not true, OP. Fruits and vegetables alone do not provide adequate carbs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you’re eating plenty of fruits and vegetables you’re eating plenty of carbs.

Eskimos eat full blown keto traditionally and have healthy babies.

Are you an expert on “Eskimo” health?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you’re eating plenty of fruits and vegetables you’re eating plenty of carbs.

Eskimos eat full blown keto traditionally and have healthy babies.

And you got your nutrition degree where?

This is absolutely not true, OP. Fruits and vegetables alone do not provide adequate carbs.

Np Yes, they do! If she eats a diet high enough in fat (meats, dairy, nuts etc. ), she will have more than enough energy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you’re eating plenty of fruits and vegetables you’re eating plenty of carbs.

Eskimos eat full blown keto traditionally and have healthy babies.

And you got your nutrition degree where?

This is absolutely not true, OP. Fruits and vegetables alone do not provide adequate carbs.

Np Yes, they do! If she eats a diet high enough in fat (meats, dairy, nuts etc. ), she will have more than enough energy.

And she will produce ketones which cross the placenta, and have the potential to cause brain damage.

Inuit and Yupik people ("Eskimos") don't produce ketones on their traditional diet. A variety of reasons have been postulated for this.

1) They eat more protein and less fat than on a keto diet, because they trim the fat and save it for other purposes.

2) They particularly value those parts of the animal that are high in glycogen (e.g. the liver) and eat them very quickly after killing the animal.

3) Natural selection has caused a condition called CPT 1a Arctic variant in almost all Inuit/Yupik. This variant changes how they metabolize fat. It's one of the causes of high infant mortality in the Arctic, but it also has benefits and is one of the ways the Inuit and Yupik adapted to their traditional diet.

OP almost certainly isn't going to be eating freshly caught walrus liver, and almost certainly doesn't have CPT 1a Arctic variant, so advising her to try and follow a traditional Inuit/Yupik diet is extremely bad advice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you’re eating plenty of fruits and vegetables you’re eating plenty of carbs.

Eskimos eat full blown keto traditionally and have healthy babies.

And you got your nutrition degree where?

This is absolutely not true, OP. Fruits and vegetables alone do not provide adequate carbs.

Np Yes, they do! If she eats a diet high enough in fat (meats, dairy, nuts etc. ), she will have more than enough energy.

And she will produce ketones which cross the placenta, and have the potential to cause brain damage.

Inuit and Yupik people ("Eskimos") don't produce ketones on their traditional diet. A variety of reasons have been postulated for this.

1) They eat more protein and less fat than on a keto diet, because they trim the fat and save it for other purposes.

2) They particularly value those parts of the animal that are high in glycogen (e.g. the liver) and eat them very quickly after killing the animal.

3) Natural selection has caused a condition called CPT 1a Arctic variant in almost all Inuit/Yupik. This variant changes how they metabolize fat. It's one of the causes of high infant mortality in the Arctic, but it also has benefits and is one of the ways the Inuit and Yupik adapted to their traditional diet.

OP almost certainly isn't going to be eating freshly caught walrus liver, and almost certainly doesn't have CPT 1a Arctic variant, so advising her to try and follow a traditional Inuit/Yupik diet is extremely bad advice.

I think I love you.

It drives me crazy when people say “but the eskimos/kitavins/hadza/whatever population of people do THIS!” Because, you know, there’s absolutely zero genetic diversity among the most widely distributed species in existence. Nope. None at all.

OP, eat what you enjoy and what makes you feel good. White potatoes, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, white rice, brown rice, whatever. As long as you stick with single ingredient foods and are cautious about adding in fats, salt, and sugar, you’ll be fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you’re eating plenty of fruits and vegetables you’re eating plenty of carbs.

Eskimos eat full blown keto traditionally and have healthy babies.

And you got your nutrition degree where?

This is absolutely not true, OP. Fruits and vegetables alone do not provide adequate carbs.

Np Yes, they do! If she eats a diet high enough in fat (meats, dairy, nuts etc. ), she will have more than enough energy.

Honey go back to your crayons. If she eats a diet like that she’ll just get fat. And I don’t mean just pregnant fat.