Legumes on the Keto Diet: Are They Good or Bad?
Are legumes keto
Yes! Protein, fiber, and other vitamins and minerals are all abundant in legumes. They're also affordable, versatile, and easy to incorporate into your eating routine.
The problem with legumes is their carbohydrate content. Even though they're considered good sources of fiber, most legumes are high in digestible carbs and should be monitored if you're following the ketogenic diet. This doesn't mean you can never eat legumes again – you should be cautious about how much you eat daily and which variety you choose.
Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to enjoy legumes in small amounts while still sticking to a ketogenic diet plan. Here are some helpful tips for incorporating legumes into your keto diet plan.
How to eat legumes on a keto diet
First, before you can determine which legumes are keto-friendly, you need to understand what the term "keto diet" means. The ketogenic diet causes your body to use fat as its primary energy source rather than carbs. It is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet.
When you follow this diet, your body enters a metabolic state known as ketosis. While various diets can put your body into ketosis, the keto diet is the most common.
The keto diet's main objective is to encourage your body to burn fat for energy by capping your daily carbohydrate consumption at 50 grams or fewer.
Beans and legumes that are low in carbs
Black beans, kidney beans, and pinto beans are low in digestible carbohydrates and high in fiber. They're a good source of protein, minerals, and vitamins like folate and iron. While all three varieties of beans are generally considered safe on a keto diet, eating too many may cause you to exceed your daily carb limit.
You can use the nutrition facts listed on the package to determine how many beans you can eat each day while staying within your carb limit. Black beans: 5.2 grams of carbs per one cup serving Kidney beans: 5 grams of carbs per one cup serving Pinto beans: 5.4 grams of carbs per one cup serving
Beans and legumes that are high in carbs
While all beans and legumes have a small number of carbs, some varieties contain more than others. The ones that are higher in carbs are better avoided on a keto diet. Here are some of the high-carb bean and legume varieties you should stay away from:
- Black-eyed peas: 11 grams of carbs per one-cup serving.
- Chickpeas: 19 grams of carbs per one-cup serving
- Cranberry beans: 22 grams of carbs per one-cup serving
- Cowpeas: 10.7 grams of carbs per one-cup serving
- Fava beans: 18 grams of carbs per one-cup serving
- Garbanzo beans: 15 grams of carbs per one-cup serving
- Great northern beans: 11 grams of carbs per one-cup serving
- Lentils: 22 grams of carbs per one cup serving
- Mung beans: 9.7 grams of carbs per one-cup serving
Watch out for hidden carbs in legumes.
While the legumes listed above are generally safe to eat on a keto diet, you should be careful with how much you consume. In addition to their carb content, legumes are also high in fiber, which can be difficult for some people to digest.
Eating too many legumes can cause gastrointestinal issues if you have trouble digesting fiber. If you're following a ketogenic diet, monitoring your carbohydrate intake is a good idea to avoid the problems like these.
Final words
While legumes are a great source of vitamins, minerals, and fiber, you should be careful about which ones you eat on keto. Following a ketogenic diet, you should avoid legumes higher in carbs.
Furthermore, you should monitor your daily intake of legumes to ensure you don't overeat. If you do, you might experience gastrointestinal issues due to the high fiber content of legumes.