Heart of palm, harvested from the core of specific palm trees, is a versatile vegetable gaining popularity as a low-carb alternative. This article explores the nutritional profile of heart of palm, its potential benefits, and its suitability for a ketogenic diet.
What is Heart of Palm?
Heart of palm is an off-white vegetable harvested from the bud of certain palm trees, such as coconut and palmetto. The apical meristem, commonly called the heart or bud, is the part of a plant from which all new leaves grow. In palm trees, it is at the center of the big crown of leaves at the top of the trunk. When cut into, heart of palm is cylindrical and ringlike, resembling a leek. The vegetable has a crisp texture and subtle taste, and it takes on the flavor of its seasoning. Other names for heart of palm include palm heart, palmetto, palmito, palm cabbage, chonta, and swamp cabbage. It grows natively in tropical and humid areas, such as Central and South America and South Asia. Farmers remove the palm crown at the top of the tree to harvest it, then debark it to expose the edible inner core, which undergoes further processing to make it ready for cooking.
Nutritional Benefits of Heart of Palm
Heart of palm is known for its range of nutritional and health benefits. It is a nutrient-dense vegetable that is low in fat, calories, and carbohydrates while being high in essential vitamins and minerals. The nutrient content of heart of palm varies depending on whether it is canned, raw, or cooked.
A half-cup serving of canned palm hearts contains:
- Calories: 20
- Protein: 2 grams
- Fat: 0 grams
- Carbohydrates: 3 grams
- Fiber: 2 grams
- Sugar: 0 grams
- Potassium: 129 mg
- Phosphorus: 47 mg
- Copper: 0.09 mg
- Zinc: 0.84 mg
Key nutrients found in heart of palm include:
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- Potassium: An essential mineral that helps prevent hypertension, regulates heartbeat, and is vital for synthesizing protein and metabolizing carbohydrates. It assists in maintaining electrolyte balance and controlling blood pressure.
- Zinc: Important for the body’s immune function and wound healing, and supports a baby’s growth and development in the womb.
- Vitamin B: Crucial for functions such as immune function, hemoglobin and antibody production, nerve function, and protein breakdown. Heart of palm contains several types of vitamin B, including vitamin B6, riboflavin, and folate.
- Vitamin A: Known for its vision and immune-enhancing qualities.
- Copper: Aids in the formation of red blood cells and helps maintain nerve cells and immune function.
- Iron: Fundamental in red blood cell formation.
- Phosphorus: Promotes strong bones and teeth and is used by the body to make proteins that grow and repair cells and tissues.
Antioxidant Properties
Heart of palm contains polyphenols, compounds that are “free radical scavengers.” They neutralize free radicals, preventing them from causing damage. Having too many free radicals and not enough antioxidants in the body can lead to oxidative stress, which may increase the risk of chronic conditions such as neurological diseases, lung diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, kidney diseases, cancer, and heart disease. An older 2014 study showed that vegetable palm hearts showed significant antioxidant properties due to their considerable chlorogenic acid content. Similarly, a 2017 study showed that the leaf and berry extracts of the Sabal palmetto tree have anti-cancer properties. Other studies also showed anti-tumor and anti-inflammatory properties. However, a 2020 study found that canning may cause a loss in its antioxidant activity and fiber content.
Potential Health Benefits
- Weight Loss: Heart of palm is low in calories, carbohydrates, and fats, making it a healthy option for people on weight loss programs. A 2018 study on plant-based dieting in overweight individuals found that plant protein in a plant-based diet led to improved body composition and weight loss. Due to its high water and fiber content, heart of palm may also promote feelings of fullness, which can naturally lead you to eat less.
- Body Tissue Repair: Heart of palm contains numerous essential amino acids, such as lysine and leucine, which are necessary for body tissue repair and protein synthesis. Similar to vegetables such as broccoli and spinach, heart of palm is also high in protein, making it a preferred vegan source of protein. A 2019 study found that palm heart protein is a suitable substitute for animal protein sources in the food industry. Protein provides the building blocks for tissue growth, cell renewal, and repair during wound healing.
- Heart Health: Chlorogenic acid, a polyphenol found in significant amounts in heart of palm, has heart-protective properties. A 2020 study found that this compound may lower blood pressure and help prevent thrombosis and atherosclerosis. Heart of palm is also high in soluble and insoluble fiber, which not only helps a person’s digestive health but also lowers cholesterol levels.
- Blood Sugar Regulation: Using heart of palm as a substitute for highly processed foods containing refined carbohydrates and saturated fats can help reduce insulin resistance, which may prevent certain conditions. Insulin resistance leads to increased blood sugar levels, which in turn may lead to conditions such as metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and non-alcohol-related fatty liver disease.
Heart of Palm and the Keto Diet
The ketogenic diet is a macro-nutrient specific plan that necessitates keeping carbohydrate consumption low while focusing on high-fat and moderate-protein foods. On the keto diet, the daily carbohydrate intake usually hovers around 20-50g. Considering its low carb content, heart of palm can be safely included on the keto diet. A typical 2-ounce (60-gram) serving of this vegetable provides around 2 grams of carbs. As the keto diet generally restricts carb intake to 50 grams per day, an average helping of heart of palm would only comprise 4% of your daily carb allowance (16). Still, the carb count may vary depending on the particular brand, so it’s important to read the nutrition label when buying heart of palm.
