Popcorn and Keto: Assessing Its Suitability in a Low-Carb Diet

Popcorn, with its puffy crunch and rich goodness, is a darling nibble for many of us. But what happens if you are on a keto diet plan and stuck with the question, is popcorn keto-friendly? 

Keto is a diet plan that limits carb admission to prompt ketosis, a metabolic state where your body consumes fat for fuel. Since carbs in popcorn are low, it is a keto-friendly snack option but in controlled portions.

This article will feature popcorn’s carb content, examine popcorn’s low-carb choices, and keto-friendly popcorn. Toward the finish of this article, you’ll have a clearer comprehension of whether popcorn can track down its direction into your keto-friendly turn.

About Popcorn

Popcorn is packed with good fiber, some antioxidants, and nutrients. Most of the time, we consume our popcorn with butter and salt. This would be considered unhealthy on most diets, but on keto, this is a good mixture of macronutrients. We’ll look at a fairly popular (and delicious) popcorn, Orville Redenbacher’s Ultimate Butter Microwave Popcorn. This popcorn contains 2g of fat, about 1g of protein, about 1g of fiber, and 3.5 net carbohydrates per cup.

If you’re new to keto or low-carb diets, it can be difficult to identify which foods are higher in carbohydrates. To stay in ketosis, you probably only consume around 30g of net carbohydrates daily.

That doesn’t give you much room for excess carbs in your diet. However, you may crave some of the snacks that you used to eat before starting keto.

This is normal for everyone. In most cases, we eat alternatives to our favorite snacks. However, is popcorn keto-friendly?

Is Popcorn Keto Friendly?

Knowing all that, let’s answer, “Is popcorn keto-friendly.” The short answer is “maybe.” Your average popcorn contains about 3.5g of carbohydrates, which is pretty low, but only for a cup.

If you’re like me, you will probably consume 1/2 to a whole bag of popcorn. That’s about 5 cups and would be too many carbs for a keto diet. So limiting yourself to 1-2 cups of popcorn is keto-friendly.

Eating popcorn in moderation will probably not kick you out of ketosis. I recommend keeping it as a snack for special occasions like movie nights.

It comes down to your macronutrient levels for the day. How many carbs did you consume, and how many more can you eat? I find that most days, I could trade some of my carb foods for a nice snack if I chose to. So that means I could skip something to have a few cups of popcorn on keto. If you have the carbs allocated in your diet, then eat the popcorn.

The carb counts should stay the same between brands unless you try to get something sweetened versus salted. You will want to avoid sweet popcorn on the keto diet and stick to the buttery and salty brands. This means no caramel corn.

There are also some low-carb popcorn flavorings that you can find online or at your local grocery store that might help enhance the flavor of plain air-popped popcorn.

Conclusion

Popcorn can be a safe option when staying in ketosis. However, you must ensure you eat in controlled portions, like not more than a cup. Conventional popcorn, especially the rich cinema assortment, is weighed down with carbs that can rapidly crash your keto endeavors. 

Nonetheless, on the off chance that you’re a popcorn lover, there are ways of getting a charge out of it in a more keto-friendly popcorn. Pick air-popped popcorn low-carb without added margarine or sweet coatings, and be aware of piece sizes. Also, you can explore options like cheddar crisps or nuts for fulfilling your nibble desires while remaining in keto.