The Peaty Pregnancy Protocol
Hormones, Metabolism & Making Super Babies
Forget folic acid and prenatal multivitamins. Ray Peat had a different plan, one that starts with orange juice, ends with red light, and is soaked in progesterone.
Why Peat?
Ray Peat didn’t just think different, he lived different. His views on fertility and pregnancy flipped mainstream advice on its swollen, iron-deficient head. For Peat, a healthy pregnancy didn’t begin with medication or a multivitamin, it began with energy: mitochondrial energy, hormonal balance, and metabolic flow.
And guess what supports all that?
Progesterone, pregnenolone, thyroid, saturated fat, and sugar.
Yes, sugar. We’re going there.
Phase 1: Pre-Conception Peating (3–6 Months Out)
Objective:
Crank up metabolic health, lower stress, and get your hormones humming before there’s even a zygote in sight.
Peat’s Pre-Conception Stack:
Phase 2: Pregnancy – Month by Month
Objective:
Keep estrogen, cortisol, and inflammation low. Support progesterone, thyroid, and metabolism like your baby’s life depends on it (because it kinda does).
1st Trimester
Progesterone is queen. If nausea, anxiety, or spotting creep in, that’s often low progesterone + high estrogen.
Consider continuing progesterone if symptoms demand it.
Maintain thyroid support (T3 helps embryonic development).
Eat easy-to-digest foods. Sipping juice is not a crime.
2nd Trimester
Appetite rises, so does natural progesterone.
Stick with high-calcium, high-carb, low-PUFA diet: milk, cheese, fruit, liver (1x/week), eggs, broth.
Continue progesterone/pregnenolone if mood/sleep/anxiety start slipping again.
3rd Trimester
Progesterone support may prevent preterm contractions and cortisol surges.
Muscle cramps? Check calcium:magnesium balance.
Add more red light if you’re tired, moody, or achy.
Daily Peaty Pregnancy Staples
1+ qt milk
Fresh fruit and/or OJ
Raw carrot salad (for estrogen/endotoxin control)
Gelatin or collagen
Weekly liver
Bone broth
Coconut oil
Eggs
Salt
If it looks like a 1950s farm wife’s grocery list, you’re probably doing it right. If it worked for your parents and grandparents, why wouldn’t it work for you. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Sometimes there is much to learn from “old wives tales.”
Phase 3: Postpartum
Objective:
Avoid the hormonal nosedive, support brain and breast, and get your metabolism back online.
Peaty Quotes
“Estrogen is not the female hormone. Progesterone is.”
“Energy is the first requirement for life.”
“A healthy baby is built on milk, sugar, salt, and light.”
“The stress hormones are catabolic — they eat you alive.”
What This Isn’t:
Medical advice (obviously).
A substitute for listening to your own body.
Compatible with most OB/GYNs without them prescribing you a side of skepticism.
Peat was all about context, individual feedback, and adjusting as you go. If something makes you feel worse, it’s not your vibe. His goal was resilience, not perfection. It all ultimately comes down to you (n=1). What works for you might not necessarily work for someone else. This is simply a framework to build off of.