Hidden Carbs In Healthy Food

A ketogenic diet a type of low carb diet that focuses on a high fat intake. By keeping your carbohydrate intake low, your body naturally starts burning fat, which helps you to lose weight.  Most people following this type of diet limit their total net carb intake for the day to 30 grams or less. Unfortunately, this does not mean only cutting out known sources of carbs, like breads, pastas, or sugary drinks. There are many foods that are very healthy for you, but have higher levels of carbohydrates, which can make your diet go awry.

Many Fruits

While some fruits are easier to spot to have extra carbs, like starchy bananas, most fruit have high sugar content. Fruits like oranges, grapes, mangos have very high sugar content and therefore can have your entire daily limit of carbs in one serving. Fruit juices are even worse because they don’t have the fiber that accompanies eating a whole piece of fruit. While some fruits are better, like melons, they still should be eaten in very scarce amounts if you are watching your carbohydrate intake.

Some Dairy Products and Substitutes

This goes along with many “diet” foods, but when manufacturers take the fat out of a product, like with skim milk or low-fat yogurt, they add in extra sugar so the taste won’t be affected. Also, it is important to watch for flavored products. Even full-fat yogurt, when it is flavored can have so much extra sugar, it is comparable to eating ice cream! The same goes for flavored milk substitutes, like vanilla soy milk.

Store-Bought Sauces

This includes many things like tomato sauce, salad dressing, barbecue sauce, and most other condiments. Most store-bought, ready to eat sauces like these are loaded with extra sugar and can have an entire day’s worth of carbohydrates in one serving if you are trying to follow a ketogenic diet. If having these sauces and condiments are important to you, try making them at home. By cooking a tomato sauce or mixing a salad dressing, you are able to know exactly what and how much of everything goes into your food. With no extra additives or added sugar, these homemade versions are usually healthier in general, anyways!

Protein Supplements

Both protein shakes and protein bars tend to contain quite a bit of sugar. While most whey based protein powders only contain up to 8 grams of carbohydrates per scoop, they can throw off your ketogenic diet. Protein bars, on the other hand, are usually loaded with sugar, having carbohydrate levels similar to a candy bar. If you are trying to lose weight through cutting carbs, it is important to look at the label to know exactly what is in your different supplements.

Conclusion

Overall, even if we try our hardest to cut carbohydrates out of our lives, they always seem to sneak back in. If following a ketogenic diet, it is extremely important to remember to read the labels on the food you buy and to know what is actually in each item.  Most store-bought, processed foods tend to have lots of hidden sugar, which can throw off any progress you have made.