Is Keto Bread a Healthier Choice? What You Should Know
As the ketogenic diet has grown in popularity, so too has the market for “keto friendly” packaged foods. Gone are the days when the only way to make “keto bread” was by ordering specialty ingredients from the internet and making a recipe from scratch. With keto bread now appearing on more mainstream grocery store shelves, people are beginning to wonder if keto bread is actually healthy. Let’s find out!
What Is Keto Bread?
Keto bread refers to low-carb breads that are allowed on a ketogenic diet. The ketogenic diet is very low in carbohydrates, typically limiting them to 50 grams or less per day. The diet is also moderate in protein and tends to be very high in fats. The goal of the ketogenic diet is for the body to switch from burning carbs (or glucose) for energy and instead use fat as fuel in a process called ketosis.
Keto bread does not contain wheat flour or any other carb-based flours like oat, rice, or corn. Instead, it’s made with low carbohydrate flours such as almond or coconut and often has added fibers to hold it together. Some keto breads use protein powder to provide more bulk without adding carbs.
Keto bread can be made from scratch using a variety of recipes. It can also be purchased in stores or online as sliced loaves, baguettes, and even bagels.
So what’s actually in keto bread?
Ingredients Typically Found in Keto Bread
Most keto bread recipes use either almond or coconut flour in place of wheat flour. These recipes often incorporate different types of fibers such as psyllium husk powder or ground flaxseed. They also may use eggs, oil, and baking powder or baking soda.
Sweet-tasting keto breads use sugar alcohols like erythritol or artificial sweeteners like stevia or sucralose, as adding table sugar to a keto bread would increase the carb content.
How Does Keto Bread Differ from Regular Bread?
Compared to regular bread, keto bread is lower in carbohydrates. Keto bread has less than 5 grams of carbohydrates per slice, whereas regular bread has 15 grams of carbs per slice.
Since the flours used to make keto bread are either nut or coconut based, keto bread is higher in fat than regular bread.
Keto bread has more fiber than regular white bread but may have a similar fiber content as whole grain bread. The exact fiber content depends on the bread’s ingredients.
