Introduction
low habitual carbohydrate, ketonaemia
KETONAEMIA, EARLY PREGNANCY
Current dietary advice for pregnant women is to avoid diets that lead to increased ketonaemia [Ketones are produced from the breakdown of lipids when glucose availability is low. Ketogenesis is increased in pregnancy, particularly in the third trimester [Outside pregnancy, a diet with less than 50 g of carbohydrate per day is generally considered to be ketogenic [In order for clinicians to be able to provide women with accurate advice about carbohydrate intake in pregnancy, we need to better understand the relationship between maternal dietary carbohydrate intake and serum B-OHB levels. To our knowledge there are no studies that analyse fasting B-OHB levels in pregnant women and correlate these levels with carbohydrate intake. Our hypothesis was that low habitual carbohydrate intake is associated with higher circulating B-OHB concentrations. The aim of this study was to determine the association between daily habitual carbohydrate intake from early pregnancy through to 28 weeks’ gestation and serum B-OHB levels at 28 weeks’ gestation in pregnant women with overweight and obesity.