Picture this: it’s a beautiful Sunday morning-the sun’s up, the weather’s perfect, and the entire family is getting ready to fire up the BBQ. As you consider your menu, you might wonder, "Is Italian sausage keto-friendly?" This article delves into the carb content of various types of sausage, with a focus on Italian sausage, to help you make informed choices while adhering to a ketogenic diet.
Understanding the Ketogenic Diet
Just about everyone has heard of the ketogenic diet. Its popularity is due in part to the fact that it can be highly effective for weight loss. People who practice keto experience several benefits, including decreased blood sugar. The goal of the ketogenic diet is to put your body in a state called ketosis. Ketosis occurs when your metabolism switches from a carb fuel source to a fat fuel source. Once this change occurs in the body, people begin to lose weight, sometimes at a drastic rate. To keep your body in ketosis, you’re required to maintain a low-carb, high-protein diet. When it comes to keto diet foods, people rely on protein-rich foods such as nuts, cheese and meats.
When you follow the ketogenic approach to food, you'll need to base your diet around low-carb foods. Some foods are seemingly high in carbohydrates (per 100 grams), but you will only need to use a small amount when used in recipes. Food quality is just as important as the amount of carbohydrates in your diet. Read labels carefully to spot hidden sugars and high-carb ingredients in packaged foods. Dehydration and electrolyte imbalances can be common when starting a keto diet. Everyone's body reacts differently to certain foods.
Nutritional Profile of Sausage
Sausage is a meat product generally made from red meat, such as beef and pork, or poultry, including chicken and turkey (1). It comes in many different types and styles and is typically made up of different meats including beef, pork, chicken, or turkey. While they’re high in protein, they’re often rich in fat as well, as the fat helps keep the meat moist during cooking (1). For example, 3.5 ounces (100 grams) of pork sausage contains approximately (2):
- Calories: 268
- Fat: 18 grams
- Saturated fat: 7 grams
- Protein: 27 grams
In addition to meat and meat byproducts, sausages often contain added flavoring from ingredients like herbs, spices, vegetables, and fruits. The mixture is then ground and shaped into links using a casing or patties. Sausages vary in content depending on the meat or combination of meats used, as well as any added ingredients.
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In the United States, the contents of sausages are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Below are some examples of standards for various product labels (1):
- Breakfast sausages. They are made from meat and meat byproducts and have no more than 50% fat by weight.
- Fresh pork sausages. These may not include pork byproducts and have no more than 50% fat by weight.
- Italian sausage products. These cured or uncured sausages comprise at least 85% meat, or a combination of meat and fat. The total fat content cannot be more than 35% of the finished product. Italian sausage products must also contain salt, pepper, fennel, and/or anise and no more than 3% water. Other ingredients, such as garlic, onion, or paprika, are optional (1).
As sausages are preserved by methods including curing, salting, smoking, and drying, they’re considered processed meat (1). As a result, there’s some concern about eating them, as processed meat intake has been linked to an increased risk of several chronic diseases (3).
Carbs in Sausage
Given that sausages are made primarily of ground meat and meat byproducts, any carbs found in the food come from added ingredients like flavorings and binders (4). Many sausages contain spices, which contribute very few carbs. However, some varieties are naturally flavored using fruit, sugar, or cheese, all of which contain varying amounts of carbs.
Other common carb sources include binding agents. Ingredients like breadcrumbs and potato flour help with consistency and prevent the meat from being crumbly (5). Other common binders include lentil flour, soy flour, vital wheat gluten, and corn syrup. Some of these ingredients are higher in carbs than others. For example, corn syrup contains approximately 30 grams of carbs per 2 tablespoons (30 grams), whereas vital wheat gluten has just 4 grams of carbs per 1/4 cup (30 grams) (6, 7). Overall, the type of binding agent(s) and amount and type of flavorings used affects the final carb content of the product.
Common Sausage Varieties and Carb Content
As the type of flavorings and additives can vary by product, the best way to know how many carbs are in the sausage you’re looking to buy is by reading the nutrition label. However, the list below includes common types of sausages and an approximate amount of carbs that may be found in 3.5 ounces (100 grams) of each (8):
Read also: Italian Keto Diet Guide
- Andouille sausage: 3 grams
- Beef sausage: 0 grams
- Bratwurst: 3 grams
- Breakfast sausage links (pork or turkey): 1 gram
- Breakfast sausage beef patties: 3 grams
- Chicken sausage: 4 grams
- Chorizo: 2 grams
- Italian sausage: 4 grams
- Polish sausage (Kielbasa): 5 grams
- Pork sausage: 0 grams
- Salami: 6 grams
- Turkey sausage: 3 grams
- Vienna sausage (Frankfurter): 2 grams
As you can see, most sausages contain small amounts of carbs, with salami being the highest, as it often contains corn syrup and corn starch as binding agents (9). Even flavored sausages like Johnsonville’s Apple Chicken Sausage, which contains dried apples, corn syrup, and cane syrup, has just 6 grams of carbs per 3.5 ounces (100 grams) (10). Thus, despite containing added ingredients, sausage is still an overall low carb option.
How to Choose Keto-Friendly Sausage
To determine whether sausage is keto-friendly, we must dig deeper into its nutritional profile. This can be tricky because there are so many different types of sausages. For starters, they can consist of various types of meat, such as pork, beef, chicken, and turkey. Generally, though, sausages are a combination of ground meat, healthy fats, and spices, which are naturally carb-free. But when you add binding ingredients to the mix, that’s where the carb content appears. Gluten, soy flour, wheat flour, and corn syrup are some binding ingredients that can increase the content of sausage.
When you’re standing in the sausage section at a grocery store, make sure you’re reviewing the nutrition labels. When you’ve identified the carb content, find the grams of fiber and subtract that number from the number of carbs. The net carb count is the number of sausage carbs that are absorbed by the body. To calculate the net carbs in a food item, subtract the fiber from the total number of sausage carbs. The standard ketogenic diet requires that you stay between 20-50 grams of net carbs per day to maintain ketosis. You'll also want to ensure the sugar count is relatively low. After all, any sugar listed on the ingredients label is most likely artificial and unnecessary.
Incorporating Sausage into Your Keto Diet
Whether you prefer fried, grilled, or boiled sausage, there are plenty of ways to add it to your keto diet meals. Add to fried cauliflower rice: Sausage fried rice is a filling dish that you’ll enjoy for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. When it comes to incorporating sausage into your keto diet, don’t limit yourself to breakfast. For example, Italian sausage is a great ingredient to add to zucchini noodles and meatballs. You can also add sausage to some of your favorite soups to enhance the flavor.
Sausage Alternatives
Now, if you're looking for alternatives to sausage, consider keto-friendly jerky like Chomps. From original beef to jalapeño flavors, we create zero-sugar meat sticks that are made from100% grass-fed and grass-finished beef. Our jerky provides clean protein without the binding agents found in sausages.
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