Smart Ketogenic

Throughout your life, you have loved the sweet flavor of fruit. Regardless of the time of day, a large serving of your favorite fruit was exactly what the doctor ordered to remain healthy. After all, who has not heard the old saying, ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away.’

While many fruits are a significant source of vitamins, minerals, and fiber, not all of them get the green light with the keto diet.

Keto Fruits: What are they?

The keto diet commands that most of your macronutrients come from fat and limiting carb intake to practically nothing. Unfortunately, this eliminates many fruits from your available food options while on the keto diet.

With a traditional diet, the body relies on carbohydrates to provide energy through its breakdown into glucose. The purpose of the keto diet is to force the body into a state of ketosis and force the body to rely on ketones for energy.

Many fruits are rich in carbs and are a detriment when trying to follow a keto diet. The consumption of certain fruits can put you over your daily carb limit in one serving and will throw your body out of ketosis.

Fortunately, there are some fruits that are still acceptable when you make the decision to go keto. Although the list of available fruits is not large, you can still obtain vital nutrients and maintain ketosis with the limited options provided in this list.

Let’s explore that list of fruits that you are allowed to eat and give you a few pointers of which particular fruits to avoid at all costs when on the keto diet.

Acceptable Fruits

We will begin by reviewing the fruits that you can still enjoy on the keto diet. Although most of the options we provide must be eaten in limited quantities, the one at the top of our list you can go crazy for.

Avocados

A lot of people might not know that avocados are a fruit, but they are hands down the best fruit you can consume on the keto diet. Avocados are a staple food in the keto diet and they are included in lots of keto recipes. With less than 3.0g of net carbs, avocados are a wonderful addition to your keto meal plan.

Avocados are rich in vitamins and minerals that are vital to one’s health. They have lots of potassium and this mineral can make the first few days of your keto diet plan more manageable. Lots of people consume potassium from bananas, but avocados are a much better option for those on the keto diet.

Avocados can improve blood lipid profiles by raising HDL cholesterol and lowering LDL cholesterol as indicated by this study. They make extra contributions to heart health by providing the body with ample amounts of monounsaturated fats.

You can consume a chunk of your daily requirement of fiber by eating an avocado since most carbs in this fruit are dietary fiber.

Any meal with avocados added to them is sure to fill you up without consuming too many calories. This wonderful fruit is filling enough to stimulate weight loss by preventing you from eating as many calories during the day.

Avocados are also an incredible source of antioxidants which can lower your risk of developing cancer and diseases of the eye.

This super food is one of the top foods to have on your grocery list when on the keto diet. The number of health benefits it can provide is too valuable to pass up and you get the added benefit of limited carb consumption by eating them.

Blackberries

Blackberries are the first of several traditional berries which we will mention in our list. As you can see, they are not going to provide you with loads of fat compared to other food groups, but carb content is also low. Not only are blackberries low in net carbs, but they are rich in fiber. They can provide a filling snack by themselves or can be a delicious addition to your keto meals.

Blackberries are loaded with tons of antioxidants which limit oxidative stress within the body and fight against diseases. As indicated in this study, blackberries are one of several berries that can reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and cancer. The antioxidants found within blackberries can also provide a boost to cognitive functioning.

This sweet, delectable fruit provides you with a tremendous amount of vitamin C, vitamin K, and manganese.

Blackberries might not be rich in fat to stimulate ketosis, but you can still enjoy their health benefits and great taste.

Raspberries

Like the first berry on our list, raspberries provide virtually zero fat content, but they do have the benefit of being low in carbs. They are an excellent source of fiber and can fill you up without consuming too many calories. Raspberries contain many vitamins and minerals which can provide numerous health benefits. Just a few include vitamin C, vitamin E, several B vitamins, copper, magnesium, and iron. In fact, you can consume over half the recommended daily amount of vitamin C snacking on raspberries.

Raspberries are also filled with antioxidants and can even help fight against insulin resistance. This study highlights the positive effects against stomach and colon cancer that the antioxidants in raspberries can provide.

You can combat unwanted weight gain by adding raspberries to your diet and reduce the risk of developing chronic disease.

The amount of nutrients packed inside this tiny fruit is amazing and keto dieters are in luck that they are still able to consume them daily.

Strawberries

With essentially zero fat, it might be hard to believe that strawberries are an acceptable food in the keto diet. However, they are low in carbs like their berry counterparts and they can be consumed on a limited basis. Strawberries contain many important nutrients for the body including vitamin C and manganese. They provide antioxidants which can fight against cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Strawberries can help bring blood lipid profiles to equilibrium by lowering LDL cholesterol as highlighted by this study. This can help strawberries play an important role to decrease the risk of developing chronic diseases such as Type 2 Diabetes.

