Real Lemon Lemon Juice

(Joy Cho) #1

I have a question. My 14 year old child has been seriously missing lemonade especially with the recent hot days. The label states 0 sugars and carbs. It takes 1 cup of this “lemon juice” to make 2 quarts. I add sweetener to it and he’s happy with it. My concern is if he can drink too much lemonade and hurt his ability to stay in fat burning mode? Thank you in advance!!! Keto on!!!

#2

I definitely see benefits to drinking freshly squeezed lemon juice. I’d say in moderation, it would be a health benefit. A small lemon has decent amounts of Vit C and potassium. I can’t speak for the Real Lemon brand, you’d have to evaluate the contents to see if there are too many additives. Most of us take on an acceptable level of risk when it comes to sugar-free items to improve our levels of satisfaction in how our food tastes vs. keeping carbs low.

(G. Andrew Duthie) #3

The problem with reading labels for stuff like this is that the “serving size” is small enough that they can legally call it “0 carbs” when it’s not really. According to this:

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/1938/2

a cup of lemon juice (not RealLemon, which IIRC is a concentrate, so might have more carbs in a cup) contains 21.1g of carbohydrate, of which 1g is fiber, and 5.9g is sugar.

I would say that perhaps it would be best to make this as an occasional treat, and use less juice than the instructions suggest. You might try adding a splash of apple cider vinegar, which would provide some additional tartness with less concern about carbs.

The big takeaway here, though, is to use caution when dealing with nutrition labels with small serving sizes (particularly those measured in tablespoon or teaspoon increments), as these can be very misleading, especially if you’re using a lot more than a single serving. These carbs can add up, and it’s this kind of thing that sometimes trips up those new to keto.

#4

I’m guessing it is cheaper and healthier to squeeze lemons and make juice with those instead? I just googled the ingredients, and this is what I get:

Lemon Juice from Concentrate (Water, Concentrated Lemon Juice), Sodium Benzoate, Sodium Metabisulfite and Sodium Sulfite (Preservatives), Lemon Oil.

So, it looks like a fair amount of preservatives (like antifungals, antioxidants, etc.)

I don’t think the “0 gram carbs” is correct, as it is based on a teaspoon…see photo below…which of course would have almost nothing. In one cup, there would definitely be noticeable carb count.

(Joy Cho) #5

Thank you for your response, @Kyz, @devhammer and @Fiorella !!

It looks like 1/4 cup of lemon juice is the equivalent of 5.025 net carbs. I can see how that can easily be a slippery slope! I agree this should be an occasional treat and not a daily beverage. I also agree with Fiorella that real lemons would be better than the bottled and mass-produced product. It’s just what I happened to have on hand. I don’t typically have fresh lemons in my house. Thank you so very much! I’m still loving this WOE and WOL!! Happy Wednesday!

(Joy Cho) #6

Thanks for the tip on the apple cider vinegar! I have plenty of that on hand and will give it a try the next time I make this.

(Dustin Cade) #7

i used to keep a bottle of this (the store brand) and put a splash in my water, so a table spoon or 2 per 30oz water and ice… though since going keto I have not done this… I figure even if i did i doubt it would throw me over as i normally keep my carbs low anyway… though it is good knowledge to have that just because the label says zero carbs, zero sugar, its the serving size, and the legalities of being able to get it low enough to say zero…

(Retta Stephenson) #8

@jkungcho,
When hankering for an icy glass of lemonade, here is what I use; one or two packets of TrueLemon, ice, water, stevia (or your sweetener of choice). Also comes in delicious orange, lime, and grapefruit. Zero calories, sweeteners, coloring or preservatives. It’s delicious, and you can just make a big glass one at a time, as wanted:

https://www.truelemon.com/product/true-lemon/

#9

TrueLemon is great and I use it a lot but… it does have carbs.

They say “less than 1 gram” carbohydrate on the label. So I emailed them and asked how much is really in there in case I want to use more than one — customer service was very helpful

The representative told me there are .75 grams of carbohydrate in each packet of any of their flavors, so if you use more than one, it pays to do the math.

Love the grapefruit! I ordered a case lol.

(Jennifer) #10

My Costco has this - awesome stuff. They have had a lime in the past as well.

https://www.amazon.com/Volcano-Juice-Lemon-Liter-Pack/dp/B001KUQJ0Y

The link is for info - I think costco has it for 8-9 bucks for two?