Question for those in the know


(Catherine ) #1

Hello everybody. I ferment lemons in honey. I use the liquid (a little) on natural yoghurt. I also use it as a cordial base in that i put a small amount in a glass and fill the glass with water - delicious (great undiluted if beginning a sore throat). I am concerned as to whether or not this will throw me out of ketosis given that it may or may not have any residual sugars (i know the lemon is fermented but am not sure the honey is, I hope this makes sense) and that someone may be able to enlighten me as to the answer or put me on the correct path of finding the answer. I have thought of checking BC levels after consuming but haven’t done that yet. Thank you so much. I’m looking forward to hearing from you .

Cathy


(8 year Ketogenic Veteran) #2

This is likely the same concept as making kombucha, which starts with a gallon of tea and a cup of cane sugar.

Kombucha can be fermented to a point of very low sugar content.


(Duncan Kerridge) #3

Well honey is 80% sugar by weight, lemons are 90% water so I’d imagine that the liquid that comes out at the end is going to be 30-40% lemony sugar water. The photos I’ve seen online suggest there’s about the same amount of honey as lemons?

A teaspoon of sugar is 4g of carbs, so a teaspoon of your liquid is maybe 1.5-2g of carbs. How many teaspoons would you have in a day? The fermentation process might lower that figure somewhat, I’m not sure. Unless you’re having a lot I doubt it would kick you out of ketosis.


(Catherine ) #4

Thank you Duncan. That is very informative. The fermentation process usually eliminates sugar. An example is water Kefir in which the SCOBY are fed sugar, none of which is left upon completion the fermentation process.

Cathy


(Catherine ) #5

Thanks Brenda. Apparently there this too much sugar left in Kombucha for it to be recommended to diabetes patients. Whereas water Kefir uses all the sugar. It is because of this variance that i wondered about honey. Next time I have some I’m going to test my blood glucose before and a while after to see how much it spikes. Thanks for your response.

Cathy


(8 year Ketogenic Veteran) #6

There are ketoers who ferment their kombucha for several more days (probably weeks) to reduce the sugar.
Honey is the equivalent of cane sugar as far as carbohydrate goes.
I suppose it would depend on just how long your fermentation process was, and other factors. Does it taste sweet? Do you have a significant blood glucose response? Blood glucose meters are fairly inexpensive and can be bought at most pharmacies.


(Catherine ) #7

thanks Brenda. yes i do have a gluco
meter and plan to test it. great information.

Cathy


(Tsering M) #8

honey is mostly fructose i believe. in kombucha the fructose part of sugar remains in the brew even after a very long time of fermentation.