Are carrots suitable for the keto diet?
As you may know, the keto diet is about severely limiting carbohydrates and consuming enough fat as your main energy source. The carbohydrates you need to consume on a ketogenic diet are vegetables. Most of these vegetables should be green, but some exceptions are allowed. What about carrots? Carrots are known as a delicious and healthy vegetable that has a lot to offer, but are they a good fit for your ketogenic diet? The answer is… Carrots are a bit gray on keto. So let’s learn about carrots in the following article with Hairstylishes.
Carbs in carrots
The water content of carrots ranges from 86-95%. In fact, carrots don’t have much protein or fat and are mostly made up of carbs and water with the edible portion containing about 10% carbs. On average, one raw carrot has about 5.8 grams of total carbs and 1.7 grams of fiber, leaving 4.1 grams of carbs.
Health benefits of carrots
Carrots are an attractively colored root vegetable that is packed with beta-carotene, fiber, potassium, vitamin K, and antioxidants. The bright color you see in traditional carrots is due to the antioxidant beta-carotene, which your body converts into vitamin A.
Soluble fibers like pectin found in carrots can help lower blood sugar levels and slow down the digestion of starches and sugars.
This soluble fiber can also feed the beneficial bacteria in the gut, improving health and reducing some disease risks.
Carrots also have insoluble fiber, such as lignin and hemicellulose, which can reduce the risk of constipation and promote regular bowel movements.
Diets rich in carotene may have a protective effect against certain types of cancer, including prostate, colon, and stomach cancers.
So Are Carrots a Keto-Friendly Food?
The carb count of carrots is not low and can vary depending on different factors, such as whether they are raw or cooked carrots. When you’re thinking about carrots on the keto diet, keep in mind that they’re not really considered low-carb, but that doesn’t mean they’re completely off-limits.
In the keto community, the consensus is that carrots are suitable if they are used in small amounts. Ideally, you should have shredded carrots in salads or in stews or soups.
With keto and carrots, pay attention to portion sizes and you are advised to use carrots more for flavor and texture instead of making them the mainstay in dishes.
Conclusion
Carrots can be added to your keto diet as long as you take the limited number, for example, 2 carrots will have about 9g net carbs already, and you will need to limit it in case you have 25 carbs in 1 day Keto diet.
In addition to carrots, there are also some vegetables that contain relatively low net carbs, such as spinach, mushrooms, kale, celery, cucumber, alfalfa, artichokes, cauliflower, onions, eggplant, tomato…
Hope this helps!