Carbs in almond milk: Exploring almond milk’s nutrient value and defining if it’s good fo keto

In a nutshell

When following the keto diet, it’s crucial to control the amount of carbs you consume per day and limit them to only 20-50 grams. With this in mind, it’s important to choose all foods and beverages you consume thoughtfully, including almond milk.

Does almond milk have carbs? It does. Unsweetened almond milk on average contains 1 gram per one-cup serving, whereas sweetened milk contains as many as 13 grams per the same serving. If you want to enjoy it on the keto diet, it’s recommended to choose low carb almond milk and watch out for the total amount of carbs consumed in a day. Also, it’s possible to choose other alternative milk options, such as:

• Hemp milk
• Ripple (pea milk)
• Coconut milk beverage (from a carton)
• Soy milk

Among a variety of diets, such as intermittent fasting, ancestral diet, and many others, the keto diet is often considered one of the best choices for both fitness and health goals. Apart from a wealth of benefits that you get from it, it’s also considered to be less restricting than many other diets since it lets you eat high-fat foods that many people enjoy. Still, when you follow it, you want to be very thoughtful of what you eat and how many calories and other nutrients, especially carbs, you consume with food. And many habitual products may have more carbs than you may expect. In this article, we’ll explore carbs in almond milk to determine if it’s safe to consume on the keto diet.

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Understanding the Keto Diet

The ketogenic diet or keto diet is a popular dietary approach meant for shifting the body into a state of ketosis–a metabolic state, in which your body burns fat for energy instead of glucose. This diet is known for a variety of benefits, including effective weight loss and fat burning, as well as increased energy levels and improvement in chronic illness, such as PCOS.

In order to shift your body into a state of ketosis, this diet implies consuming more fats and significantly cutting down carbohydrates (carbs). According to the key Keto principles, your diet should consist of:

• 70-80% fats
• 20-20% protein
• 5-10% carbs

If we translate this into grams, the Keto diet would typically allow consuming only around 20-50 grams of carbohydrates per day, which is why watching out for the carbs content of the products you consume is crucial for reaching and maintaining the benefits of this diet.

Carbs in Almond Milk

If you are getting started with the keto diet but are used to drinking almond milk, for example, due to lactose intolerance, you might be naturally wondering–is almond milk keto? To answer this question, we need to look at the nutritional value of almond milk.

Unsweetened Almond Milk

If you choose unsweetened milk, an 8-ounce (one-cup) serving will contain the following nutrients:

• Calories: 40
• Protein: 1 gram
• Fat: 2.5 grams
• Carbohydrates: 1 gram
• Fiber: 0 gram
• Sugar: 0 grams

Sweetened Almond Milk

If you pick sweetened almond milk, a one-cup serving will contain:

• Calories: 73
• Protein: 1 gram
• Fat: 2 grams
• Carbohydrates: 13 grams
• Fiber: 0.5 gram
• Sugar: 12 grams

Is Almond Milk Keto?

Now that you have an overview of almond milk carbs and other nutrients, let’s move on to the main question–can you have almond milk on keto?

As you can see from the nutritional breakdown, the answer to this question basically comes down to the type of almond milk that you choose. Unsweetened almond milk can be a delicious, low-carb alternative milk option that shouldn’t make you get over the needed count of carbohydrates.

Yet, given that the keto diet only lets you have 20–50 grams of carbs per day, it’s important to consider the amount of carbohydrates you consume with food and drinks other than almond milk. If you want to maintain all the benefits of this diet, you need to closely monitor the total amount of carbohydrates you consume per day. Luckily, given only 1 gram of carbs contained in it, it should be easy to fit a bit of unsweetened almond milk (for example, added to your morning coffee) into the needed limit.

On the other hand, the situation with sweetened almond milk is much trickier. Unlike an unsweetened alternative, this kind of milk can be packed with as much as 21 grams of sugar, leading to a significantly larger carbs content of around 13 grams.