However, some sources indicate that Heart Of Palm is not keto-friendly. This tropical delicacy is surprisingly high in carbs, with a net carbohydrate content of 23.3g per 100g serving. Given Heart Of Palm's relatively high carbohydrate content (23.3g per 100g), it's clear that there might be some obstacles regarding its incorporation into a strict keto diet. The high net carb content - 23.3g per 100g serving - found in Heart Of Palm would consume more than half of the total recommended daily carb intake for those on a strict keto diet.
Navigating the Keto Diet with Heart of Palm
Maintaining a balanced keto diet requires careful selection of foods that fulfill the macro-nutrient guidelines without compromising on taste and variety. A strict keto diet demands serious dedication, meticulous planning, and a precise balance of macro-nutrients. Given this framework, incorporating high-carb food like Heart Of Palm, fearfully, isn't an ideal option or a sustainable practice.
To ensure that your carbohydrate intake stays within those strict targets set by the keto diet, consider using a nutrition tracker or app that can help monitor your daily food intake, providing visibility into the macro-nutrients you're consuming. Making conscious choices about food is the cornerstone of successfully sticking to a strict keto diet.
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How to Incorporate Heart of Palm into Your Diet
Heart of palm is incredibly versatile, and a person can add it to many dishes. A person can grill, saute, sear, boil, or pickle it. As heart of palm has a low carbohydrate content, people may also opt to add it to their keto diet. It’s most commonly included in salads, though it can be added to several other dishes, such as dips, stir-fries, and ceviche - a South American dish made of marinated seafood. It can also be eaten on its own or grilled and seasoned to make a unique appetizer.
Some ways to cook with the heart of palm as an ingredient include:
- Tossing chopped or sliced hearts of palm into salads
- Sauteing hearts of palm and adding them to casseroles or omelets
- Making a dip by combining finely chopped heart of palm with mozzarella cheese, grated parmesan cheese, mayo, sour cream, green onion
- Tossing it in a seasoned flour mixture and eating it as a calamari substitute
- Braising it and lightly sprinkling it with spices and herbs
- Using it as a pasta substitute
- Slicing it and using it as a substitute for meat or seafood
Vegetarians and vegans often use heart of palm as a meat or seafood substitute, as it provides a similar texture, though it should be noted that it’s not a good source of protein. Still, it makes excellent vegan carnitas, calamari, lobster rolls, and fish sticks.
Heart of Palm Pasta
In addition to being low carb, hearts of palm pasta is also low in calories. One serving of hearts of palm pasta has 20 calories, 4 grams of carbs, and about 1 gram of protein. If you eat the whole package, which is easy, you’ve downed only 60 calories. Compare that to 1 cup of traditional wheat semolina pasta, which clocks in at 220 calories, 43 grams of carbs, and 8 grams of protein.
Noodles made out of vegetables aren’t new-think spaghetti squash and zoodles. But one of the reasons why people are crazy for hearts of palm pasta is, they say, because it tastes more like the real thing. You could tell you weren’t eating pasta-neither product had pasta’s body, springiness, or smoothness. Both products had a vegetal flavor when tasted plain, with TJ’s being slightly stronger. That flavor was muted once the noodles were mixed with the other ingredients. If you like your pasta al dente, Palmini is the better of the two. It had a firmer texture than TJ’s every way we tried it. The noodles were longer and that made them more pasta-like, too.
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If you want to cut the carbs in your pasta dish, but aren’t sure you’re ready for a plate of veggie noodles, you can mix hearts of palm pasta half and half with regular pasta. Put the hearts of palm pasta in a colander and pour the cooked pasta over it to drain. That’s all it takes to warm up the hearts of palm.
Keto-Friendly Alternatives to Heart of Palm
When you've set out on a strictly keto journey, it soon becomes apparent that elements of your previous diet will not make the cut. Unfortunately, Heart of Palm happens to be one of these adjustments that you might have to make. Instead of Heart Of Palm, you might wish to opt for a variety of low-carb veggies that are rich in nutrients.
- Zucchini: Zucchini's mild and slightly sweet taste, coupled with a similar texture, makes it a good substitute for Heart Of Palm in various recipes like salads, stir-fries, and seafood dishes.
- Mushrooms: Certain variants of mushrooms, particularly oyster mushrooms, can mimic the texture of Heart Of Palm.
- Asparagus: Asparagus imparts a unique, savory flavor that can lend its charm to various dishes.
- Cabbage: Cabbage, both green and red, can add volume to your meals without loading up on the carbs.
Potential Drawbacks
While it is one of the few vegetables with high protein content, heart of palm may not have enough protein to meet a person’s dietary needs. A person may need to add other protein sources to their diet.
Markets typically sell heart of palm as a canned product to prolong its shelf life, so its sodium level may be higher than when it is raw. Half a cup of canned palm hearts contains 311 milligrams of sodium, which may not seem like a lot but covers 13% of your daily value of sodium. It is vital to wash canned hearts of palm thoroughly to remove the brine, which may contain salt. Because too much sodium in your diet can lead to issues such as hypertension (high blood pressure), you should be sure to read the label if you consume canned heart of palm.
Sustainability Concerns
Karla Canavan, the World Wildlife Fund’s vice president of commodity trade and finance, works with the biggest brands in the world to help them build sustainable supply chains. Canavan said the explosive growth of hearts of palm reminds her of other worrisome trendy foods, such as avocados and quinoa. What Canavan has seen with those crops is a loss of local farming practices, including crop rotations. “I would be concerned,” she said of the future of hearts of palm. “Existing farms are close to communities with poverty and if people are being offered money, not just farmers but also owners of forestland or other habitat, you end up destroying the ecosystem,” she says.