This versatile fruit is enjoyed by many people in a variety of forms. Many mouth-watering desserts and drinks seem to always develop a strawberry flavored version (strawberry jam, strawberry milkshake, strawberry cheese cake). If provided with the appropriate macronutrient content, then a keto dieter can also enjoy them.

Olives

We continue our list with another food you might not think of as a traditional fruit. Olive oil is what usually comes to mind when thinking of olives, but olives in their solid form provide the same rich benefits. They contain high amounts of fat and almost zero carbs which makes them perfect for someone on the keto diet.

Olives are rich in antioxidants and this study discusses how they can help prevent cancer and limit inflammation in the body. The high amounts of monounsaturated fats found within olives make them an excellent food source for optimal heart health. Several key vitamins and minerals such as iron, vitamin E, and calcium.

This powerful fruit can fuel your body with tons of important nutrients is one of the top foods you can consume on the keto diet. Olives should be towards the top of your list when creating delicious keto meals.

Coconuts

Not many people will think of eating coconut meat but will instead opt for coconut oil or coconut water. Regardless of how you enjoy coconuts, they are wonderful to add to your keto meal plan. They contain a tremendous amount of fat and carbs are at an acceptable amount to help you maintain ketosis.

As opposed to containing mostly monounsaturated fats, coconuts are loaded with a great amount of healthy saturated fats. These fats can limit the risk to cardiovascular disease and promote optimal blood lipid profiles. Coconuts contain medium chain triglycerides which can be quickly converted to ketones within the body. This greatly benefits someone practicing the keto diet since the desired source of energy is ketones.

The medium chain triglycerides found within coconuts can stimulate weight loss since MCTs help burn calories at a high rate. As indicated in this study, as little as 15 to 30 grams of MCT consumption can increase the amount of calories burned within the body.

A further benefit of MCTs is their ability to increase brain function and to treat brain related conditions. There is ongoing research about the possibility of coconuts and all their forms being a treatment to Alzheimer’s Disease and other forms of dementia.

Coconuts are one of the best foods for someone on the keto diet. They contain lots of healthy fats and can help you stimulate the production of ketones. They are a must have to your keto diet.

Lemons

Although lemons are not a fruit we normally eat raw, they are used frequently to flavor all sorts of drinks. Artificial flavors and sweeteners are not acceptable when practicing a keto diet, but lemons are a delicious way of adding flavor to your drink while maintaining ketosis.

There is almost zero fat content in lemons, but they do not present many additional carbs to the diet.

Lemons are an excellent source of vitamin C and they can help prevent weight gain. Many people add lemons to tea and water and this can enhance the health benefits of their beverage. For example, consuming lemon water can produce positive effects in the digestive and urinary systems.

When developing your keto meal plans, add a squeeze of lemon to your drink (or even your food) for an extra taste that has several positive health benefits.

Fruits to Avoid

We have reviewed some of the fruits that pass the keto test, but there are many popular choices that will have to cast aside when on the keto diet. Let’s look at some of the fruits that will destroy your body’s ability to maintain ketosis if consumed.

• Bananas – One medium banana contains over 20.0g of net carbs.
• Apples – One medium apple contains over 20.0g of net carbs.
• Grapes – 100g of grapes contains 10.0g of net carbs.
• Oranges – One orange can have upwards of 15.0g of net carbs.
• Mangos – One mango contains nearly 30.0g of net carbs.
• Tangerines – One medium tangerine contains over 10.0g of net carbs.

In addition to the fruits mentioned above, fruit juices and fruit syrups must be avoided. Some of the most popular fruits such as apples and bananas simply contain too many carbs to be enjoyed with the keto diet. If an individual wishing to become a keto dieter enjoys any of the forbidden fruit on our list, then it is a sacrifice they will have to make to stimulate and maintain ketosis.

Closing Thoughts

After reviewing the acceptable and forbidden fruits on our list, it should be clear which are the top fruits to go with. Avocados, olives, and coconuts are all premier choices for someone on the keto diet. Their shared high fat and low carb content make them wonderful addition to any keto meal plan.

Avocados, olives, and coconuts can all be transformed into oils and can be used in a multitude of ways when cooking meals on a keto meal plan. The versatility, taste, and health benefits of these three powerful fruits make each of them wonderful additions to your meal plan. Not only are they the most recommended fruits for the keto diet, they are arguably the best overall foods for the keto diet.

