Keto Diet For New Mothers – Pros And Cons

During your pregnancy, you’ll be eating for two. Your child’s nutrition relies on the food you eat in the prenatal phase, and after birth through breastfeeding. Any of your nutritional deficiencies will impact the health and development of your baby.

Is there an optimal diet for pregnancy? Recent research into the ketogenic diet and its positive benefits for human health have caught the attention of health experts and the media. Can the ketogenic diet offer better nutrition for you and your baby during and after the pregnancy?

The fundamental principle behind the ketogenic diet is to consume 90% of your caloric intake from healthy fat sources. Avocadoes, deep-water fishes like salmon and mackerel, nuts, and extra-virgin olive oil are all excellent examples of nutrient-dense fats used in the ketogenic diet. Protein makes up 10% of total calories, and zero calories come from carbohydrate sources.

To induce ketosis, stop eating carbs for a few days, or you can use the best exogenous ketones supplement to help you enter ketosis quickly. The body converts carbs into glycogen and uses it as metabolic fuel. In the absence of carbohydrate, the brain will switch to a metabolic state called “ketosis.” In ketosis, the liver converts fat cells into ketones to provide the body with metabolic energy instead of glycogen.

Research shows that this metabolic state is surprisingly beneficial for many people. Ketogenic diets used alongside a caloric deficit is possibly the most efficient fat loss diet you can try. In a caloric deficit, the body will turn to body fat stores to cover the energy deficit from your nutrition. People following this diet strategy experience rapid weight loss.

Studies show that the health benefits from a keto diet aren’t limited to fat loss alone. It’s possible to reverse blood sugar disorders like type 2 diabetes, improve your cholesterol profile, and even prevent and cure certain types of cancer with keto.

The primary benefit of using a ketogenic diet is the reduction of systemic inflammation in the body. Inflammation of the digestive tract from poor food choices such as refined carbohydrates prevents gut biomes from efficiently assimilating the nutrition from your food. This systemic inflammation spreads throughout every other biological system and affects your baby as well. Eating a ketogenic diet improves gut health and dramatically decreases levels of gastrointestinal inflammation, keeping you and your baby healthy.

A keto diet will help you stabilize your hormones and improve your levels of mood, as well as your sense of well-being. When you’re pregnant, it’s important to minimize stress as much as possible. A balanced mood is essential to manage the effects of environmental stress on the pregnancy and ensure the health of your baby during and after childbirth.

Eating a ketogenic diet lowers blood-serum levels of LDL cholesterol. As well as total cholesterol triglycerides. At the same time, HDL (good cholesterol) production increases, protecting the cardiovascular system by improving circulation to your vital organs and the fetus.

Manage cravings with stable blood-glucose levels. When you aren’t eating any carbs, your blood glucose levels won't experience any wild swings during the day. Keto diets rely on slow-burning fats for energy. Avoid the dreaded afternoon crashes from carb-based diets. Using a ketogenic diet after the pregnancy helps get rid of unwanted baby weight.