Men’s Health
POPPY IS a classic snack and an essential movie night, but if you’re on a ketogenic diet, you may be wondering if, in fact, popcorn is keto-friendly.
Can eating a bag of hot, salty and freshly popped popcorn cost you your ketosis so hard to achieve and, consequently, get you out of the fat burning state?
After all, corn contains carbohydrates, the big enemy of ketosis – and why a ketone diet severely restricts your daily carbohydrate intake. (Note: a ketogenic diet is also controversial for the same reason.)
The keto diet consists of keeping carbohydrates low and increasing fat intake, as well as maintaining moderate protein consumption.
This means that on a ketone diet, your total daily net carbohydrates, which are the number of carbohydrates you get by subtracting fiber and some ketone sweeteners, such as erythritol from the total number of carbohydrates, must be less than 25 grams per day.
Back to the snack in question: a cup of popped popcorn has 6 grams of carbohydrates and 1 gram of fiber, for a total of 5 grams of liquid carbohydrates, says Natalie Rizzo, MS, RD Unless you are eating some type of popcorn with sugary caramel icing, this is not a ton of carbs.
Even so, popcorn is, by its very nature, a snack rich in carbohydrates. Your first guess may be that you should stay away from popcorn because it doesn’t look like a food that fits a ketone diet. Said that…
Is popcorn keto?
Since 5 grams of liquid carbohydrates are very low, popcorn can definitely fit into a keto diet, says Rizzo. “It’s a healthy whole-grain snack with a low carbohydrate content,” she says.
In addition, it has healthy carbohydrates and fibers, which contribute to energy production and digestion, so you’re getting some good sources of fiber to promote intestinal health and keep you regular – something that really worries those who take keto due to the lack of naturally high fiber sources .
What foods are good to eat with popcorn on the keto?
Now, if you go ahead and sprinkle your popcorn with chocolate sauce, caramel sauce or another topping with a high sugar content, then your popcorn, although now more delicious, is probably not keto.
To increase the fats (and flavor) of your popcorn snack: “Combine a cup of popped popcorn with nuts and cover with cinnamon and salt to make a trail mix. Or drizzle 1 cup of popped popcorn with nut butter”, says Rizzo.
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