Plantain On Keto: Friend Or Foe?

Plantains are a beloved staple in many cultures worldwide, but can you eat them on a keto diet? In short, no. While plantains are nutritious and offer a unique taste and texture, their high net carb content makes them incompatible with the keto diet.

The keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet that aims to push the body into a state of ketosis, where it burns stored fat for energy instead of carbohydrates. With a daily carb limit of just 20-50 grams, a single plantain can easily exceed this allowance, knocking the body out of ketosis.

So, while plantains may be a tasty treat, they're a no-go for keto dieters.

Plantains are high in carbs

Plantains are a type of banana that are less sweet and starchier than their yellow counterparts. They are a staple food in many tropical countries and are typically cooked before being eaten. While plantains offer various nutritional benefits, they are high in carbohydrates.

A one-cup serving of ripe, yellow plantains contains around 57 grams of total carbohydrates. This amount far exceeds the recommended daily carb intake on a keto diet, which is typically restricted to between 20 and 50 grams. As a result, plantains are not considered keto-friendly, and consuming even one plantain can knock you out of ketosis.

The high carb content in plantains is due to the fact that they are primarily a carbohydrate-based food. While green plantains are slightly higher in total carbohydrates, yellow plantains contain more sugars. Therefore, regardless of their ripeness, plantains are not suitable for a keto diet.

Plantains are also commonly fried, which further increases their carb content. Fried plantains are considered even less keto-friendly than raw plantains due to the additional cooking oil. Additionally, cooking plantains destroys the resistant starch they contain, increasing their glycemic index to a level comparable to bread, potatoes, and cookies.

However, it is important to note that plantains do offer some nutritional benefits. They are a good source of fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Plantains also contain antioxidants that can provide health benefits such as boosting the immune system and protecting the body against free radical damage associated with aging, heart disease, and certain types of cancer.

Plantains are not keto-friendly

Plantains are a type of banana that consists of starch with 57 grams of carbohydrates in a medium-sized (179g) serving. This is a large carb content relative to the serving size and will knock you out of ketosis. Therefore, like bananas, plantains are not keto-friendly and should not be consumed as part of a keto diet.

Plantains are primarily a carbohydrate-based food, making them not ideal for eating while following a standard ketogenic diet (SKD). Athletes or individuals following a cyclical ketogenic diet (CKD) may find plantains a useful food during the strategic carb-loading implemented now and then.

A 1-cup serving (154g) of sliced plantains has 48 grams of carbohydrates. With most individuals restricting their carbohydrates to between 20 and 50 grams of net carbs, it is clear that plantains are not an ideal food to eat while following a keto diet.

Fried plantains are also not keto-friendly. Although tasty, they are even worse than raw plantains. When plantains are cooked at high temperatures, they produce a dangerous chemical called acrylamide, which is linked to cancer.

Green plantains are primarily starch (carbohydrates), making them not keto-friendly. However, green plantains, either raw or cooked and then cooled, provide varying amounts of resistant starch, which acts similarly to fiber. This means you may be able to eat green plantains in limited quantities, but if remaining in ketosis is important to you, caution is advised.

Plantain chips are not keto-friendly

The keto diet restricts daily carbohydrate intake to between 20 and 50 grams, making plantain chips an impractical option. Eating just one plantain will knock you out of ketosis. Plantain chips are also cooked at high temperatures, which produces a dangerous chemical called acrylamide, linked to cancer.

If you're craving plantain chips, opt for keto-friendly chips that use tortillas and no added sugars. Some alternatives to plantain chips that are keto-friendly include blackberries, olives, cauliflower, celery root, and daikon, which have under eight grams of net carbs per cup.

While green plantains are primarily starch (carbohydrates), they contain resistant starch, which is good for keto dieters as it aids in digestion and hunger while buffering the carb response. However, when plantains are cooked, you destroy all this resistant starch, increasing the glycemic index to 130, the same as bread and cookies. So, if you're thinking of eating small quantities of plantains, it's best to eat them raw.

Green plantains are not keto-friendly

The ketogenic diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet that aims to push the body into a state of ketosis, where it uses stored fat for energy instead of carbohydrates. The high net carb content in green plantains can make it challenging to maintain ketosis, potentially kicking the body out of this metabolic state.

While green plantains do contain resistant starch, which acts like fibre and is not counted towards net carbohydrates, cooking them destroys these resistant starches. Therefore, eating green plantains raw may be the only way to potentially include them in a keto diet, but even then, the amount of net carbs consumed must be carefully considered.

Overall, green plantains are not considered keto-friendly due to their high net carb content, which can make it difficult to adhere to the strict carbohydrate limits of a ketogenic diet.

Fried plantains are not keto-friendly

Plantains are a type of banana that consists of starch with 57 grams of carbohydrates in one medium-size (179g) serving. They are not keto-friendly and should be avoided on a keto diet due to their high carbohydrate content relative to their serving size. A keto diet typically restricts carbohydrates to between 20 and 50 grams of net carbs per day, and a single plantain contains 57 grams of carbs, which is enough to knock someone out of ketosis.

Additionally, when plantains are cooked, the resistant starch in them is destroyed, increasing the glycemic index to 130, which is on the same level as bread, potatoes, and cookies. This further contributes to making fried plantains unsuitable for a keto diet.

While green plantains, either raw or cooked and then cooled, may be a better option due to their resistant starch content, they should still be consumed with caution as they are not ideal for a keto diet.

Overall, fried plantains are not keto-friendly due to their high carbohydrate content and the loss of resistant starch during cooking.

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