Can You Drink Tea with Milk on a Keto Diet? The Truth About Keto-Friendly Tea Choices!

For those following a low-carb, high-fat ketogenic diet, choosing the right beverages is crucial for staying in ketosis. While water is the healthiest and most obvious choice, many people seek other options to add flavor, variety, or an energy boost to their day. Tea, a beloved beverage worldwide, can certainly be part of a keto diet, but there are some important considerations.

Understanding the Keto Diet and Ketosis

The ketogenic diet is based on keeping the body in a state of ketosis. When the body doesn't get enough glucose from the diet, it will make ketones as a survival mechanism. Those who advocate the keto diet claim that if you stay in ketosis long enough, your body will burn fat more efficiently, resulting in weight loss. Staying in ketosis requires eating fewer than 50 grams of carbs per day. To successfully achieve ketosis, you must avoid almost all carbohydrates and eat a diet high in fat and protein.

Tea and the Keto Diet: The Basics

By themselves, tea bags, tea powders, or even loose leaf teas are keto-friendly. However, what you add to it is what determines whether your cup of tea remains keto-friendly or not. The basic rule for tea drinking while on the keto diet is consuming unsweetened or unsugared tea and ensuring that any milk used is low carb and also does not have sugar or other carbohydrate additives.

Keto-Friendly Teas

Several types of tea are naturally low in carbs and can be enjoyed on a keto diet:

Black Tea: Made from aged tea leaves, black tea offers a robust flavor, darker color, and higher caffeine content.
Green Tea: Sourced from fresh tea leaves, green tea has a more floral flavor, lighter color, and less caffeine. Green tea is one of the best teas to drink while practicing the keto diet. Green tea may help by providing necessary antioxidants to prevent the damage. Studies suggest that green tea combined with exercise may even increase lean body mass and muscle strength.
White Tea: Made from young tea leaves, white tea has a mild and delicate flavor.
Herbal Teas: Infusions derived from dried flowers, fruits, leaves, or herbs can be keto-friendly, but it's essential to check the carb count of packaged products. Chamomile tea is keto friendly.

Teas to Approach with Caution

Chai Tea: Traditional chai tea is often sweetened with milk and sugar, making it unsuitable for a strict keto diet. However, it can be modified to be keto-friendly.
Sweet Tea: Southern-style sweet tea is typically loaded with sugar, so it's best to avoid it or make a keto-friendly version.
Dessert Tea Blends: These teas often mimic the taste of desserts and are usually very high in sugar.

Milk and Keto: Navigating the Dairy Aisle

Seeing that milk products such as butter, hard and soft cheeses, heavy and sour cream, as well as Greek yogurt can be consumed on keto, one may be quick to assume that normal milk too is keto friendly. This, however, could not be further from the truth. Because of the lactose, cow’s milk is quite high in carbohydrates. Just one cup contains about 12 grams of carbs. If you are trying to stick to just 20 g of carbs per day on your ketogenic diet, just 1 cup of milk tea in the morning takes up more than half of your allocated carbohydrate intake for the day. Please note that goat’s milk is also not keto friendly.

Read also: The Ultimate Smoothie Guide

Keto-Friendly Milk Alternatives

Unsweetened Almond Milk: This is a great keto-friendly option that is naturally low in carbohydrates. It is also a good source of healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals that can help reduce your risk of nutritional deficiencies. One litre of unsweetened almond milk has zero carbs and zero sugars.
Unsweetened Coconut Milk: Coconut milk is a good source of healthy fats on a keto diet, and can be used as a milk substitute in coffee or as a base for smoothies.
Macadamia Nut Milk: Another plant-based milk alternative that's low in carbs.
Flaxseed Milk: This is a keto-friendly option.
Heavy Whipping Cream: Replacing watery unsweetened milk alternatives with heavy whipping cream will give a wonderful texture and taste to your chai.

Milks to Avoid

Cow's Milk: Due to its lactose content, cow's milk is relatively high in carbs.
Sweetened Plant-Based Milks: Many flavored and sweetened plant-based milks contain too much sugar to be keto-friendly.
Goat's Milk: This is also not keto friendly.

Sweeteners and Other Additions

Maple syrup is often used to help sweeten tea for those who do not wish to use traditional table sugar. Candied fruit on the other hand should be avoided, not only on the ketogenic diet, but also on any other healthy or weight loss eating plan.

Keto-Friendly Sweeteners

If you would like to still enjoy tea at home, avoid both table/cane sugar and whole dairy as they are both high in carbs and sugar. Always replace sugar with stevia or other keto friendly sweetener.

Additions to Avoid

Sugar: A definite no-go on keto.
Honey: High in carbs and should be avoided.
Sweetened Creamers: These are typically loaded with sugar.
Standard Flavoring Syrups: Most contain high amounts of sugar.
Maple Syrup: High in carbs.
Candied Fruit: Should be avoided.

Making Keto-Friendly Tea: Practical Tips

Choose Unsweetened Tea: Whether you prefer black, green, white, or herbal tea, make sure it's unsweetened.
Opt for Low-Carb Milk Alternatives: Select unsweetened almond, coconut, macadamia, or flaxseed milk.
Use Keto-Friendly Sweeteners: If you need to sweeten your tea, use stevia or another keto-approved sweetener.
Avoid Pre-Made Drinks: Be cautious of pre-made coffee or tea drinks from coffee shops, as they often contain hidden sugars.
Read Labels Carefully: Always check the labels of tea blends and milk alternatives to ensure they don't contain added sugars or carbs.

Health Benefits of Tea on Keto

Drinking caffeinated drink on a keto diet may provide more benefits than you might think. Studies suggest that taking caffeine for breakfast may increase the ketone production. Instead of reaching out for energy drinks, you can choose natural tea with a high caffeine content, such as Assam than may provide much more health benefits than a pre-made energy drink.

Antioxidants: Tea, especially green tea, is rich in antioxidants that can help protect against oxidative stress.
Metabolism Boost: Coffee and tea contain caffeine, which may give your metabolism a slight boost.
Weight Loss: Green tea may help in weight loss, increase a lean body mass, and strengthen muscles.

Additional Keto-Friendly Drink Options

Coffee: Coffee is another nearly calorie- and carb-free favorite that’s safe for the keto diet.
Alternative Diet Sodas: Several diet sodas are made with naturally derived zero calorie sweeteners like stevia or erythritol, a sugar alcohol derived from corn that has fewer negative effects than artificial sweeteners.
Sparkling Water: Many sparkling water options are flavored, but they’re typically unsweetened - making them an excellent low carb choice.
Low Carb Beer: Some of the lowest carb beers, which clock in at 2-3 grams of net carbs per 12-ounce (355-mL) bottle, are Budweiser Select 55, Michelob Ultra, and Miller 64.
Hard Liquor: Hard liquors like vodka, whiskey, rum, and tequila are naturally carb-free and therefore appropriate for the keto diet.
Low Carb Hard Seltzer: You can also choose low carb hard seltzers, which are made with flavored seltzer water or sparkling water and added liquor.

Drinks to Generally Avoid on Keto

Sugary Drinks: This category includes sodas, energy drinks, and other sweetened beverages that are high in added sugars and carbs.
Fruit Juices: While fruits themselves can be a part of a healthy keto diet in moderation, fruit juices should be avoided due to their high sugar content.
Sports Drinks: Sports drinks are high in carbs and are designed to replenish glycogen stores after intense exercise.

Read also: Stay Hydrated on Keto

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