Can you eat fruit on the keto diet?
Inevitably when it comes to the keto diet, people ask if they’re allowed to have fruit on their plan.
The answer is that you don’t have to give up fruit completely just because you’re on this program. But you do need to be somewhat cautious about the fruit that you do eat.
Hello and welcome to Fearlessly Holistic.
My name is Irma and I want to share my journey to improved health by eating whole foods, moving my body and eliminating stress as much as possible.
It is my hope to inspire you to make daily changes. Why? Because eating fresh, seasonal food, getting some sunshine, and purging unhelpful thinking is the best way to increase longevity. But you do not want just a long life.
You want a quality long life.
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Most Fruit Is Not Ketogenic
Fruit is a natural part of a human diet in moderation. Of all the clean and healthy foods available to us, fruit is by far the highest in carbohydrates aka sugar.
And because of this, our bodies are not meant to eat fruit out of season.
The whole “eat half a plate of veggies” idea is marketing, pure and simple.
Fruit is a tasty part of a balanced diet, but balance means moderation…not every day, 365 days a year.
But since the keto diet does focus on low carb eating, and it is a transition away from processed foods, I would suggest breaking one bad habit at a time 😉
What you have to do in order for the fruit to fit into the limited carbs, is make smart choices.
That means that some fruits are going to be better for your carb count than others are.
I do not recommend juices, smoothies, or other high-sugar items if you are on Keto. If you are going to eat fruit, eat whole fruit.
You have to find the fruits that are as low in carbs as possible.
This tends to be mostly fruit from the berries category.
There seems to be some advice going around that if you want to stay in Ketosis, you have to avoid all fruits, but that’s not the case.
You have to compare the fruits that you pick with the amount of carbs as well as natural sugar that they contain. Not all of them are high carb.
Counting Net Carbs
Net carbs are carbohydrate foods that deduct the fiber from the total number.
Fiber does not impact blood sugar, because it is not absorbed by your body, and passes through basically unchanged.
If you are new to Keto diet and not sure how foods impact your health, avoid choosing the net carb number.
There is a lot of debate about “net carbs”, because some people think it is a license to eat whatever you want as long as it fits your macros.
That is because people use net carbs when calculating how much sugar-free candy they can eat. The sugar alcohols that are used to sweeten many sugar-free candies can also be deducted from your total carbs.
If you do not know exactly what about the food you eat is causing weight gain or other health issues, your best best is to use the total number of carbs.
You can always switch to net carbs later.
The basic calculation is this: Total Carbohydrates – Fiber – Sugar Alcohols = Net Carbs
For an example of how net carbs works, let’s look at raspberries.
1 cup of raspberries is 64 calories:
14.7 grams of total carbs – 8 grams of fiber = 6.7 grams of net carbs
As you can see, deducting fiber allows you to eat more. This can be good or bad depending on your health goals and what you are eating.
List of Fruits You Can Eat on Keto Diet
Surprise! There are a few fruits that you eat that you may not be aware are actually fruit.
Tomatoes, though they’re often referred to as a vegetable, are really a fruit.
And it is a good idea to watch your carbs when you eat them.
- You can have an entire small tomato for around 3 grams of carbs.
- Or, you can choose the small bite size salad tomatoes and have about 2 grams for every half a cup.
You will not see oranges on a Keto diet food list, because of the sugars and how they are normally eaten.
So you may not think of eating a lemon as part of the fruit you can have on a keto diet.
Most people don’t consume the lemon that way. They add it to drinks to give it a sweet, citrusy flavor, but without the carbs.
Lemons are very popular on Keto, because when you eliminate sugary condiments but you want a pop of flavor, lemon fits the bill.
- Squeeze some on your fish or chicken
- Make a salad dressing using fresh lemon juice (an amazing flavor by the way, especially with Greek chicken dishes).
Avocados are another fruit that you can safely have on the Keto diet.
An entire avocado only has 4 grams of carbs. So you can either eat half or a fourth of an avocado and still not go over your net carb limit.
Avocado’s are very versatile and a staple of Keto diet because they are higher in quality fats.
- Bake an egg in half an avocado
- Add diced avocado to your salads
- Stir fry diced avocado with bacon and shrimp for a high healthy fat meal that takes about 10 minutes to prepare.
You can have fruits in the berry family when you’re on the Keto diet.
Though they might seem high in carbs, they’re not. Just like with any fruit, though, you want to watch your portion size.
You can add a tablespoon or two of liquid heavy whipping cream to your berries for a tasty dessert!
- You can have blackberries for less than 2 net carbs for ¼ cup/ 5 net carbs per 100 grams.
If you prefer raspberries, you can eat those on a keto diet.
- Raspberries have the same amount of carbs as blackberries, so also 2 net carbs per 1/4 cup.
Strawberries are a popular favorite with the low-carb crowd.
- The carb count comes in slightly higher at 2 net carbs per ¼ cup.
And let’s not forget blueberries, which are the highest carb berry
- 12 grams of net carbs per 100 grams
Low Carb Fruits List (simple)
Berries (less carbs to more):
- Blackberries
- Raspberries
- Strawberries
- Blueberries
Other fruits:
Life is for the living right? Eat these fruits in moderation, and be aware if they cause sugar cravings and/or weight gain.
- Plums – 1 medium sized plum has 7 grams of carbs
- Kiwi – 1 medium sized kiwi has 8 grams of carbs
- Cherries – Half cup of cherries is 8 grams of carbs
- Peach – 1 medium sized peach is 13 carbs
- Cantaloupe – 1 cup is 11 carbs
- Clementine – 1 medium sized clementine is 9 carbs
Personally, I try to eat seasonally, because I think seasonal produce gives our bodies a well-rounded amount of fresh nutrients.
I could not eat fruits outside of the berries for many years because I would get serious sugar cravings.
Since being on Carnivore diet in winter and Ketovore the rest of the year, I do allow myself cherries and peaches but only when they are in season locally.
I usually only buy one container and when it is gone, it is gone.
Conclusion
As you can see, there is a nice variety of fruits that you can eat on Keto diet.
The key to eating clean, seasonal Keto is to eat whatever produce is available locally where you live.
This will give you the freshest nutrients for your food dollar. And in turn, this will improve your health faster as you give your body what it needs to improve your health.
Eating clean food is a major part of holistic living, and Keto is a big part of that…if you are eating clean Keto, that is.
I mean there is no point in trading one type of poor health for another.
Eat the best food that you can afford to give your body the building blocks it needs for optimal health, longevity, and looking good for as long as possible 😉
Holistic approaches never just address symptoms of specific health problems, but instead aim to return or keep the patient in a state of balanced health between mind, body, and spirit.
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Until next time, here’s to our health!
-Irma
