According to a new study published by the Journal Birth Defects Research, women who are expecting or planning to have a baby should avoid diet that reduce or eliminate carbohydrates. The study infers that low carbohydrate diet could increase the risk of having babies with neural tube birth defects. It found that the women with low carbohydrate intake are 30 percent more likely to have babies with neural tube defects, such as spina bifida, which means malformations of the spine and spinal cord and anencephaly, which is the absence of major portions of the brain and skull, which can lead to lifelong disability and infant death.
The researchers claimed that the maternal diet before and during early pregnancy plays a significant role in fetal development. What is new about the study is its suggestion that low carbohydrate intake could increase the risk of having a baby with a neural tube defect by 30 percent.
Researchers also found that dietary intake of folic acid among women with restricted carbohydrate intake were less than half of other women. Folic acid is also an essential nutrient that minimizes the risk of neural tube defects. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all women who are pregnant or are planning should take a multivitamin with at least 400 micro-grams of folic acid every day before and during pregnancy.
This makes fortified foods an important source of folic acid for women who may become pregnant.