One of the best foods you can eat on Keto is nut butter. Nuts are full of healthy fats, vitamins, minerals and fibre, and low in carbs - making them a popular choice for Keto-ers.
However not all nut butters are made equal, and some are more beneficial than others on Keto, depending on their percentage of fat and carbs.
To help you eat the best nut butters on Keto, we’ve compiled a list of the best nut and seed butters to enjoy, and the ones to avoid to keep you healthy and in ketosis.
What Is Nut Butter?
Nut butter is essentially ground up nuts into a paste-like texture that can be used as a butter. The nuts are usually soaked over a number of hours, rinsed, and ground into a paste.
Seeds can also be processed in the same way to produce a seed butter, like tahini (ground sesame seeds). Hemp, sunflower and pumpkin seeds have also been used to make a nutritious seed butter.
What Are The Benefits Of Nuts On Keto?
Most nut butters are high in healthy fats - monounsaturated fatty acids, which have incredible anti-inflammatory properties. Cashew and pistachios have a 46% fat content, while macadamia nuts are made up of a whopping 76% fat.
It’s important that you eat plenty of fat on Keto, and the quality of the fats you eat is vital. This makes nuts and nut butters a favoured food source on Keto.
Add to that the fact that nut butters also contain a great amount of vitamins, minerals and fibre, and they become an essential part of your Keto diet.
Minerals and vitamins such as magnesium, potassium, calcium and folate are all essential for cell maintenance and function that help keep your body in tip-top condition.
The high fibre content of nuts helps to slow down the rate glucose is passed into your bloodstream too, making them a great food for helping your blood sugar stay balanced.
What Nut Butters Should I Avoid On Keto?
There are plenty of nut butters available to buy, but can you grab the cheapest and most readily available? You could, but you really shouldn’t.
It’s critical for your health that you only eat nut butters that are pure and free from harmful additives. Not all nut butters are made equal, some are filled out with sugar, preservatives, stabilisers or made from GMO sources. You want to avoid these types of nut butters at all costs as they can cause more harm than good to your body.
Instead, opt for nut butters that are organic, or at least GMO-free. Avoid any nut butters that are marked as ‘low-fat’, you are not avoiding fat! Plus these types of nut butters will be packed out with chemicals and sugar to replace the fat.
Check the ingredients list carefully when choosing your nut butters, the fewer the ingredients, the better the quality is likely to be. Make sure there are no added sugars or hydrogenated oils either, that will take you out of ketosis and reduce the many benefits of top-quality nut butters.
What Are The Best Nut Butters On Keto?
So let’s get to the details, what are the BEST nut butters to enjoy on Keto? We have the list right here:
Macadamia Nut Butter
Macadamia nut butter comes top of the list because of its incredibly low carb content compared to all other nuts. Macadamia nuts also contain a very important mineral, manganese, an enzyme that’s involved in antioxidant activity in almost every cell in your body. Pretty impressive, and a great reason to eat more macadamia nuts!
The downside? They’re very expensive, and the butter version is difficult to find. You might be able to find a blended nut butter containing macadamia nuts instead, just be sure to check all the other ingredients too, so you can be confident it’s suitable.
Walnut Butter
Walnuts contain a significant amount of Omega-3 fatty acids - some of those healthy fats you want plenty of on Keto. This makes them a winning option.
Not so favourable is their strong flavour; walnuts have quite a bitter, earthy taste that some dislike, especially when concentrated into a butter. If you’re a fan of walnuts though, this is a great option thanks to the high percentage of protein and fat compared to net carbs.
Pecan Butter
Another great low net carb, nut butter. Pecans are also high in monounsaturated fatty acids, which have been shown to be beneficial for cardiovascular health. Their flavour is more subtle and easier for some to eat than other nut butters.
Almond Butter
Probably one of the most favourite nut flavours, almonds. They’re naturally sweet in taste and have an especially high percentage of protein.
Almonds are also rich in vitamin E and B vitamins, as well as important minerals calcium, copper, magnesium and iron.
Hazelnut Butter
Another firm favourite, hazelnuts. They have a great creamy and nutty flavour without the bitterness that pairs with other nuts. Hazelnuts are rich in vitamin E and magnesium, as well as having low net carbs.
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The Best Nut Butters To Avoid On Keto
You may be wondering why we haven’t included traditional peanut butter in our ‘best nut butter’ list, there’s a good reason for it.
Peanut Butter
Peanut butter, although the most popular of all nut butters, is relatively high in net carbs compared to other nut butters. Peanuts are different to other tree nuts because they actually belong to the legume family, which makes them high in carbs. Many people also have allergies to peanuts. So while top-quality peanut butter has great benefits such as high protein content, fibre, magnesium and vitamin B6, it should be eaten sparingly on Keto.
Cashew Butter
Another common nut butter you will probably be best to avoid is cashew butter. Cashews are creamy and naturally sweet in flavour, making them a popular choice. However they are really high in carbs and have a relatively low portion of fibre compared to other available nut butters. A nut butter that’s best to avoid on Keto.
Enjoy The Right Nuts, The Best Nuts For Keto
There are many great health benefits to nut butters and they’re a versatile ingredient that ought to be a staple in your cupboard. But not all nut butters are Keto-friendly. To stay on track and benefit from all the good fats, protein and minerals found in nut butters, choose an option from the list above.
Avoid high-carb versions such as cashew butter or peanut butter, there are so many other yummy nut butters to choose from! Stick to nut butters that are free from additional ingredients too, and are GMO-free or better yet, organic. Simply, the nuts are enough on their own, and a complete food source on Keto when you choose the right ones!