Although having one or a few servings of sweetened almond milk won’t get you over your daily carbs limit, it may cause you to refuse other sources of carbs during that day. Besides, if you accidentally overlook additional carbohydrates you receive from other foods and beverages, it can get you to a point when you consume too many carbs and your ketosis will break.

Almond Milk Keto: Practical Tips for Maintaining Ketosis

So is almond milk keto? The short answer is “yes.” Almond milk can be a great, healthy alternative to dairy milk that you can fit into your daily carbs limit. However, if you decide to do this, you want to be careful with how many carbohydrates you consume.

Here are a few practical tips that should help you stay on the track:

• Choose unsweetened almond milk. Sweetened almond milk is packed with sugar, which might satisfy your sugar cravings but hinder your diet. Added sugars don’t just make you consume additional carbs but also spike blood glucose and insulin.
• Pick the right brands. Before you shop for almond milk, take time to compare different brands because the nutritional value, content, and carbs can vary from one brand to another. Ideally, you should opt for natural brands.
• Watch out for additives. When buying even unsweetened almond milk, you want to look at the nutrition facts labels to check if the chosen option contains any additives, such as carrageenan, maltodextrin, or artificial thickeners. These additives can contain hidden carbs and also cause inflammation.
• Use your almond milk thoughtfully. There are plenty of ways to enjoy almond milk in a keto-friendly way. For example, you can add it to coffee or tea, use it in puddings and smoothies, and make various delicious keto-friendly desserts.
• Keep servings moderate. Remember almond milk carbs when consuming it and always make sure that your portions don’t make you exceed your carbs limit.
• Always check the total amount of carbohydrates. If you want to get into ketosis you have to cut down carbs to a total of 20-50 grams per day. That is, you have to break down all foods and beverages you consume in a day into nutrients and count the total amount of carbs to ensure you don’t exceed limits.

Other Alternative and Keto-Friendly Milk Options

Unsweetened, low carb almond milk can indeed be a great and delicious alternative to dairy milk, which, by the way, is less keto-friendly due to a higher content of carbohydrates. However, almond milk isn’t the only alternative that you have.

Here are top picks of good alternatives with their carb contents:

• Hemp milk: 0 grams
• Ripple (pea milk): 0 grams
• Coconut milk beverage (from a carton): 1 gram
• Soy milk: 4 grams

Please note that these carb contents are indicated for unsweetened options. Just like with almond milk, it’s recommended to choose unsweetened variations of other non-dairy milk.

FAQ

How many carbs does almond milk have?

Unsweetened almond milk typically has 1 gram of carbohydrates per one-cup or 8-ounce serving. Sweetened milk, on the other hand, contains 13 grams of carbs per the same serving. It’s also worth noting that carbs content can slightly vary depending on the milk brand.

Is almond milk keto friendly?

Generally, it is, especially if you choose unsweetened milk with no additives and sugars. Unsweetened almond milk is low-carb and thus, won’t break the ketosis. However, sweetened almond milk contains sugars that can cause insulin spikes and holds more carbs per serving, which makes it harder to fit into your daily limits on a keto diet.

Are there any alternatives to choose instead of low carb almond milk?

Absolutely. Almond milk isn’t the only alternative to dairy milk that you can use on a keto diet. Some other low-carb alternatives include hemp milk, ripple (pea milk), coconut milk beverages, and soy milk. Still, it’s crucial to choose unsweetened options in order to avoid added sugars.

Conclusion

As you now know the amount of carbs in almond milk depends greatly on the specific type of milk that you choose. While unsweetened milk only holds 1 gram of carbs per serving, a sweetened option can contain around 13 grams of carbs and as many as 21 grams of sugar.

So is unsweetened almond milk keto? Yes, unsweetened almond milk can be a great choice for a keto diet as long as you keep your portions moderate, consume it right, and, of course, pick good brands with no additives. Sweetened almond milk, on the contrary, is much harder to fit into your daily carbs limit due to added sugars. Hence, it’s generally recommended to opt for unsweetened milk or choose alternative milk options, such as hemp milk, ripple (pea milk), coconut milk beverages, and soy milk.

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