Have Your Coffee Creamer and Stay Keto, Too

When you’re on the keto diet, there are a number of familiar foods that you simply have to avoid if you want to continue experiencing rapid weight loss and the health benefits of ketosis. Unfortunately, even one sugary “cheat” can kick you out of ketosis and slow your progress.

This is why it is crucial to replace those sugar-filled coffee additions — such as coffee creamer.

What to Limit and Avoid for a Healthier, Low Carb Coffee

When you make the change to a ketogenic diet, you want to pay careful attention to what goes into your drinks, especially coffee. Though black coffee is keto-friendly, the ingredients that are commonly added to it are not.

Even a teaspoon of sugar with a dash of milk will add roughly 5 grams of net carbs to your morning beverage. Popular coffee creamers aren’t any better, containing an average of 5 grams of added sugars per serving.

Though it is possible to follow the keto diet with these additives, these 5 grams of net carbs will make was once a healthy, ketosis-promoting drink into another difficult hurdle you have to jump over while adapting to your new lifestyle. This is why it is so important to pay attention to what goes into your coffee, especially the following ingredients:

• All common varieties of milk will add carbs to your coffee. The lowest net carb option is whole milk, which adds ~1 gram of net carbs per tablespoon. Most keto dieters opt for heavy cream instead.
• Added sugars. It is best to avoid using table sugar or any products with sugar as an ingredient. Even small amounts of simple sugars can decrease ketone production.
• Conventional coffee creamer products. This includes Coffee mate creamer and other flavored creamer products that have added sugars.
• Artificial sweeteners. Some people may experience an upset stomach and mild headaches after consuming common artificial sweeteners.
• Single-serving packets of sugar-free sweeteners. Single-serving sweetener packets tend to contain carb-ridden fillers like maltodextrin and dextrose.
• Chemical thickeners, stabilizers, and preservatives. In small doses, these common coffee creamer additives are typically safe. For some individuals, however, these can cause digestive discomfort.