If you’re on a low-carb diet, like keto, you might be wondering if you can eat fruits or not.
You also may be wondering if which fruits affect net carbs or not.
In this article I’ll discuss if fruits affect net carbs or not, & which fruits you should eat on keto if you want to stay in ketosis but still satisfy your sweet tooth.
What Is The Difference Between Total Carbs & Net Carbs?
The difference between total & net carbs is that total carbs are all the carbs in a food, including fiber & artificial sweeteners, but net carbs are the carbs in a food excluding fiber & artificial sweeteners. Most people count net carbs instead of total carbs because net carbs is more accurate.
For example, a cup of raspberries has 15 grams of total carbs.
But, 1 cup of raspberries also has 8 grams of fiber.
This would mean that 1 cup of raspberries only has 7 grams of net carbs, which makes it a low-carb approved fruit.
But, if you only counted the total carbs instead of counting net carbs, you may accidentally think that raspberries are a high-carb fruit when they aren’t.
How Can I Calculate Net Carbs?
To calculate net carbs, all you need to do is subtract the fiber & artificial sweeteners from the total carbs in a food. If the nutrition information doesn’t list the amount of artificial sweeteners, like stevia or erythritol, in the food, you would need to look at the ingredients & then estimate.
If it tastes really sweet & has a sugar substitute, & doesn’t have any other high-carb ingredients, then most of the carbs are probably artificial sweeteners so you shouldn’t worry.
How Many Net Carbs Can You Eat Per Day on Keto?
To stay in ketosis, you should aim to eat under 50 grams of net carbs per day. If you’re a smaller, less active person you would need to eat a little less carbs to still stay in ketosis. But, if you’re a bigger, more active person, you could get away with eating a little more carbs.
If you’re a smaller person & don’t exercise that often, you should aim to eat under 40 grams of net carbs per day.
But, if you’re bigger & exercise more, you can you could get away with eating 50 – 60 grams of net carbs per day.
As long as you don’t eat any direct source of carbs like high-carb fruits, bread, pasta, etc, then you’d automatically reach ketosis without needing to count.
Do Fruits Affect Net Carbs?
Yes, fruits do affect net carbs. Even though fruits are high in fiber, they’re also high in fructose, which is sugar. Whenever you eat fruit, just make sure you check the fiber content & subtract it from the total carbs to get your net carbs. As long as you eat under 50 grams of net carbs per day, you’ll be in ketosis.
Which Fruits Have the Least Net Carbs?
These fruits have the least amount of net carbs:
- Lemons — 3 net carbs per cup
- Starfruit — 4 net carbs per cup
- Limes — 5 net carbs per cup
- Coconut — 5 net carbs per cup
- Raspberries––7 net carbs per cup
- Blackberries––7 net carbs per cup
- Kiwi––8 net carbs per kiwi
- Strawberries––9 net carbs per cup
Which Fruits Have the Most Net Carbs?
You should avoid these fruits on low-carb diets:
- Oranges — 12 net carbs per orange
- Papayas — 13 net carbs per cup
- Plums — 17 net carbs per cup, fresh
- Blueberries — 18 net carbs per cup
- Pineapples — 19 net carbs per cup
- Cherries — 20 net carbs per cup
- Bananas — 20 net carbs per banana
- Mangoes — 20 net carbs per cup
- Apples — 20 net carbs per apple
- Pears — 23 net carbs per pear
- Grapes––26 net carbs per cup
- Figs––29 net carbs per cup, fresh
Conclusion
Fruits are a great source of vitamins and minerals, but they are also very high in sugar. If you want to stay in ketosis but still enjoy eating fruits, just make sure you only eat low-carb fruits and track the net carb content instead of total carbs.
If you want to lose weight with keto, here’s my article where I explain how I lost 40 pounds with keto & how you can start keto today & lose weight too.
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