The Keto is arguably one of the most restrictive diet programs that focus on eating very few carbohydrates and lots of fat. How long you stay in ketosis depends on you limiting carbs intake, which is where the fruits can get tricky.
Most keto plans recommend not exceeding 30 grams of carbs per day. Fruits like strawberries are filled with vital nutrients that make them well-worth keeping in your keto diet.
But how safe are strawberries in your keto diet?
Can you eat them regularly without getting kicked out of ketosis?
Let’s find out!
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How Many Carbs Are in Strawberries
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Strawberries are low in carbs.
The net carbs in strawberries are around 5-10g per 100grams serving, depending on whether they’re whole or sliced. The same serving will provide you with approximately 2g of fiber and enough vitamin C to help you meet your daily nutrients requirements.
Strawberries are 90% water, and a large percentage of their dry weight is carbohydrates. The number of carbohydrates from berries depends on both the portion size and strawberry ripeness. The table below shows total carbs in different popular serving sizes.
From the table above, it’s evident that sliced, whole, and strawberry halves have varying carbs concentrations. You get more carbs (9.45g) with sliced strawberries than with strawberry halves of the same serving sizes.
Most of the carbs found in strawberries are simple sugars with glucose and fructose the main ones. While it does raise blood glucose, in small quantities, fructose isn’t bad for health. Strawberries also contain fiber that helps keep your digestive system health. (Source)
Two studies by J Agric Food Chem and Int J Mol Sci have proven that net carbohydrates in strawberries vary depending on the fruit ripeness. Riper strawberries contain high carbs. An underripe strawberry will have fewer carbs than ripe strawberry.
How Many Calories Are In Strawberries?
Because strawberries are 90% water, they have fewer calories.
100 grams serving will give you 33 calories.
Its low-calorie content makes strawberries a perfect addition to any weight-loss diet menu.
What Is The Nutritional Value Of Strawberries?
The following is the nutritional information for 1 cup (152g) of strawberry halves as provided by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
| Strawberry nutritional content | 152g (1 Cup) |
| Calories | 49 |
| Carbs | 11.7g |
| Sugars | 7.4g |
| Protein | 1g |
| Fat | 0.5g |
| Fiber | 3g |
| Sodium | 2mg |
Carbohydrates
Strawberries are capacious fruits, containing fewer calories and more carbohydrates. A cup of strawberries contains 49 calories, 12 grams of carbohydrates, 3grams of fiber.
Fiber is indigestible, resulting in 9g of net carbs in strawberries.
Additionally, strawberry fruits have a glycemic index of 40 and a glycemic load of 1.5. These two indicators show that strawberries have a negligible effect on blood glucose.
Fats and Proteins
Like other berries, strawberries are low in proteins. 1 cup serving contains about 1g protein.
These fruits are also extremely low in fats with a 1 cup single serving containing ½ a gram of fat.
A higher percentage of these fats are polyunsaturated and a smaller percentage of monounsaturated and saturated fats.
Vitamins and minerals
Strawberries are rich in vitamins and minerals. These include:
- Manganese- mostly found in high quantities in legumes, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. It plays a vital role in various processes in the body.
- Vitamin C. in strawberries is an antioxidant that plays an essential role in skin health and boosting immunity system.
- Potassium is a vital mineral in various important body functions such as blood pressure regulation. (Source)
- Vitamin B9 – also known as folate, Vitamin B9 helps cell functions and healthy tissue growth. It’s great for older adults and pregnant women.
What Are the Health Benefits of Eating Strawberries?
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Strawberries are a source of compounds that contribute positively to human health. Eating strawberries has been shown to reduce the risk of many chronic diseases. (Source)
1. Anti- Cancer
Cancer has become a health crisis in the 21st century. It’s termed as an unregulated growth of abnormal cells. Several studies have shown that berry fruits can help prevent different types of cancers thanks to their abilities to fight inflammation and oxidative stress.
Additionally, research has also shown that strawberries can help prevent tumor growth in human liver cancer cells and animals with mouth cancer. However more research is required to verify how strawberries act as anti-cancer fruits fully.
2. Pain relief
A study conducted on obese people with knee osteoarthritis found that strawberry fruits significantly helped in reducing inflammation and knee pain. This means that strawberries are natural pain relievers and anti-inflammatory.
Their effects on inflammation and pain can be attributed to their high contents of antioxidants.
3. Blood sugar regulation
Our bodies convert carbs into simple sugars, which are released into the bloodstream. The body then starts secreting insulin, which signals the cells to absorb the sugars in the blood and storage or fuel.
Imbalanced blood sugar and high sugar foods are linked with type 2 diabetes, risk of obesity, and heart disease. (Source)
Can I Eat Strawberries On The Keto Diet?
Strawberry is a great keto fruit. These fruits have low carbohydrate concentrations making them one of the most recommended keto diet fruits.
Additionally, strawberries are rich in Vitamin C and other important compounds that play an important role in your health.
In most cases, foods rich in Vitamin C are unfortunately also rich in carbohydrates. Therefore strawberries can provide you with enough vitamin C without having to worry about carbs levels.
Incorporating Strawberries into your Ketogenic Lifestyle
Strawberries can be taken in different ways. They smell sweet and vibrant red color, and when choosing berries, avoid ones that are mushy or moldy. Because strawberries spoil fast you’ll need to use them fresh or freeze them in the refrigerator. You can incorporate these keto-friendly fruits in your diet through the following:
- Use them to sweeten yogurt. You can add strawberries to a cup of keto-friendly yogurt like Greek yogurt. Alternatively, you can sprinkle cinnamon, flax seeds, sugar-free maple syrup, of chia seeds to spice up your yogurt treat.
- You can blend strawberries into smoothies. You can use these fruits as an ingredient in hundreds of keto-friendly smoothie recipes.
- Strawberries are great dippers. You can dip them into keto-friendly chocolate and butter for a sweet-tasting fiber-rich dessert.
Final thoughts
Unlike carrots, strawberries are low in carbs, making them keto-friendly. They provide our bodies with compounds that benefit our health by preventing chronic diseases.
Even though they are keto-friendly, strawberries still contribute small amounts of your daily carbohydrates intake, especially when you eat more than one cup.
It’s best to eat them in small portions between meals or add them to different keto meals to get full benefits without getting kicked out of ketosis.
Want to save money buying strawberries?
Watch the video below to learn how to grow strawberries at home or even at your workplace.
1kg of strawberries costs between $8-10 per kilogram. If consume 500g of strawberries per day, the strawberries will cost you between $32-40 per week.
Learn how to grow a small strawberry garden that will allow you to GROW YOUR OWN STRAWBERRIES FOR FREE!
Click here to grow your own strawberries at home.
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