You may have heard the term thrown around before. But what exactly are keto macros? Read on on to find out what they are and why they’re essential for mastering the ketogenic lifestyle. 

Keto Macros 101

What are the secrets behind the keto diet? How can you obtain the claimed health benefits of the keto diet? Where do you begin?

The first thing to understand about the keto diet is its macronutrient principles. Failure to do so will result in much frustration when you attempt to tackle the diet alone. You cannot develop one keto meal, let alone an entire keto program, without learning the fundamental tenets of the diet.

The primary purpose of the keto diet is to change your body’s energy source from glucose to ketones. Glucose is what your body gravitates towards when searching for a fuel source and this energy provider comes from carbs within the diet.

However, when the body is starved of glucose, it will search for a different molecule to provide its energy needs. It is imperative that this alternative source be ketones and this can only be done by following a specific macronutrient range within the diet to stimulate the production of ketones.

Let’s review everything you need to know about macronutrients within the keto diet.

The Production of Ketones

How can the macronutrient intake of your diet affect keto production inside the body? The first thing to remember is that the body will not resort to ketones unless glucose is unavailable. This means that carbs must be severely restricted from your diet. Your diet must contain little to no carbs. This can be a significant barrier for many people to overcome since a traditional diet can range anywhere from 45 to 65 percent carbs.

Despite the difficulty of making this transition, it is the first step to enable ketone production. The muscles and brain must be starved of glucose so it knows to find another energy provider.

This study focused on individuals with Type 2 Diabetes and it was discovered that a low-carb diet significantly increased the amount of ketones seen in the urine. Ketone production is impossible without cutting off carbs from dietary consumption.

The next key step to stimulate the production of ketones is a substantial increase in the amount of healthy fats you consume. The exact amount of daily fat consumption needed to reach ketosis will vary for each individual person, but fat needs to be the primary macronutrient consumed to provide ample ketone production.

When following these two basic principles, you will be on the fast track to ramping up keto production inside your body.

Keto Diet Macronutrient Range

The most important concept any keto dieter needs to understand is the percentage of the overall diet for each individual macronutrient.

Fat, carbohydrate, and protein content must be diligently tracked in everything you consume to ensure the production of ketones. The ideal keto macronutrient range is approximately 75 percent fat, 20 percent protein, and 5 percent carbs.

The exact macronutrient range can be altered to suit individual needs. Regardless of individual preference, fat intake must remain at a bare minimum of 60 percent of the overall diet. Carbs must not eclipse 10 percent of the overall diet.

How to Calculate Macronutrient Content of Food

In order to ensure that you are the following the basic keto diet principles, it is imperative to know how to calculate the macronutrient distribution of your food. This skill can be the difference of steady keto production or a body still relying on glucose for energy.

You must know how to read nutrition labels. It will save much time and energy when attempting to track the amount of each macronutrient within every meal. Nutrition labels provide the exact number of grams per serving of each macronutrient of the item you plan on incorporating into a meal. For example, if a food item contains 5g of fat per serving and the entire product is 5 servings, then you will consume 25g of fat for that item.

The most important factor you want to keep an eye on is your carb intake. If you allow carb intake to creep above a certain amount, then it will prevent your body from maintaining a state of ketosis. Results will vary by individual, but most will need to keep their carb intake between 20-50 grams per day.

Another study directed at individuals with Type 2 Diabetes indicated that those who kept carb intake within the recommended range were able to maintain optimal ketone levels in the blood and reduce the number of prescriptions needed for treatment.

It is crucial to know how to read nutrition labels and calculate the exact number of grams of each macronutrient for anything you eat. In case you ever come across a food with no nutrition label, research that food item or utilize programs such as MyFitnessPal to provide this information. The term you will be looking for to base your calculations is net carbs.

Carbs

When determining the keto macro range for you, carbs are the first one you want to tackle. It can be a tricky process, but you need to learn your specific limit of carbs you can consume before your body is thrown out of ketosis. If you cannot stay in ketosis, then it will make the keto diet difficult to follow in the long-term.

To identify the number of grams of carbs in a food item, you want to subtract total carbs from fiber for net carbs. Only the net carbs will play a role in the levels of glucose circulating through your blood. When you know the number of net carbs of every item that you consume, you can begin the process of pinpointing the threshold of carbs that will throw you out of ketosis.

