Is Keto-Friendly Good for People with Diabetes?

Here’s more on Keto-Friendly Foods and Keto-Friendly Food Labels for People with Diabetes.

Are you wondering if a keto-friendly diet and those packages with labels that say “keto-friendly” are good for people with diabetes? A man I met was just diagnosed with diabetes. His neighbor said he should eat “keto-friendly” foods. He wondered if it was good advice.

I was a little stumped.

The first thought that jumped in to my head was “this is marketing”. The next thought was “What foods was he talking about?” I didn’t have enough information to answer.

Tricky terms and claims on the front of packages are often just marketing. Unfortunately, they are effective.

The front of package labels are often misleading. I remember being infuriated when I was a young dietitian seeing “cholesterol free” on a plant-based product. No plant-based product has cholesterol! Cholesterol is only found in animal products. I didn’t think it was right to confuse people about nutrition. Since then, I have grudgingly accepted this is how marketing works. I try to combat this tide of misinformation and misdirection with education.

Anyway, back to “Keto-friendly”. With the ketogenic diet or keto for short, being so popular companies are adding “keto- friendly” or “keto certified” and the like, to their labels.

Again, just a marketing ploy so you think their product is healthy or will contribute to weight loss. There is not an regulated definition for “keto-friendly.” That label doesn’t provide any real information whether it is good for people with diabetes.

While there is no definition for “keto-friendly”, knowing a little more about the Keto diet might be helpful—

Keto refers to a ketogenic diet, which is very high in fat and very low in carbohydrate.

We’re talking 80% -90% of calories coming from fat and only 20 to 50 grams of carbohydrates per day. It has been around for decades and has been used to help treat some children with seizure disorders..

Now it’s popular for weight loss, hence the multitude of labels touting their “keto-friendly” product. Most of the calories in “keto” come from fat. Carbohydrates are severely restricted. Thus, the diet consists mostly of cheese, meats, bacon, butter, oils, nuts, seeds, avocado, eggs, cream, half-and-half, olives, and non-starchy vegetables.

So are these foods good for diabetes?

Certainly these foods are part of a nutrition plan for people with diabetes. No foods are off-limits.

Should you only eat these foods?

No probably not.

Now if you were my client, we would talk about it if that’s what you wanted to try. We’d discuss your goals, preferences, and your medical issues, and we might go that route.

I do not see much benefit to limiting yourself to such a restrictive diet. You would be missing the nutrients and fiber in fruits, vegetables and whole grains. You might be getting too much saturated fat which could worsen your heart health. Most would be giving up many of their favorite foods. Because of this, most people can’t stay on it for long.

But the question was is keto-friendly good for people with diabetes.

I ignore the marketing words. The real question is: What is the food?

Is it a food rich in nutrients that our bodies need – such as fish, meat, eggs, nuts, seeds, and non-starchy vegetables? The answer is yes, those are good foods for people with diabetes.

On the other hand, are we talking about pork rinds? Pork rinds are not a healthy food. Pork rinds are fried and salted animal fat. While it is keto friendly, it is not a food that has the nutrition our bodies need for good health. See the difference?

All foods can fit into a healthy plan for people with diabetes but it’s definitely better to eat more of some foods and less of others. For health benefits most of us could benefit from more vegetables,fruits and whole grains and only small amount of saturated fat and added sugar.

For a quick and easy way to plan meals using foods you already love, download How to Eat When You Have Diabetes & Still Enjoy Your Favorite Foods.