This is the EIGHTH article in a series of information-packed shorter articles focusing on specific types of food or products in the context of a keto diet and their compliance with keto rules. If you are serious about your keto challenge and want to do it the correct way, this is a must-read for you.
Today, we are talking about something everyone likes (or loves) to have sometimes. You guessed it. We are taking about honey on a keto diet. So can you have honey on keto? Is it allowed or will it immediately kick you out of ketosis? Are small amounts OK? Let’s find this all out.
Below you will find all the necessary nutrition facts about honey. The tables show only the facts and data that are interesting and relevant from the point of view of a keto diet and the potential positive impact of honey on your health.
In the case of honey, you are obviously interested in its carb and sugar quantity and that’s exactly what the tables show you.
Nutrition fact | Value |
---|---|
Calories | 304 kcal |
Fat | 0 g |
Total Carbs | 82 g |
Sugar | 82 g |
Dietary Fiber | 0.2 g |
Protein | 0,3 g |
Nutrition fact | Value |
---|---|
Calories | 76 kcal |
Fat | 0 g |
Total Carbs | 21 g |
Sugar | 21 g |
Dietary Fiber | 0 g |
Protein | 0,1 g |
Here you will find information and facts about how keto compliant honey really is and whether it’s a good idea to have it on this eating plan.
Honey is sugar but this is a different type of sugar. It comes from nature so it must be healthier and less “anti-keto” than regular table sugar, right? And it is. However, this doesn’t mean honey is one of the keto super foods to eat every day. Here are the facts you need to know about honey and a keto diet:
Unfortunately, honey is on the low end of the keto compliance scale because it’s pure sugar and carbs. As you can see, just one tablespoon of honey is your daily allowed number of carbs (20 g) on a keto diet. This means that honey can quickly kick you out of ketosis and you will switch back to sugar burning. However, honey still has a lot of health benefits (more about them below) and it’s OK to consume it occasionally, in very tiny amounts or to keep it for your carb-up days.
Check out a nice guide on natural low carb sweeteners (including honey).
Here you will find information and facts about possible health benefits of honey. We aren’t assessing it in terms of keto compliance here.
I guess everyone has heard about many great health benefits of honey. Let’s take a look at the major ones once again. Here are the top facts about honey you want to know:
As you can see honey has some serious health benefits. However, to reap them all, you need to consume raw honey and avoid the processed (and pasteurized) varieties found at supermarkets. Honey isn’t 10/10 on the health scale only because it is high in simple sugars (glucose and fructose) which we all know is detrimental to your health both long and short-term.
If you want to learn more about honey, check this article out and discover even more health benefits of honey.
I hope that at this point you already know if you want to be consuming honey on a ketogenic diet. Some people can get away with consuming small amounts of it (especially athletes or people doing carb-ups from time to time). Others, especially those interested in fast and huge weight loss, must be really careful with honey and always count it against their daily carb intake.
However, we cannot forget that a keto diet is about eating real foods and caring about your health. Honey is a real type of food that has been with us for millions of years. That’s why I wouldn’t recommend completely eliminating it from your diet.
You need to remember that variety, real and nutritious foods are key to your health. Going out of ketosis occasionally won’t do you any harm either. That’s what our ancestors did and they were healthy (and not obese).
If you find this mini guide helpful and useful, please share it with your friends on social media. My goal is to reach as many people as possible to help them make wise dietary choices and transform their lives. Thanks!
5 Comments
Hi, I don´t really care about weight loss, I just follow a certain type of Keto diet for my Multiple Sclerosis and other health issues. I thought about honey or a bit of sweet potatoe as a sleeping aid before bed. From your article, and doing lots of exercise, I guess that would be ok? Have a great day everyone 🙂
Hello Stefan! That’s great to hear you are doing keto for health reasons. That’s what it’s mainly about and weight loss should “only” be a bonus. A very small portion of honey and sweet potato will be OK if it’s in the evening and after an intensive workout. Keep in mind that it’s still more of a TKD (Targeted Ketogenic Diet) rather than the standard strict version. Have a great day!
I really love honey and want to doa keto diet properly so I use like a spoonful of honey only before a workout and it lets me be in ketosis most of the time.
Is honey keto friendly? For me it is. You just need to count carbs from it and your good to go. That’s been my approach for many months and it’s working
Hi Rodrigo 🙂 You’re right and that’s also a possbile way to follow a keto diet. Technically, any type of carb (whether it’s sugar or a carb coming from vegetables) is turned into glucose in your bloodstream. That’s why only counting carbs (without obsessing about the sources) often works. However, I always recommend also looking at carbs and choosing carb sources with a health perspective in mind. In most cases it’s better to get 5 g of carbs (sugar) from plants than from sugary products. Honey is somewhere in the middle. Even though it’s pure sugar it still has some health benefits and it comes from nature. I’m happy it works for you well.