The ketogenic, or keto, diet has gained popularity as a method for weight loss and managing certain medical conditions like epilepsy and diabetes. This diet is characterized by high fat intake, moderate protein consumption, and very low carbohydrate consumption. Vegetables can be a big part of keto diet, but not all vegetables are suitable for a keto diet, and that includes some vegetables.
Understanding the Keto Diet
Keto diets restrict the amount of carbohydrates a person can eat. Instead, a person eats a high amount of fats and a moderate amount of protein. The primary principle of the ketogenic diet is to consume more fat and protein and less carbs. The keto diet calls for very low carb recipes that are high in fat and protein. This helps the body transition to using fat as its main energy source instead of carbohydrates-a metabolic state called ketosis.
The aim of keto diets is to put the body into a state of ketosis. This occurs when the body burns fat for energy instead of carbs. Ketosis can lead to weight loss. When you consume a varied diet, your body defaults to using glucose - a type of carb - as its primary fuel source. But when carbs are unavailable, your body makes energy from fat-derived compounds called ketones . Your body’s ability to maintain ketosis is dependent upon a lack of dietary carbohydrates. If you consume too many carbs, your body reverts to using glucose for energy, thereby throwing you out of ketosis.
Generally, a person following a keto diet should aim to limit their carb intake to no more than 50 grams (g) each day. However, to maximize the chance of staying in ketosis, a person can limit their carb intake to 20 g per day. A person generally does not need to limit the amount of fat they consume while following a keto diet.
Yams vs. Sweet Potatoes: What's the Difference?
It's important to clarify that while the article title refers to "yams," the content primarily discusses sweet potatoes. In many parts of the world, these terms are used interchangeably, but they are botanically distinct. This article will focus on sweet potatoes, as that's the main subject of the provided text.
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Nutritional Profile of Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes stand out as an alternative to regular potatoes when it comes to healthy substitutes for common food items. According to nutritionists, sweet potatoes are a better option because of their high vitamin content and low glycemic index.
Sweet potatoes have more nutritional value than white potatoes. Even though sweet potato fries are a popular dish, people don't typically overeat sweet potatoes as they might with white potatoes.
Sweet potatoes have a lot of carbohydrates. One 5-inch sweet potato has about 26 grams of carbohydrates. A medium-sized sweet potato weighing about 100 grams contains 17.3 grams of total carbs. A medium-sized sweet potato (150 grams) contains a total of 26 grams of carbs. After subtracting the 4 grams that come from fiber, you’re left with a net value of roughly 21 grams of carbs per potato .
Sweet potatoes have bronze skin and flesh colors of white, cream, orange, and purple. Naturally sweet, they are filled with nutrients such as:
- Vitamin A, in the form of beta-carotene
- Vitamin B6
- Vitamin C
- Potassium
- Fiber
Orange sweet potatoes are rich in vitamin A, but purple sweet potatoes have plenty of other antioxidants. These help protect your body against free radicals, bits of waste that your cells make. Free radicals can come from things like:
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- Infection
- Cigarette smoke
- Air pollution
- Sunlight
Sweet potatoes also have fiber, a complex carbohydrate that slows your digestion in both forms: soluble and insoluble. Fiber provides moisture to your stool, which helps your stool move easily through and out of your digestive tract. Besides lowering your risk for problems with your bowels, fiber can help lower high cholesterol and high blood sugar levels.
Are Sweet Potatoes Keto-Friendly?
Sweet potatoes, being a naturally high-carb food, are unfortunately not keto-friendly. Sweet potatoes are classified as whole foods with a naturally high carbohydrate content.
Nutritionists do not consider sweet potatoes as a “good” carb source for keto because a small serving can easily take up your daily carb allowance. Nutritionists and keto practitioners advise against eating sweet potatoes on a keto diet due to their high carbohydrate content.
While sweet potatoes are packed with nutrients and can be a healthy choice in many diets, their high carb content makes them unsuitable for most ketogenic plans.
Given that it’s very carb restrictive, many people wonder whether high carb foods like sweet potatoes can still be included within the parameters of a ketogenic dietary pattern. This article explores whether you can still enjoy sweet potatoes while following a keto diet. This is why many types of high carb foods, including starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes, are usually considered off-limits on a ketogenic diet.
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Potential for Inclusion in a Keto Diet
Some proponents, however, say they are able to add sweet potatoes to their ketogenic diet in very small portions, limiting consumption to 42% of their daily carb intake. Overall, it depends on your personal carb goals.
However, with proper planning, some people may still be able to successfully incorporate small portions of sweet potato into a keto diet plan. If you’re on a keto diet that limits you to 50 grams of carbs per day, you could opt to expend approximately 42% of your carbs on a whole sweet potato if you want to. You may also consider dividing the sweet potato into smaller portions to further reduce your carb intake without having to exclude it from your diet entirely. That said, if you’re on a diet plan that requires you to stick to a much lower carb limit, even a very small portion of sweet potato could make it considerably more difficult to stay within your allotted carbs for the day.
Ultimately, whether you should include sweet potatoes in your diet depends on your personal carb goals and ability to consistently adhere to the restrictions required for you to maintain ketosis.
You may be able to eat sweet potatoes on a low-carb diet, as long as you consume them in moderation. Be careful not to go above your daily carb allowance. According to keto practitioners, eating sweet potatoes while observing keto can temporarily disrupt ketosis, especially if you eat more than your macros allow. However, this can differ from individual to individual.
