Are Grapes Ok On Low Carb Diet

Are Grapes Ok On Low Carb Diet

Eating fruit on a keto diet can be an effective way of curbing your sweet cravings. And because fruits are rich in vitamins and minerals, eating keto-friendly fruit is an important way of boosting your health.

However, not all fruit is keto-friendly. While everyone knows that bananas or dates high in carbs and not suitable for the keto diet, some other fruits are harder to judge. Are grapes keto-friendly fruits?

Finding out whether the fruit is a keto cannot be estimated based on sweetness. Some fruits taste sweet but are also high in fiber and low in sugar, such as strawberries or plums, making them suitable for a keto diet. What about grapes?

Keep reading to learn more.

Are Grapes Keto?

Bad news. Grapes are not keto-friendly. This fruit contains 18.1 grams of total carbs per 100g serving and very little fat, which makes it hard to incorporate into the keto diet (*).

Grapes don't contain much fiber either, with only 0.9 grams per serving, which only brings the net carb count down to 17.2 grams (*).

In order to maintain ketosis, most diets recommend consuming less than 30 grams of net carbs per day. Further, you should also try to avoid too many carbs at the same time, trying to consume the maximum amount of 5-10 grams per meal (*).

With 8.5 grams of net carbs in only 10 grapes, this can be a hard feat and even a small serving size of this fruit could kick you out of ketosis.

Are Grapes Healthy?

While fruit and vegetables tend to contain significant amounts of carbs, it is important to include them in keto diets in moderation because they provide valuable nutrients that are beneficial for your body and can optimize your health.

Vitamins and Minerals

Grapes contain Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Copper, Thiamin, and Potassium. These fruits can improve your immunity, protect against disease, promote heart health, help to prevent diabetes, and improves blood pressure.

Antioxidants

Grapes also contain antioxidants, including lutein, zeaxanthin, and flavonoids, including myricetin and quercetin. All of which protect the body from the damage caused by free radicals.

Additionally, red and purple grapes also contain a potent antioxidant called resveratrol, which protects the brain, heart, and immune system.

But even though grapes provide plenty of health benefits, they do not contain any vitamins or minerals that you couldn't obtain through other foods and low-carb fruits. Therefore, we recommend opting for raspberries, strawberries, cantaloupe melons, and other low-carb sources of vitamins and minerals.

Are Dried Grapes Keto?

Dried grapes, more often referred to as raisins, are some of the least keto-friendly options available. Although they can add a twist to your salads, they are very high in sugar and not suitable for the keto diet.

Dried raisins contain around 79.2g of net carbs and 59g of sugar per 100g serving (*). Therefore, eating even a small serving of raisins would quickly kick you out of ketosis.

Are Other Grapes Keto?

There are different types of grapes, including red, white, or green grapes which can be all commonly found in the supermarket.

They differ in color and texture but most of them contain similar amounts of carbs, around 25g of net carbs per cup, making them unsuitable for the keto diet.

Are Muscadine Grapes Keto-friendly?

Muscadine grapes are species native to southeastern and south-central America. Their color ranges from bronze to dark purple with a softer texture.

They taste much sweeter, which makes them ideal for making jams, preserves, grape butter, or jelly. While they have a sweeter taste, because they are high in fiber, they actually contain fewer carbs than traditional grapes.

100 grams of muscadine grapes contain around 10 grams of net carbs and 4 grams of fiber (*). They are also very high in antioxidants, especially ellagic acid and resveratrol.

These antioxidants are reported to lower cholesterol levels, risk of coronary heart disease, and are reported to have anticarcinogenic properties.

Although not the most keto-friendly fruit out there, muscadine grapes have a higher nutritional value and are slightly lower in carbs. If you want to incorporate them into your keto diet, you should still remain careful and only consume small portions.

Are Concord Grapes Keto-friendly?

Concord grapes belong to the slip-skin variety of grapes, which means that the skin can be easily separated from the fruit.

They have large seeds and are highly aromatic. Similar to muscadine grapes, they are antioxidant-rich and provide health benefits.

One cup of concord grapes contains around 15 grams of carbs per cup (*) as well as significant amounts of Potassium, 175 milligrams.

The concord grapes, therefore, promote bone and kidney health and lower the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke, making them more nutritious than regular grapes (*).

Can I Eat a Few Grapes on Keto?

As established at the beginning of this article, even a small amount of grapes contain a significant amount of net carbs and sugar.

While some grape varieties such as muscadine or concord grapes can be easier to incorporate in your keto meals, you should still only eat a small serving size and combine this delicious fruit with high-fat foods that are suitable for keto.

We recommend that you select other keto fruits that are much lower in net carbs per serving, also high in Vitamin C, and won't kick you out of ketosis.

Other Forms of Grapes

Frozen Grapes

Frozen grapes contain 16 grams of total carbs per cup (*), which is slightly lower, but still unsuitable for most keto diets.

Grape Vinegar

Grape vinegar is also known as red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar. It can be easily forgotten as an insignificant condiment that's low in calories. But a tablespoon of this vinegar contains around 6 grams of carbs, which can significantly bump up your daily carb intake (*).

Grape Juice

One cup of grape juice contains a whopping 37 grams of carbs, almost all of which are sugar (*). The grape juice should be avoided at all costs because even a small amount would quickly kick you out of ketosis.

What Are the Keto Friendly Fruit Alternatives?

Even though they contain some vitamins and antioxidants, grapes are not suitable for the keto diet. They are too high in carbs and low in fiber and fats, meaning that they would quickly kick you out of ketosis.

There are plenty of other fruits that are much lower in carbs and still provide the needed benefits. Different types of berries including blackberries, raspberries, or strawberries all only contain around 5 grams of net carbs per 100g serving (*).

Cantaloupe and watermelon contain around 7 grams of net carbs, making them more keto-friendly (*).

And if you're looking for an alternative with the same grape flavor, you can look for calorie-free grape flavorings, sugar-free grape soda, or sugar-free grape candy to provide you with the needed grape kick.

The Bottom Line – Are Grapes Keto-friendly?

Grapes are not keto-friendly fruits. They are high in carbs and sugar and it would be hard to include them in the ketogenic diet, even in moderation.

Some grape varieties such as muscadine or concord grapes provide slightly fewer net carbs per serving and more health benefits but they are still high in carbs and not recommended on your keto diet.

When looking to satisfy your sweet craving on a ketogenic diet, we recommend selecting low-carb fruit that would allow you to stay in ketosis and promote weight loss.

Are Grapes Ok On Low Carb Diet

Source: https://www.ketoaholics.com/are-grapes-ketogenic-friendly/