The exact number of grams of carbs will be tailored to your body’s reactions to a low-carb diet and its ability to enter ketosis. Some individuals cannot exceed 20g of net carbs per day, but others are able to consume upwards of 40g or 50g of net carbs. If you are having a difficult time pinpointing your exact threshold of carbs, then 30g of net carbs is an ideal number to stick with. You can adjust the macronutrient range for the remainder of your diet based around this number.

Protein

Although protein is not needed in significant portions within a keto diet, it is important to consume enough for bodily functions that require it. While on the keto diet, the exact amount of protein you consume will vary based on your individual preference and your body weight.

Do you want to gain muscle, lose muscle, or remain at the same level of muscle mass you currently possess? Whichever option you would like to do will determine how much protein you consume daily. The macronutrient content of protein on the keto diet can sway anywhere from 15 to 30 percent of your total diet.

For the average individual with no specific goal in mind, the ideal amount of daily protein is 0.36g per pound of body weight. This will help you maintain your current muscle mass but will not initiate any further growth.

If you are an athlete and wish to increase your peak performance, then you will need to up your protein intake accordingly. One study found that protein intake should be upwards of 0.55g to 0.77g per pound to increase athletic performance. Keto dieters who need to be at their best during the competition will want to consider consuming an amount of protein on the higher end of spectrum.

Once you determine your specific health goals and ideal muscle mass, you can move on to the last portion of keto macronutrient distribution.   

Fats

Let’s place fats underneath the microscope since not all fats in the diet are the same. The overwhelming majority of your food consumption on the keto diet will come from fat and it is important to identify the right fats to include in your diet.

As featured in this study, fats play a vital role in our health and do a tremendous job of limiting body fat.

Fats that you want to include in your diet are monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and saturated. These healthy fats can be rich sources of omega-3 fatty acids, omega-6 fatty acids, and medium chain triglycerides.

They all play vital roles within the human body and can provide protection against heart disease, brain conditions, and more. You can obtain these fats in your daily diet by consuming foods like avocados, nuts, olive oil, and coconut oil.

The fat you want to avoid at all costs is trans fat. These dangerous fats provide no health benefits and can be a danger to your health if consumed on a regular basis. Processed and fried foods are loaded with trans fats and should not be a part of your keto meal plan.

To determine the amount of fat you need on your specific keto meal plan, you need to first combine the amount of daily carbs and protein you established earlier. You also need to decide if you want to gain weight, remain the same weight, or lose weight. Most individuals on the keto diet wish to lose weight and this will require less fat consumption than those who want to gain weight.

If it is easier for you to utilize calories to determine the total amount of food you will consume, then you can convert your gram allowances to calories. It is important to know that there are more calories per gram in fat than carbs or proteins. Carbs and proteins give you four calories per gram, while fat gives you nine calories per gram.

Since you already know the amount of carbs and protein you wish to consume, you can fluctuate the amount of healthy fats you include in your diet. Remember that the amount of fat you decide upon should be within the range of 60 to 75 percent of your overall daily grams or calories.

The most important macronutrient on the keto diet is fat and making the right selection of fats will allow you to stimulate ketone production in a more efficient manner.

Putting it all Together

By now you should have the knowledge and tools to thoroughly analyze the macronutrient content of the food you eat to determine what is best to add to your keto shopping list. If you do not know how to measure the number of calories or grams for each macronutrient, then you will be lost when trying to increase ketone production.

Equally as important as knowing how to calculate grams and calories is knowing what numbers within keto macronutrient range work best for you as the individual. Each person’s body is different and it may take you a slightly different macronutrient range to initiate ketosis.

You may need to consume less carbs and more fat than the standard keto diet or your body may adapt with a higher carb intake. If you are a competitive athlete such as a bodybuilder or wrestler, then you might need to sacrifice some fat for extra protein.

Even though there is a specific range of carbs, fats, and proteins you must consume, failure to understand your own body will make the keto process even more challenging for you.

How to Stay in Ketosis?

If you ever need a little extra guidance on how to keep your body in ketosis, then follow these recommendations for your keto meal plan.

Always make the right selection of fats for your meals and snacks. Fats make up 60 percent or more of your diet and the wrong selection of fats will derail your progress.

Avoid processed foods whenever possible as they often contain hidden ingredients which can hinder ketone production.

Limit your meals at restaurants to a minimum and make homemade more frequently. This will allow you to take complete control of what food goes into your belly.

Now that you have all the keto macronutrient guidelines, it’s time to create your perfect keto meal plan!