Research
Micronutrients & recovery
Ketogenic diets are associated with an increased risk of neural tube defects in offspring when followed by women prior to conception, regardless of folic acid supplementation.
Women planning pregnancy should avoid ketogenic diets due to the increased risk of neural tube defects, even if they take folic acid supplements.
ModerateRefutesMEDIUM confidence
Women who reported consuming low-carbohydrate diets in the year prior to conception... were 30% more likely to have an infant with a neural tube defect.
Why this rating
Based on observational studies (National Birth Defects Prevention Study).
Source
Ketogenic Diets and Chronic Disease: Weighing the Benefits Against the Risks
Lee Crosby et al. · Frontiers in Nutrition · 2021
DOI 10.3389/fnut.2021.702802
narrative_reviewCited 215×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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