Are Sweet Potatoes Keto-Friendly?

The ketogenic or ketogenic diet is a high-fat, moderate protein, and very low-carbohydrate diet that is used to treat a variety of treatment conditions such as epilepsy, obesity, and diabetes.

Since it is a very carb regulator, many people think that carbohydrate-rich foods like sweet potatoes can still be included in the parameters of the ketogenic dietary pattern.

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This article explores whether you can enjoy sweet potatoes even after being on a ketogenic diet.

Maintaining ketosis

One of the main goals of the ketogenic diet is to facilitate your body's conversion to ketosis.

Ketosis is a metabolic condition where your body relies on energy produced from fat instead of carbohydrates to perform all the functions it needs.

When you eat a variety of foods, your body uses glucose, a type of carbohydrate, as its main source of fuel by default. But when carbohydrates are not available, your body produces energy from compounds derived from fats called ketones.

Your body's ability to maintain ketosis depends on the lack of carbohydrates in your diet. If you eat too much sugar, your body goes back to using glucose for energy, knocking you out of ketosis.

This is why many carbohydrate-rich foods, including starchy vegetables such as sweet potatoes, are generally considered off-limits in the ketogenic diet.

However, in order to maintain ketosis, a person may need to limit his total carbohydrate intake.

Most people on a ketogenic diet do not limit their intake of carbohydrates to more than 5-10% of their daily caloric needs, or to a maximum of 50 million carbohydrates per day.

Exactly where you are in that spectrum depends on how fast your body enters and exits ketosis.

SUMMARY:

It is essential to keep your sugar intake very low to maintain ketosis when following a ketogenic diet. This is why many people prefer to exclude sweet potatoes from their ketogenic diet.

Sweet potatoes are relatively high in Carbs

Sweet potato is a type of starchy tuber that is often omitted from the ketogenic diet due to its naturally high carbs content.

However, with the right plan, some people may still be able to successfully include small servings of sweet potatoes in the ketogenic diet plan.

A medium-sized sweet potato (150 g) contains a total of 26 g of carbohydrates. After subtracting 4 grams of fiber, you have about 21 grams of sugar per potato.

If you are on a ketogenic diet that limits you to 50 grams of sugar per day, you can choose to spend about 42% of your sugar on a whole sweet potato if you want.

You can also consider splitting sweet potatoes into smaller portions to further reduce your sugar intake without completely eliminating them from your diet.

That said if you’re on a diet plan that requires you to stay within the limits of very few carbohydrates, even a very small serving of sweet potatoes can make your allotted sugars complicated enough to stay within days.

Ultimately, whether you should include sweet potatoes in your diet depends on your ability to consistently adhere to your personal carbohydrate goals and the restrictions needed to maintain ketosis.

SUMMARY:

The amount of carbohydrates in sweet potatoes is quite high, but some people may include small servings while staying within their ketogenic carbohydrate restrictions.

Certain preparations may be more keto-friendly than others

If you decide to include sweet potatoes as part of your ketogenic diet plan, it is important that you consider how different preparation methods may affect the total carbohydrate content of the final meal.

For example, sweet potatoes made with ingredients that are high in sugars, such as brown sugar, maple syrup, or fruit juices, are unsuitable for a ketogenic diet.

Most keto recipes include the sweet potato fry, which can be cut into small pieces and served whole or fried and with butter, coconut oil, or melted cheese.

SUMMARY:

Some sweet potato preparation methods are not keto-friendly, especially those that use high-sugar ingredients like brown sugar or maple syrup.

BOTTOM LINE:

Ketogenic diets are characterized by being high in fat and very low in carbohydrates.

Sweet potatoes are naturally high in carbohydrates and are generally left out of the keto diet plan because they can make it difficult for many to maintain ketosis.

That being said, you don't have to cut sweet potatoes from your diet unless you keep your diet moderate and plan ahead to make sure you don't cut back on extra carbs throughout the day.

Avoid sweet potato preparations that contain carbohydrate-rich ingredients like brown sugar or maple syrup when creating your diet plan.

Instead, opt for high-fat options such as sweet potato fries or sweet potato fries served with butter or coconut oil.

Article source healthline.com