Popcorn, a beloved snack enjoyed for millennia, has become a subject of interest for those following the ketogenic diet. This article provides a comprehensive overview of popcorn's nutritional profile, the principles of the ketogenic diet, and whether these two can harmoniously coexist.
What is Popcorn?
Popcorn is created when dried corn kernels are heated, causing the water inside to expand and the kernels to explode into edible puffs. It’s a popular snack that has been enjoyed for thousands of years and is thought to have originated in the Americas. In fact, some studies suggest that people in Peru ate popcorn over 6,000 years ago. Today, people all over the world eat popcorn. It can be made on the stove, in an air popper, or your microwave. It’s also sold already popped. Popcorn is commonly served with melted butter and salt but can be flavored with herbs, spices, cheese, chocolate, or other seasonings, too. Though most think of corn as a vegetable, popcorn is considered a whole grain. Popcorn kernels are harvested when the corn plant is mature and all parts of the grain are intact.
Nutritional Value of Popcorn
Like other whole grains, popcorn is highly nutritious. Eating whole grains has been linked to a lower risk of heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and overall mortality. This is because whole grains are rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and plant compounds that provide many health benefits. A 3-cup (24-gram) serving of air-popped popcorn contains:
- Calories: 90
- Fat: 1 gram
- Protein: 3 grams
- Carbs: 18 grams
- Fiber: 4 grams
- Magnesium: 9% of the Reference Daily Intake (RDI)
- Phosphorus: 9% of the RDI
- Manganese: 12% of the RDI
- Zinc: 6% of the RDI
Since it’s high in fiber, popcorn is very filling without having a lot of calories. It’s also rich in minerals, including magnesium, phosphorous, zinc, and manganese. What’s more, popcorn offers antioxidants like polyphenols that help prevent cellular damage caused by molecules called free radicals. In particular, polyphenols may offer protective effects against cancer and other chronic diseases.
Understanding the Ketogenic Diet
The ketogenic diet recommends dramatically reducing your intake of carbs and replacing them with fat. This leads to a metabolic state known as ketosis, during which your body uses byproducts from the breakdown of fat - called ketones - for energy in the absence of carbs. The ketogenic diet is commonly used to help children with epilepsy manage their seizures. It’s also been linked to health benefits like weight loss, as well as improved insulin sensitivity, cholesterol levels, and blood sugar control in people with type 2 diabetes.
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To achieve ketosis, you typically need to eat less than 50 grams of carbs per day - though some people may have to reduce carbs even more. As a result, low-carb foods like eggs, meats, fatty fish, avocados, olive oil, nuts, and seeds, as well as non-starchy vegetables like cauliflower, broccoli, and bell peppers, form the basis of a keto diet. According to most keto experts, the carb limit refers to net carbs, which are calculated by subtracting the grams of fiber from the total grams of carbs in a serving of food. Based on this logic, whole grains and other fiber-rich carbs contain fewer net carbs than foods without as much fiber, such as refined grains.
Can Popcorn Fit into a Keto Diet?
Depending on your daily carb limit, popcorn may be able to fit into a keto diet. A typical serving of air-popped popcorn is 3 cups (24 grams) and contains 4 grams of fiber and 18 grams of carbs - or 14 grams of net carbs. Popcorn can easily fit into a keto diet with a daily limit of 50 grams of net carbs and can even be included in more restrictive versions of the keto diet. Not to mention, if you’re following a keto diet to lose weight, popcorn only has 90 calories per serving.
However, a 3-cup (24-gram) serving would take up a large part of your daily carb allotment. If you want to enjoy popcorn on a keto diet, consider limiting other high-carb foods, so you don’t exceed your net carb limit. Bread, chips, sweets, and other refined grains are high in carbs and contain little to no fiber. On the other hand, popcorn and other whole grains have more fiber and fewer net carbs. Therefore, eating popcorn instead of high-carb, low-fiber foods on a keto diet can help satisfy a desire for carbs without going overboard. Still, it’s important to be aware of portions when eating popcorn on a keto diet since it can be easy to overconsume. To help keep portion size in check and feel more satisfied, you can add fat from coconut oil, butter, or olive oil to popcorn. Making popcorn at home instead of buying pre-popped varieties can also help you control how much you eat and what you add to it.
To make popcorn at home, heat 1 tablespoon of coconut oil or butter in a large pot over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons of popcorn kernels. Cover the pot with a lid while the kernels pop. After popping stops, remove from heat and season with oil or butter and salt.
Choosing the Right Kind of Popcorn
If you're following a keto diet and want to chow down on popcorn, think about how it's prepared. “Air-popped popcorn is the most nutritious because it has the least amount of fluff - chemicals, food coloring, salt, fat - added to it via processing,” says Lisa Andrews, M.Ed., R.D., owner of Sound Bites Nutrition in Cincinnati, Ohio. On the other hand, she says, traditional microwave popcorn contains a fair amount of hydrogenated oils (unless it’s labeled 94% fat-free) and sodium, as well as diacetyl, a buttery-flavored chemical that’s been linked with lung disease in employees at popcorn-processing plants. “Movie-style popcorn contains Flavacol- an ingredient containing salt, artificial butter flavor, Yellow #5 and Yellow #6. It also has hydrogenated soybean oil meant to mimic butter,” she adds. Also, consider what you're topping the popcorn with.
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“The issues starts to happen when you start adding different things to popcorn,” Rissetto says. If you use a sugary topping, like caramel or chocolate, then that's not keto-friendly. But according to Rissetto, if you use savory things like butter, Parmesan cheese, seasonings or a tiny bit of hot sauce, then that would keep the snack within the limits of the diet. Another option is to toss the popcorn in nut butter, or sprinkle on spices like cinnamon and salt.
Keto-Friendly Snack Alternatives
If you’re looking for other snacks to eat on a keto diet, there are a lot of options -and many of them are healthy choices. Consider these suggestions from Andrews:
- Celery sticks, radishes, bell pepper strips or mushrooms with guacamole or full-fat cream cheese
- Scrambled or hard-boiled eggs
- Kale chips or roasted Brussels sprouts
- A small portion of nuts or seeds
- String cheese or cheese cubes
- Parmesan or other cheese crisps
- Tuna salad wrapped in lettuce
- Ham and cheese wrapped in lettuce
- Grilled chicken or shrimp kababs
- Shrimp (without cocktail sauce)
- Meatballs made without breadcrumbs or other grains
- Meat “sticks” such as jerky or biltong
- Pork rinds
- Pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
- Cauliflower florets
- Dried seaweed
- Freeze-dried cheese
Potential Drawbacks of the Keto Diet
It's important for those on the keto diet to remember that you have to stick with it for a decent amount of time to start seeing any weight loss (and if you go off the diet, there’s a good chance you regain any pounds they dropped). And of course, when you have to carefully evaluate everything you eat, not only can that be tiring over time; it can also suck the joy out of eating. “It's really not fun - the mental aspect of it is really tough to do,” says Rissetto. On top of that, even though you may lose weight, there are long-term health issues to consider with the keto diet. “Excessive carbs from refined foods - sweets, chips, snack foods, fast food - are not the best for overall health, but a keto diet lacks variety and can be low in fiber, which also raises the risk for certain diseases including heart disease and cancer,” Andrews points out. The USDA recommends that women get at least 25 grams of fiber a day, and that men get 38 grams - and research shows that fiber itself promotes a feeling of satiety and, along with helping prevent certain diseases, is good for managing one's weight, if that's the goal. You should always check with your doctor before starting any diet.
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