The Keto Diet is a high-fat, low-carb diet, that has many benefits for health. On the Keto Diet you drastically reduce your intake of carbohydrates and replace them with fat. This depletion of carbs puts your body into a state called ketosis.

Is keto no sugar? Yes, you do not want to have any sugar on the keto diet. You want to be in a metabolic state called ketosis where your body is using fat as an energy source. When this happens, your body is turning fat into ketones in the liver.

The idea of the Keto Diet is to be in ketosis. How many carbohydrates a day can you have and still be in ketosis? Are there alternatives to sugar you can use?

The Keto Diet is low carbohydrates. A good rule of thumb is to have 5% or less of your calories come from carbs. For most of use that will be less than 50 grams of net carbs per day. Ideally you should be below 30 grams.  Most western diets have at least 250 grams of carbs per day.

The more carbs you can cut the bigger the impact. Your weight loss will be faster. You will have less cravings. Your hunger will be less. If you are suffering with type 2 diabetes, the less carbs you consume, the faster your insulin resistance and blood glucose will improve.

Here are some carb count in common foods: A teaspoon of sugar has 4.2 grams of carbs. An apple has 19 grams of carbs. A tablespoon of honey has 17 grams of carbs. So you can see how fast carbs add up.

What Alternative Sweeteners Can You Use On the Keto Diet?

With sugar off limits on the Keto Diet, there are still sweeteners we can enjoy. Let’s look at some guidelines for the right type of sweeteners to use.

1. Low Glycemic. We want to have a Low Glycemic Index (GI). The GI refers to how much a food raises your blood sugar. The GI runs from 0 to 100. Zero representing no raise in blood sugar or insulin levels. Keeping a sweetener as close as possible to zero will help us stay in ketosis and makes the best choice.
2. No Added Sugar. We don’t want any added sugars on the Keto Diet. We are trying to get into ketosis and the added sugar will kick us out of it. Therefore we don’t want to eat anything with added sugar in it. Even fruits should be avoided.
3. No or Low Carb. If we want to stay burning the fat, then we want sweeteners at are No or Low Carb.

Alternative Sweeteners-

Stevia contains no carbs and has no calories. It also has a glycemic index of zero. Stevia comes from the Stevia rebaudiana plant. It is available in both powdered form and liquid. It is typically 200 to 300 times sweeter than sugar. It can be used to sweeten everything from drinks to desserts. Because of its sweetness much less is required to achieve the same flavor.

Erythritol is a sugar alcohol, which is found naturally in fruits and vegetables. It’s up to 80% as sweet as regular sugar, but only has 0.2 calories per gram or 5% of the calories. Erythritol is used in both cooking and baking and can be substituted for sugar in a wide variety of recipes. It does not mix as well as sugar and may give a slightly gritty texture. You will need about 1 and ⅓ cups per 1 cup of sugar.

Monk Fruit sweetener is made from the fruit. It contains natural sugars and compounds called mogrosides, which are antioxidants that account for much of the sweetness of the fruit. Monk fruit is 100 to 250 times sweeter than sugar. This sweetener contains no calories or carbs. You can use half as much Monk Fruit as sugar.

Xylitol is another sugar alcohol. Usually found in sugar-free gum, mints and candies. Xylitol is produced either from trees or corncobs. It is just as sweet as sugar but has 3 calories per gram and 4 grams of carbs per teaspoon. You may need to add some extra liquid in a recipe, as it tends to absorb moisture leading to dryness. Use it as you would sugar.

What If I Eat Sugar-

If you have restricted your intake of carbohydrates for long enough you are probably in a state of Ketosis. In this state your body is burning its fat reserves as fuel instead of the glucose from carbohydrates.

As a result of being in Ketosis your liver is breaking down the fat into Ketone bodies, a byproduct of the breakdown of fatty acids are used as the fuel.

If you are in Ketosis and consume sugar, in sufficient quantities, it will stop ketosis, and will use the supply of glucose as fuel.

Avoid The Sweeteners-

The sweeteners listed above might have a slight or negligible effect on weight and blood-sugar levels. But look at this-

If we feed the body sweet-tasting foods and drinks, we are going to promote the craving for more and more of those sweet treats. We need to stomp out those cravings, not keep them and coddle them.

The sweeteners erythritol and stevia, are usually added to foods that are replacing foods that the Keto Diet removes, like soft drinks, ice cream, cakes, candies, cookies, energy bars. The list could go on.

These types of food lend themselves to snacking and extra portions, you eat when you are not hungry. Often times eating more than you need.

The bigger danger is they keep the old patterns of your high-carb eating habits, interfering with weight loss or cause weight gain.Hampering your efforts to get into ketosis, and help you back to high carb eating.

Also avoid diet soft drinks! They may possibly contribute to long term weight gain and metabolic issues.

All sweeteners, whether table sugar or the sweeteners mentioned above, trigger the same taste buds on the tongue and fire-off similar brain neural reward pathways that perpetuate their intake, helping maintain sugar addictions and cravings.

Related Questions-

Can you chew gum on keto? Yes, you can chew gum on the Keto Diet. Chewing gum offers plenty of benefits. It helps moisten your mouth, keep your breath fresh, and help to stop those cravings you are having. Don’t reach for gum that has sugar in it. It could hurt your ketosis.

Why does your breath stink on Keto?  Your body is using Ketones as fuel, and often indicates a state of ketosis. Ketones are usually harmless and released from the body through exhalation and urination.

Will keto breath go away? Yes it will! You won’t have to deal with it for too long. As your body adjust to being in ketosis it is becoming keto-adapted. As it adjusts your keto breath will fade. This is all part of becoming the best you!

How long does it take for ketosis to kick in? If you are limiting your net carbs to 30 or under, then you should enter ketosis within 2 to 3 days, but can take upto 7 days. The quickest way to enter into ketosis is to exercise on an empty stomach. This will help deplete the body’s store of glycogen.