The keto diet has become increasingly popular over these last few years, with more people extolling the virtues of eating a very high amount of fats with a moderate amount of protein and basically no carbs. This is an extremely effective method of stripping fat very quickly, with your body going into repair mode as opposed to growth mode.
But having a good keto diet can be extremely difficult, especially if you are a vegetarian. You’ll need to find yourself a balanced group of foods that won’t upset your stomach or make you feel tired and weak all the time.
You’d think cucumbers might not make good keto-friendly food, but luckily for any salad-lovers out there, you can indeed have plenty of cucumber in your next salad. Cucumber contains a very low number of carbs, so you won’t have to worry about overloading your carb levels.
So how many cucumbers can you eat before you go over your carb limit for the day? What is the protein, carb and fat content of cucumber? What other foods can you include in your keto diet? How does keto help you to burn fat? What are the best types of cucumber to include in your salad?
Well, if you want to know all the answers to these keto-laced questions and a whole lot more, then you should definitely keep reading. We’ll give you the entire nutritional profile of your cucumber so that you’ll know exactly how much that you need to add to your next meal.
The Big Question: Are Cucumbers Keto?
Yes, cucumbers are well within the range of keto. They contain just 3.63 grams of carbohydrates per 100 grams of cucumber. This means that you can really load up on this juicy green vegetable.
These cucumbers are keto-friendly, they are also very high in a lot of nutrients, including vitamin K. This is very good for the immune system and will help keep your digestion nice and healthy.
If you want to get the carb count of your cucumber really low, then we would recommend that you peel it first. This is because the peel contains a few extra carbs and if you are taking your diet very seriously, then you’ll need to make sure you are monitoring every single calorie.
Why Fruits Are Bad For Keto
There are certain health benefits to fruit, for sure. They contain a lot of fiber and fruits like bananas are very rich in potassium. The sheer fact is the fruits contain a lot of sugar and carbs. This will really send your keto diet out of whack and take your body out of the state of ketosis.
If you want to eat fruit with your keto diet, then you might have to keep the amount that you consume to an absolute minimum. Things like apples are so high in sugar, that just eating one will count for your carb count for the whole day.
What Is Keto?
Keto is a new diet that draws on biological standards that human beings have largely evolved with over time. Naturally, when in the wild, human beings would have existed for long periods without any food. This is called fasting and we obviously do it while we are asleep – hence breaking the fast when we wake up.
Ketosis is the state that your body is in during hunger when you are burning only fat. This is because your body is burning fat quicker to give you energy. Ketosis is usually achieved through long periods of fasting.
However, you don’t have to reach ketosis through fasting alone. You can enter this state just by controlling the number of carbs that you put in your body. But by increasing your fat content and protein, you can remain in ketosis while still feeling like you’ve been fed.
The great thing for meat-eaters is that the keto diet is very meat-friendly. You can load up on fatty meats like bacon and pork, as these mostly contain a lot of protein and fats. If you are a veggie, you can still get your protein content through things like eggs and your fats from things such as hard Edam cheese.
What Foods Are Good For Keto?
There are plenty of foods that you can add to your keto diet. Here is a list of just the main ones and how you can implement them in your diet.
Mushrooms
In much the same way as cucumber, these only have a few grams of protein per every 100 grams.
These are great breakfast foods, so we would suggest that you boil them in the microwave or grill them in the pan with minimal oil (this will up your carb count).
Eggs
This is a great source of protein and should be a core food for vegetarians who want to go keto.
If you want to lower the carb count in your eggs, then we would suggest just having the eggs whites rather than the yokes, as these are very high in cholesterol. The whites contain more protein than they do carbs.
Spinach
This green and leafy vegetable is great for a keto diet, containing a mere 3 grams of carbs per 100 grams of spinach.
Spinach is also a great source of antioxidants, which will help you to fight certain illnesses and keep your immune system in tip-top condition.
Our Final Say
We hope that this guide to cucumbers has helped you in planning your keto diet.
You can load up on this stuff so that you’ll feel full at the end of your meal while still sticking within the limits of keto.