Essentially, if you're working out a ton or at a super high intensity, you can easily have more carbs and burn them off without totally throwing off your keto diet.
Preparation Methods and Carb Content
If you decide to include sweet potatoes as part of your keto diet plan, it’s important that you also consider how various preparation methods may affect the total carb content of the final dish.
Certain sweet potato preparation methods are not keto-friendly, especially those that utilize high carb ingredients like brown sugar or maple syrup.
For instance, sweet potatoes prepared with very high carb ingredients, such as brown sugar, maple syrup, or fruit juices would be inappropriate for a ketogenic diet. Preparation methods that are more keto-friendly may include thinly slicing and frying them to make sweet potato fries, or roasting them whole and serving them with butter, coconut oil, or melted cheese.
The carbohydrate content in sweet potato fries will depend on how it's prepared. On average, a cup of plain fried sweet potato fries (60 grams) contains 20.4 grams of total carbs and 17.1 grams of net carbs. Even if you opt for a healthier preparation method like baking, sweet potatoes will unfortunately still have a high carb content. A medium-sized sweet potato weighing about 100 grams and baked without salt contains 20.7 grams of total carbs.
“Essentially, anything made with sugar isn’t sustainable on the keto diet, since sugar is a carb,” says Sharma.
“Cooking with a lot of oil helps shift the macros of the dish toward being more fat-dominant,” says certified nutritional consultant Ariane Resnick. “I don't recommend frying because of that creates unhealthy trans fats." Roasting with a hearty amount of an oil that won't oxidize at high heat-like avocado oil-would be the most keto-friendly approach, Resnick says. "If you want them mashed, adding lots of high-fat dairy like butter, heavy cream, and/or sour cream will also shift the macros to being more fat-heavy."
Keto-Friendly Vegetable Alternatives
If you’re thinking about embarking on a ketogenic diet, you probably already know you’ll be avoiding processed grains and sugar like pizza and muffins. But many other foods you’ll nix on this extremely low-carb, high-fat diet aren’t necessarily unhealthy. Indeed, many “no” foods are packed with health-promoting vitamins, minerals, and fiber but also have too many carbs for the restrictive keto diet.
While you’re cutting carbs, it’s important to use your carb allotment to eat high-fiber foods to help keep constipation, an unpleasant side effect of keto, at bay, says Nasar. Nonstarchy veggies are the best way to do this, as they offer the most fiber and the smallest amount of net carbs.
Here are some vegetables that are generally considered keto-friendly:
- Asparagus: Raw asparagus contains 5.1 g of carbs and 1.9 g of dietary fiber per 100 g.
- Celery: Raw celery contains 3.32 g of carbs per 100 g.
- Tomatoes: Different types of tomato contain different amounts of carbs, for example 100 g of raw grape tomatoes contains 5.51 g of carbs and 2.1 g of dietary fiber, while 100 g of roma tomatoes contain 3.84 g of carbs and 1 g of dietary fiber.
- Spinach: The carb content of mature spinach stands at 2.64 g per 100 g and 100 g baby spinach contains 2.41 g of carbs. Both contain 1.6 g of dietary fiber.
- Lettuce: Lettuce can be the main ingredient in salads. Therefore, a person can combine it with other low carb vegetables to create a nutritious meal that does not take the body out of ketosis.
- Mushrooms: Different types of mushrooms contain different amouts of carbs.
- Cucumber: Cucumber is also suitable for the keto diet, as its carb content is just 2.95 g per 100 g.
- Zucchini: Raw zucchini contains 3.11 g of carbs per 100 g and 1 g of dietary fiber.
- Cauliflower: One cup of cauliflower florets contains only 3.2 g of net carbs.
- Spaghetti Squash: Spaghetti squash can fit into your diet as long as you use small amounts.
- Broccoli: 1 cup of chopped broccoli contains 3.7 g net carbs.
Some keto-friendly alternatives to sweet potatoes include:
- Butternut Squash: Similar to sweet potatoes in flavor and texture, butternut squash is a good low-carb alternative.
- Pumpkin: Pumpkin has a similar flavor profile as sweet potatoes but with fewer carbs.
- Radish: Like sweet potatoes, radishes are best enjoyed oven-roasted.
- Rutabaga: A Swedish variation of a turnip, the Rutabaga is a healthy root vegetable containing less than 9 grams of carbs.
- Turnip: Turnip has a natural sweetness similar to sweet potatoes but with a satisfying crunch and a lower carb content (6 grams).
Risks of Keto Diet
Keto isn’t right for everyone. “For some people, the keto diet can be potentially harmful,” says Alyssa Burnison, RD, a regional registered dietitian for the supermarket chain Hy-Vee in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. That includes people who take insulin for type 2 diabetes or type 1 diabetes, she says. If you have any chronic health condition that you’re hoping to treat with a keto diet, talk to your doctor first or work with a registered dietitian; they can best advise if this is a safe diet for you.
“You’re going to be at an increased risk of developing kidney stones or harming the kidneys overall, throwing off your electrolyte balance, increased urination, cardiac arrythmia, nutrient deficiencies, and more,” Zellner says. These are serious risks to consider before committing.
Lack of fiber from a variety of fruits and vegetables is detrimental to our gut microbiome,” Sharma says. (Yes, keto constipation is real.)