Ketogenic Diet May Protect Against Prenatal Stress, Study Finds

TUESDAY, Oct. 14, 2025 (HealthDay News) — A high-fat, low-carbohydrate ketogenic "keto" diet may help protect young animals from the lasting effects of stress experienced before birth, new research suggests.

The findings, presented Sunday at the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) conference in Amsterdam, add to growing evidence that diet could play a powerful role in shaping brain health. 

Studies in animals often yield different results in people, however.

Researchers at the University of Milan found that when young rats were fed a ketogenic diet soon after weaning, they were less likely to show behavioral problems linked to prenatal stress such as social and mood disorders.

In the study, pregnant rats were exposed to stress during the final week before giving birth. Their offspring were divided into two groups: One fed a normal diet and the other fed a ketogenic diet.

By day 42, half of the rats born to stressed mothers and fed a regular diet had social and emotional problems. In comparison, only 22% of male rats and 12% of female rats fed a ketogenic diet developed these problems.

"The diet seems to have acted like a shield for their developing brains, so preventing social and motivational problems from ever taking root," lead researcher Alessia Marchesin, a doctoral student at the University of Milan, said in a news release.

Marchesin noted that the protective effect appeared to work differently by sex, reducing inflammation in males and boosting antioxidant defenses in females.

The study also found that the rats on the ketogenic diet grew more slowly, suggesting that calorie restriction could play a role in the mental health benefits seen.

"If these findings translate to humans, we may be able to treat the long-term burden of prenatal trauma simply by adjusting what at‑risk kids eat," Marchesin said.

Aniko Korosi, an associate professor at the University of Amsterdam who was not involved in the study, said the research contributes to the growing field of nutritional psychiatry, which explores how food impacts mental health.

"The presented study interestingly shows that prenatal stress-induced risk to altered behavior can be modulated with a ketogenic diet fed after weaning. It will be intriguing to further explore what are the biological processes involved in these beneficial effects and if such effects are sex specific," Korosi said.

More information

The University of California - Davis Health has more on the keto diet.

SOURCE: European College of Neuropsychopharmacology, news release, Oct. 11, 2025

What This Means For You

Experts say the research adds to the evidence that nutrition can influence brain development.