Pineapples are a low calorie but highly nutritious fruit. This edible fruit is available throughout the year. In this article, we will check whether pineapple can be consumed on the keto diet.
The Keto diet is a low carb diet plan of organic and nutritious foods. On the other hand, pineapple is a nutritious powerhouse. So, can you eat pineapple on keto? Is pineapple keto friendly?
Well, pineapple is not keto-friendly fruit because of its high carb density. However, if you are fond of pineapple, you can eat a thin and tiny slice of pineapple on keto.
How Many Carbs Are in Pineapple?
Pineapple is high in carbs. Moreover, it contains a little amount of dietary fiber, which increases the net carb count also.
A 100-gram sized raw pineapple slice contains 13.1 grams of total carbs. After subtraction of 1.4 grams of dietary fiber, the net carbs of pineapple becomes 11.7 grams.
Will Pineapple Kick You Out of Ketosis?
Yes, pineapple has the ability to kick you out of ketosis because of its high carb component. But why will pineapple kick me out of ketosis? Let’s check the facts.
The standard keto diet allows consuming no more than 30 grams of net carbs per day. As the keto diet contains heavy and nutritious meals, it covers almost 25 grams of net carbs from the main dishes.
That means people can not consume any more than 5 grams of net carbs from side dishes. Fruit mixes, soups, nuts, and salads are mainly consumed as side dishes in keto.
So, if you want to eat pineapple on keto, you should restrict its net carb to 5 grams. As pineapple is very high in carbs and contains a little amount of fiber, it is very difficult to maintain this 5 grams limit.
That’s why the intake of a small slice of pineapple can break your daily carb limit. As a result, the ketone count in urine reduces, which in turn halts the ketosis symptoms like
- Ketosis urine color of dark oily yellow
- Keto pee smell
- Keto bad breath
- Constipation on keto
- Dark yellow smelly poop on keto
This whole outcome is known as breaking of ketosis or kicking out of ketosis. Because of this, only a small portion of pineapple can be dangerous for maintaining ketosis levels.
Is Pineapple Ok on Low Carb Diet?
No pineapple is not ok on a low carb diet because of its high carb contents. It’s better to avoid pineapples on a low-carb diet.
However, if you are following a non-ketogenic low-carb diet that allows more than 50 grams of net carbs per day, you can eat pineapple.
Can I Drink Pineapple Juice on Keto?
People often drink fruit juices for gaining weight. The majority of weight-gaining fruit juices are high in carbs. Pineapple juice is among one of them.
On the other hand, the keto diet is planned to reduce weight using the best high fiber and low carbs foods. That’s why the keto fruit juices contain the best low-carb fruits for weight loss.
Moreover, fruit juices contain more carb density. As pineapple is already high in carbs, the juicing of this fruit will increase its carb density more which can instantly kick you out of ketosis.
So, you can not drink pineapple juice on keto because of its carb-rich combination. In fact, one cup of canned pineapple juice(250 grams) provides a very high amount of total carbs i.e 32.2 grams (1).
The same serving size of pineapple juice contains only 0.5 grams of dietary fiber, which causes a high net carb volume of 31.7 grams.
How Many Carbs Are in Pineapple Chunks?
Like raw pineapples, pineapple chunks are filled with carbs. One cup of pineapple chunk weighs 165 grams. This one-cup serving of pineapple chunk provides 21.6 grams of total carbs and 19.3 grams of net carbs.
The net carb of the pineapple chunk is calculated by omitting 2.3 grams of dietary fiber from this serving (2).
Is Canned Pineapple Keto Friendly?
The packaging of pineapples does not impact their nutritional value. This means, canned or crushed pineapple contains almost the same amount of carbs compared to raw pineapple.
One cup of canned pineapple(249 grams) contains 39 grams of total carbs and 2 grams of dietary fiber. After omitting the fiber, the net carbs of canned pineapple comes down to 37 grams (3).
This, high amount of high carb can break your ketosis level. That’s why high-carb canned pineapples are not keto-friendly.
Substitute of Pineapple on Keto
If you want to eat pineapple on keto you can consume only a little-sized slice of pineapple. A single thin slice of pineapple weighs 56 grams which contains 7.34 grams of carbs and 0.78 grams of dietary fiber (4).
After deduction of the dietary fiber, the net carbs of this pineapple slice become 6.56 grams. But to eat pineapple on keto you should turn down its net carbs to 5 grams.
But is it possible? Yes, it’s possible. To get the keto-approved level aka 5 grams of net carbs you should eat a pineapple slice of 40 grams.
This little consumption of pineapple slices is allowed on keto. Furthermore, you can go for other perfect low carb fruits on keto like:
Avocado: Keto-approved avocado contains 1.8 g net carbs per 100 grams of serving (5).
Watermelon: Watermelon is a keto-friendly fruit that provides 7.1 grams of net carbs against 100 grams (6).
Strawberries: Strawberries are keto diet fruit with 5.7 grams of net carbs against a serving size of 100 grams (7).
Star fruit: Ketogenic star fruit contains 3.9 grams of net carbs per 100 grams of serving (8).
How To Eat Pineapple
Pineapples are consumed both raw and cooked. Several delicious dishes use pineapple as their main ingredient. These recipes are extremely high in nutrition values.
Let’s check some famous and tasty pineapple dishes.
- Low carb pineapple shrimp
- Pineapple avocado blueberry fruit mix
- Pineapple cake
- Pineapple cherry taco
- Spicy pineapple smoothie
Final Thoughts
Although pineapple contains several essential nutrients, it does not fulfill the low-carb criteria of the keto diet plan. That’s why pineapple is not among the best low-carb ketogenic fruits list.
However, pineapple lovers can include a tiny slice of only 40 grams of pineapple on keto. Although, this little serving will not fill the craving for pineapple.
