Keto Means
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Is 5g of sugar OK on keto?

For example, you could have 80 grams of sugar, 20 grams of starch, and 50 grams of fiber per day. This way, you'll be able to meet the keto requirement of 5% sugar from your daily food intake.

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Are you thinking of trying keto?

You might have heard about the keto diet as one of the most effective and popular ways of maintaining your daily nutrition intake. This diet sets your meal to a low carb intake while adding enough proteins and fats. As a result, you gain more energy and lose excess weight. Without knowing how this diet works, most people assume that it doesn’t allow any carbs. However, in reality, a small portion of carbs is essential daily. So, there is no harm in including carb-rich foods in your meal.

Along with carbs, this diet also cuts out your sugar intake as it is highly effective in the fat-burning process. Once again, this diet isn’t as strict as it sounds. You can have the substitutes, but what about the actual sugar?

If you have a sweet tooth, read this post to find out the right amount of sugar that won’t disturb your keto diet plan.

What is a keto diet?

The ketogenic diet, better known as keto, requires a low carb but high fat intake. Essentially, you’ll be replacing your carb intake with fat. As a result, your body will go into ketosis’s metabolic state. Then, your body will quickly begin burning fat to retain energy. In addition, this process turns all the fat into ketones, which are great at supplying more energy to your brain. You can also expect regulated blood sugar and insulin levels after practicing keto.

There are four types of keto diets:

Standard Ketogenic Diet (SKD). It typically consists of 70% fat, 20% protein, and 10% carbs. Targeted Ketogenic Diet (TKD). It’s about 60% healthy fats, 30% protein, and 10% carbs. Cyclical Ketogenic Diet (CKD). It usually works on five keto days and two high-carb days. High Protein Ketogenic Diet. It contains 60% fat, 35% protein, and 5% carbs.

Are sugar and carbs related?

Now, you may have a valid question. Why do you have to lessen your sugar intake if keto requires you to cut out carbs? Well, it’s worth noting that most types of sugar are considered to be carbs. That means you should pay attention to your sugar intake while reducing your carb consumption in a keto diet. When looking at a nutrition chart, you’ll find that the carbohydrates section includes the total amount of sugar, starch, and fibre in that food.

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While pasta and bread contain a lot of starch, they contain little sugar. Contrastingly, most sweets contain a lot of sugar but little to no starch. Both foods are carbs, and you must eliminate them in your keto diet. While calculating the net carbs in a food, remember eliminating fiber from the equation. It might be confusing, but here’s how you can calculate the net carbs absorbed by your body.

Suppose the food contains 10 grams of sugar, starch, and fiber.

First, add the amount of sugar and starch; you’ll have 20 grams of carbs. Then, minus fiber from that equation, resulting in 10 grams of net carbs absorbed by your body. That’s because fiber counteracts the amount of sugar and starch your food contains to a certain extent.

The right amount of sugar on a keto diet

When you’re on a keto diet, the number of carbs you consume should be no more than 5% of your daily food intake. Depending on the average person’s daily diet, this should be approximately 50 grams of carbs. However, this amount can vary based on your weight and height. In addition, you must remember to take fiber and starch into account, so don’t resort to eating 50 grams of sugar a day. Instead, you can divide it evenly. For example, you can ensure only to consume 25 grams of sugar, 25 grams of starch, and absolutely no fiber every day. But, on the other hand, you could opt for high-fiber foods so that it subtracts from the total carbs. For example, you could have 80 grams of sugar, 20 grams of starch, and 50 grams of fiber per day. This way, you’ll be able to meet the keto requirement of 5% sugar from your daily food intake.

Sugary foods to avoid on keto

There are a lot of foods that secretly contain sugar and might mess up your keto diet if you’re not careful. Here are some sugary foods to avoid while you’re on your keto diet:

Pasta sauces (and pasta altogether)

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Granola bars

Yogurt

Instant oatmeal

Salad dressings

Breakfast cereals

Energy drinks

Packaged fruits

Coleslaw

Tea

Dried fruit

Ketchup

Alternatives to sugar on keto

Of course, it’s no easy feat to give up sugar, especially if you have a sweet tooth. However, that shouldn’t stop you from practicing a keto diet and starting your fitness journey. Fortunately, there are a lot of keto-friendly sugar alternatives that’ll ensure you never miss that carb in the first place. When your sugar cravings hit, opt for these sugar-free alternatives to traditional sugar to keep your keto diet uninterrupted:

Keto-friendly sweeteners

The obvious alternative is a keto-friendly sweetener, such as Stevia, Sucralose, Erythritol, Xylitol, and Yacon Syrup. You must ensure that the sweetener of your choice contains no carbs and glycemic index.

Monk fruit

You could also opt for monk fruit, which is a Chinese fruit used in Traditional Chinese Medicine. It’s 200 times sweeter than white sugar while still being extremely low in carbs. In fact, 3 grams of Monk fruit contains only 3 grams of carbs with zero fat or protein.

Allulose

Allulose is another excellent alternative to sugar for a keto diet. This natural sugar comes from wheat, figs, jackfruit, and raisins. Allulose’s sweetness is up to 70% of white sugar. This is a good margin considering it has 90% fewer calories and a low glycemic index.

Conclusion

Now that you’re aware of that perfect amount of sugar, you can simply continue your diet without messing with the fat-burning progress. Even if you’re not following the diet, it is always better to reassess your sugar intake since your body can’t afford too high blood sugar level. If you have a sweet tooth, look for the best substitutes and enjoy your favorite desserts while staying fit. So stay consistent with your diet to lose all the desired weight while eating healthy and gaining energy.

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