Are Apples Keto-Friendly?

Most fruits contain fructose which is not ideal for keeping your insulin levels stable and keeping your blood sugar steady when you follow a low-carb diet like keto. 

But, every fruit has different levels of sugar and carbohydrates so it’s important to know which ones are high in carbs and which ones are okay to eat on keto. 

In this article, I’ll go over if apples are okay on the keto diet as well as list some lower-carb apple substitutes so you can stay on your nutrition goals.

Firstly, let’s discuss how many carbs are in an apple.

How Many Carbs Are In An Apple?

Most apples contain 25 grams of total carbohydrates. 

But, since 5 of those carbs are fiber, we need to subtract them from the total carbs to get the net carbs. 

So, an apple contains 20 grams of net carbs.

That said, the number of carbs in apples will vary depending on the size of the apple. 

For example, a small apple contains 17 grams of net carbs, whilst a large apple contains 26 grams of net carbs.

If you’re not sure or just want to be exact, you can check the nutrition facts for your specific apples.

Are Apples Keto-Friendly?

Apples are not keto-friendly because they contain a lot of sugar. One apple contains 20 grams of net carbs, which would raise your insulin and possibly kick you out of ketosis.

Even though an apple only contains around 90 calories, it’s packed with sugar and carbs, so it’s off-limits on keto.

However, the type of sugar in apples is different from the type of sugar found in other fruits, like bananas. 

Apples contain mostly fructose, which is a sugar that’s metabolized differently than glucose.

Fructose goes directly to the liver to be stored as fat, so it’s worse than just glucose alone.

So, because of that, you should try to avoid apples on a ketogenic diet as much as possible.

Other Keto-Friendly Fruits

If you want to still enjoy fruits on keto without consuming too much sugar, berries are your best choice.

As we mentioned before, not all fruits are created equal. 

Some fruits are high in sugar and carbs whilst some aren’t.

But luckily, most berries are high in fiber and low in sugar, so they won’t spike your insulin too much.

Here are all of the berries you can consume on keto and their carb counts:

• Raspberries — 7 net carbs per cup
• Blackberries — 7 net carbs per cup
• Strawberries — 9 net carbs per cup

Even though blueberries are berries, you should avoid them since they contain 18 grams of net carbs per cup.

But, berries aren’t your only option.

Here are some other low-carb fruits that you can eat on keto:

• Lemons — 3 net carbs per cup
• Starfruit — 4 net carbs per cup
• Limes — 5 net carbs per cup
• Coconut — 5 net carbs per cup
• Kiwi — 8 net carbs per kiwi

As long as you stay under 50 grams of net carbs per day, you’ll stay in ketosis.

And if you want to find a more in-depth list on the fruits that you can and can’t eat on keto, you can read my article here.

Conclusion

Apples should be avoided on a ketogenic diet because they’re high in sugar, and contain a lot of net carbs. 

But, that doesn’t mean that you can’t eat fruit on keto.

For the most part, as long as you eat low-carb fruits, like berries, you’ll stay in ketosis.

Just make sure to account for their natural sugars and make sure that you’re eating under 50 grams of net carbs per day.

If you want to find out how I lost 40 pounds with OMAD and keto, you can read my article here where I share everything I did to lose weight and how you can lose weight too.

Hope this helped!