Are Strawberries Keto Friendly? (Carbs In Strawberries – Secrets To Know)

People also ask, are strawberries Keto friendly?

The keto diet has grown popular for a variety of different reasons, it can aid in weight loss, potentially reduce the risk of certain cancers, and promotes a healthy heart.

However, it is a fairly strict diet.

One common question those on the keto diet have is are strawberries keto friendly? Yes, Strawberries ARE keto friendly! This is great news to strawberry lovers hoping to incorporate them into their diet.

We will go over how you can get started on your keto diet, the nutritional aspect of strawberries and how they compare to other berries, and present some ways to incorporate strawberries into your diet.

How Do I Start The Keto Diet?

In a keto diet your body relies on fats and protein for energy and only small amounts of carbohydrates are allowed. Most individuals on a keto diet only get between 5%-10% of their energy from carbs everyday!

Adjusting your body to a diet without carbohydrates takes some time to get used to. But, once you are able to replace your daily carb intake with fats and protein, your body goes into a state known as “ketosis.”

This process is how the keto diet attained its name! Ketosis is the process of the body burning energy from stored fat instead of through carbs.

Since most fruits are pretty high in sugar and carbs they are generally not allowed on a keto diet, however, there are some exceptions. Before we discuss the specifics on strawberries, let’s go over what foods are allowed on the keto diet.

Read also: Is Fresh Pineapple Keto-Friendly (All You Need To Know!)

How Do I Know What Foods To Eat On Keto?

If you’re following a strict keto diet, you know that you have to track the nutritional value of the foods you eat every day. This process helps you monitor your carb intake.

Most individuals on a keto diet will only be able to consume between 20g-50g of carbs each day.

The exact number will depend on your diet goals, body type, and advice from your personal dietician.

However, the basic principle is to eat foods high in fat and moderate levels of protein. Dairy is also allowed on keto diet as long as there are no added sweeteners.

For protein, keto dieters should stick to lean meats such as poultry and fish or eggs and nuts. For your dairy you can eat cheese, unsweetened yogurt, and whole milk.

As for fruits and veggies, only low-carb varieties are allowed, such as avocado, berries, spinach, or cucumbers.

If you have a sweet tooth you can eat dark chocolate sparingly.

Strawberries are a low-carb fruit that fit great into the keto diet.

How Do Strawberries Fit Into The Keto Diet?

Strawberries fit into the keto diet quite well. They are loaded with vitamins, fiber, antioxidants, and contain low amounts of sugar, sodium, and fat.

Due to their low-carb nature, strawberries are one of the better fruits for those following a keto diet.

This is good news for health-conscious individuals as strawberries can help lower blood pressures, increase good cholesterol, and lower our risk of cancer!

Let’s take a look at the specific nutritional information of strawberries next.

Nutritional Aspects Of Strawberries

We will be using some nutritional facts found on the USDA website to discuss the calorie, sugar, carb, and fiber content of strawberries.

According to the USDA, 100g of raw strawberries include the following amounts:

Nutritional Facts:	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Fiber	Sugar
Strawberries	32	7.68g	0.3g	2g	4.29g

If you’re not sure how grams translate to serving sizes, we can pose this information another way.

One cup of strawberries includes about 11.7g of carbs and 3g of fiber.

This means that the net carbs are only about 8.7g. Net carbs are calculated by taking the total amount of carbs and subtracting the amount of fiber.

Fiber is an indigestible carb and is therefore not included in your daily carb allotment.

Strawberries Vs. Other Berries

If you’re craving fruit or wanting to incorporate foods high in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants into your diet and are trying to determine if strawberries are the best berry for the keto diet, we can help answer that question.

All berries are high in fiber fiber and lower in carbs that provide other important nutrients those following a strict keto diet may find difficult to include with other food groups.

If you’re curious of how strawberries compare to other berries carb wise, see the following list per 100g of each berry:

• Blackberries: 9.6g of carbs
• Raspberries: 11.9g of carbs
• Blueberries: 14.5g of carbs

As you can see, strawberries come in as the lowest carb berry compared to blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries.

The closest choice would be blackberries, but these still include almost 2g more carbs than strawberries.

Keto Recipes That Include Strawberries

There are many different ways to incorporate strawberries into your keto diet.

The most obvious way is of course eating plain strawberries. You can top your unsweetened yogurt with strawberries in the morning or add them to your smoothie for a balanced breakfast.

Strawberries can also be added onto salads for lunch or dinner if you skip them in the morning.

For those still eating keto-friendly sweets every so often, you can make a host of different strawberry baked goods, just be sure to follow a keto recipe.

Some examples might be strawberry cheesecake, muffins, or cake. These baked goods would not be a part of your everyday diet, but for a special occasion you could likely fit it in.

Your best bet when incorporating strawberries and staying in ketosis would be to incorporate a small amount of raw strawberries as a snack.

Final Thoughts: Serve Up The Strawberries

Strawberry lovers everywhere should be happy to know that they are one of the easiest fruits to incorporate into a keto diet.

These berries are one of the lowest carb fruits that still provide you with many other essential nutrients.

References

https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/167762/nutrients

https://www.webmd.com/diet/features/nutritional-benefits-of-the-strawberry

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/keto-fruit#3.-Strawberries