Serious About Keto? Stay Away From These Foods!

Being on a ketogenic diet requires thoughtful eating. If you really want to reap the benefits of a ketogenic diet there are certain foods that need to be avoided at all costs. The good news is that there are plenty of alternative foods, just as tasty, that you can eat instead and still remain in ketosis.

The formula for maintaining ketosis is to ensure that the carbohydrate intake is maintained below 5% of your diet. This roughly adds up to not more than 20 grams per day depending on your body composition.

Eating too much carb-rich foods could not only slow down the fat burning process, but also knock you out of ketosis.

It is also a good idea to familiarise yourself with the foods to avoid in a ketogenic diet, until it becomes second-nature to you.

Which carbs to avoid in a ketogenic diet?

Some of the carbs that are in the forbidden list if you are in a ketogenic diet are:

• Most fruits
• Sugar
• Starchy vegetables
• Beans and legumes
• Grains

Fruits to avoid

You might be surprised by this because all your life you have heard that fruits are very healthy.

Fresh fruits certainly have their benefits, but they are also high in fructose- a type of carbohydrate. This means they need to be off your keto food list. However, not all fruits are keto-unfriendly.

Low-carb fruits like strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries can be eaten sparingly or included in your smoothie.

This includes fruit juices, fruit smoothies, and fruit syrups.

Starchy vegetables to avoid

Vegetables like potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips contain high levels of starch and must be avoided at all costs.

Switch to non-starchy vegetables like kale, spinach, broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, bell-pepper, egg-plant, and zucchini.

Sugars to avoid

This goes without saying. However, the term sugar does not refer to just the white powder you may be of the habit of adding to your coffee everyday. There are many every-day edible products that may contain hidden sugars. Before you purchase them, go through the label at the back and ensure they are free of artificial sweeteners and other sugar-heavy additives. 

Grains to avoid

Almost all grains contain high amount of carbohydrates. So if you want to get the best benefits from ketosis, it is better to avoid grains completely.

However, some of you may be in the habit of eating rice or wheat everyday. It is difficult to give this up suddenly. The best way to approach this is to ensure that you take the right amount per serving, and stay within the cap limit of carbs allowed per day in a ketogenic diet.

Which Proteins To Avoid In A Ketogenic Diet?

Proteins are very important for a ketogenic diet. However, you need to ensure that the proteins you intake are high quality.

Low-fat dairy and milk, as the name suggests, do not fit under the ketogenic diet. The first rule of the ketogenic diet is a low-carb, medium-protein, and high-fat foods.

Low-fat dairy contains the exact opposite amounts of carbs and fat. Moreover, some people may have difficulty digesting pasteurized milk which is also low in beneficial gut bacteria.

Which Fats To Avoid In A Ketogenic Diet

Fats are the primary source of fuel in a ketogenic diet. This makes it althemore important to ensure that you are eating healthy, high-quality fats. Not all fats are made the same way, and some types of fats could be detrimental to your health. Avoid harmful inflammatory vegetable oils.

The best fat for a keto diet include, C8 oil, coconut oil, virgin olive oil, ghee, and macadamia nut oil.

Fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, and cod-liver are an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, and boosts brain health.

Top inflammatory vegetable oils to avoid are:

• Soybean oil
• Canola oil
• Corn oil
• Grapeseed oil
• Peanut oil
• Sesame oil
• Sunflower oil
• Safflower oil

Other Foods To Avoid In A Ketogenic Diet

High-carb alcohol and sugary soft drinks should be banned from your shopping list. Drink lots of water and non-sugary drinks instead to stay hydrated.

Sweetened sodas contain around 36 grams of carbs per can and almost no fat and protein. The so-called “diet sodas” contain almost zero nutritional value. They are full of artificial sweeteners which only disrupts ketosis and increases cravings.

Avoid packaged and heavily processed food. These foods have been engineered to get you hooked so that you buy them over and over again and do not offer any nutritional value. Develop health snacking habits like eating pistachios, almonds, pecans, and hazelnuts.