The keto diet has become more and more popular over the years as it has proven to be more efficient at ridding the body of excess weight than the low-fat diets that were previously promoted as the best way to lose weight quickly. Ketosis is now recognised as an effective way to lose weight and reduce weight related health conditions (1). This article will clarify questions related to keto fruits.
Dieters who follow the Keto route will lose weight rapidly. Best of all they will be losing body fat and not muscle. The diet works by limiting the consumption of carbohydrates, replacing it with dietary fat and adequate protein. The only complaint many dieters have is that this does restrict their choices, particularly since the diet excludes starchy vegetables and many fruits. And, the question for many is how to include keto fruits into their diet.
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How Does a Keto Diet Induce Weight Loss?
When you embark on the Keto Diet the amount of carbohydrates that you eat will be severely rationed. When the body is starved of carbohydrates it is forced to convert body fat into energy. This process is known as ketosis.
Ketosis is the state of having ketones in your blood. When the body metabolizes fat ketones are formed. This is not a health threatening condition as some may think. It is a normal bodily function that would have taken place regularly before men settled and farmed grains, relying instead on hunting and gathering.
There are no sugar spikes when the carbohydrate levels are controlled. This reduces the amount of insulin in the body. The keto diet promotes the consumption of fresh produce and excludes processed foods. It is therefore a healthy way to lose weight.
The keto diet works because it targets hormonal imbalances such as insulin resistance and it combats the effects of spikes in the sugar levels in the body. It is also easy to maintain because you don’t have to count calories since there are many foods categories that you can eat without weighing them. It does not take long to go into ketosis. Once you’re in ketosis and you stay there the reduction in weight is fairly rapid and continuous.
To keep your body in ketosis you should limit your carbohydrate intake to between twenty and fifty grams per day. Too many carbs and you’ll come out of ketosis and the body will stop burning fat. Ketosis helps to control hunger and coming out of ketosis could make you hungry and tempted to eat foods that will reverse the weight loss.
Keto Fruits Options
For the most part fruit and berries contain a fair amount of sugar in the form of fructose so most are not recommended for a Keto diet. Berries contain less sugar than other fruits so they can be eaten in small quantities. Raspberries, blackberries, gooseberries, blueberries and strawberries can all be used in smoothies or scattered in salads. Use them sparingly as a keto fruit snack at the end of the day if you have a sweet tooth. Rhubarb, starfruit and watermelon are also relatively low in sugar.
Because most other fruits contain so much sugar they can cause sugar spikes that in turn cause insulin spikes which is what the keto diet aims to prevent. Insulin instructs your body not to release fat. Research has shown that sugar can be as addictive as hard-core drugs such as cocaine (2).
There are however a few fruits that contain considerably less sugar. These tend to be more savoury. Fiber discounts some of the carbohydrates in fruit which is why berries are allowable in a keto diet.
To measure net carbohydrates fiber is subtracted from the total carbohydrates. This is because fiber does not have a significant impact on sugar levels as the carbohydrates in fiber are not digestible. Fiber is essential for efficient digestion and good health.
Keto Diet Fruits
Whilst many consider them vegetables, olives, avocadoes and tomatoes are technically speaking fruits and form an important part of the ketogenic diet. Listed below are the most keto friendly fruits:
#1. Avocadoes
Avocadoes are low on fructose and high on healthy fats. They are also packed with vitamins and minerals. They are an important source of potassium. Because they are high in fiber their net carbohydrate count is just 1.8 grams per 100 grams. Use them in salads., make a delicious guacamole or eat them straight out of their shells.
#2. Tomatoes
Tomatoes add to the acidity of various cooked dishes and are excellent in sauces. They are also a great addition to leafy salads and they are full of micro-nutrients and vitamins that your body requires to stay in good health. Their net carbohydrate value is 2.7 grams.
#3. Blackberries
Blackberries contain manganese and vitamins C and K. They contain 4.3 grams of net carbohydrates and make a healthy morning snack.
#4. Rhubarb
Rhubarb contains vitamin K and anti-oxidants (3) that can destroy the free radicals in the body that cause cell mutations that may be responsible for cancer. And, rhubarb contains 2.7 grams of carbohydrates.
#5. Green Olives
Green olives have a low carb content and high fat content. Just what’s required to promote a keto diet. Olives contain oleuropein, and antioxidants with anti-inflammatory properties that could protect your cells from damage. They are great for maintaining the bones preventing bone loss (4). They contain 3.1 grams of carbohydrate.
#6. Starfruit
Starfruit is packed with minerals and vitamins and has just 4 grams of carbohydrate.
#7. Watermelon
Watermelon has a high-water content so it is filling. It is high in vitamin A and contains 7.7 grams of carbohydrate.
#8. Strawberries
Strawberries contain potassium and vitamin C. Cover them in full cream. It’s allowed on this diet. Strawberries contain 5.68 grams of carbohydrate.
Fruit to Avoid on a Low Keto Diet
Make sure to replace the fruits that you cut out of your diet with generous servings of keto vegetables as you can easily make up the loss of nutrients previously obtained from fruit by enjoying salads and vegetables along with the proteins and fats that you are allowed on your diet.
Know Your Keto Fruits and Vegetables
The Keto Diet has proved for many to be their best chance at long term and substantial weight loss. Excess weight and obesity is one of the most serious threats to health in the twenty first century and the keto diet is a scientific method of reducing weight.
To succeed on the Keto Diet, it is essential that you remain in ketosis, which is dependent on keeping your carbohydrate intake low. An understanding of keto fruits and vegetables is key to ensuring that you reach you goal weight and stay there.