Coffee may very well be the most drank beverage after water itself.
Most of us can’t imagine a life without it, and we won’t give up on it – not even while on a keto diet.
But is coffee on keto diet allowed? Does it affect the carb intake or the diet results? What are the carbs in coffee?
Don’t worry, we’ll cover all these questions and suggest the best ways you should have your coffee and stay in ketosis.
How Coffee Affects Ketosis
Luckily for coffee lovers, coffee itself does not contain calories or carbohydrates – great! We can consume it at will.
Well, the problem may lie in the caffeine.
There’s one more compound in coffee that can counter this effect. It is known as chlorogenic acid (Bassoli BK. et al.), and it enhances glucose metabolism.
Long story short, even when caffeine does raise our blood sugar levels, we should not worry too much about its intake.
Caffeine on keto is a yes.
What type of coffee is allowed on a keto diet?
Now that we have established that coffee is okay and keto friendly, we need to clarify something – we are talking about black coffee.
Things change once you add milk, sugar, or cream into the equation.
The cream is off the table.
You already know how many carbs and calories it has. We know how much you love to order your coffee at Starbucks with extra cream, but it’s not going to work as a keto diet coffee.
Now, not everyone enjoys the taste of black coffee. I would venture to say that I know more people who hate it than people who like it. It’s only natural for us, sugar addicts, even those on a keto diet, to sweeten our morning beverages.
Sugar is off the table too.
So we might turn to artificial sweeteners, such as stevia. But did you know stevia can be even 300 times sweeter than table sugar? We must be careful with its intake, as it may trigger insulin levels. But it’s okay to add it to our coffee.
The following natural and artificial sweeteners, according to Medical News Today, are also keto friendly:
- Monk fruit
- Sucralose
- Xylitol (in small amounts)
- Erythritol
Butter on coffee? Have you heard about bulletproof coffee?
Bulletproof coffee, also known as butter coffee, is a high-calorie beverage with additional fats meant to power your morning. What about coffee ketosis and our diet? Well, many keto dieters have taken to the drink.
Bulletproof coffee consists of a mix of high-quality coffee with unsalted butter and a medium-chain triglyceride (MCT), such as coconut oil. The ingredients are combined and served hot, resembling a creamy latte.
The creator of the Bulletproof diet, Dave Asprey, states that this beverage provides energy to start the day on a low-carb alternative to high-carb traditional breakfasts.
Research conducted about Bulletproof coffee is not extensive enough to draw a conclusion. The truth is that it doesn’t contain carbs, and the body converts the MCT oil to ketones.
At first sight, it seems keto friendly – if you are a coffee lover, you should give it a shot.
How much caffeine is allowed on a keto diet?
Whether following a keto or regular diet, the caffeine intake should not exceed 400 mg per day.
Higher amounts of caffeine could be harmful to us, no matter what.
In theory, you can drink as much coffee as you like, especially if it’s black, as it is keto friendly.
However, in practice, it doesn’t work like that. Not only could it prevent us from having a good night’s sleep, but it also can mess with our body functions and even cognitive abilities.
Final Thoughts
Coffee is suitable for a keto diet when following certain rules: no sugar, no regular cream, and so on.
Black coffee is ideal, but few people enjoy this drink.
Try using artificial sweeteners or heavy cream instead of regular cream. What about giving a try to the Bulletproof coffee?
Find out what works best for you, and don’t be afraid of drinking your favorite morning beverage.
