Living in New Orleans a staple is Red Beans and Rice and although I’ve had some success eating a batch of these with large amounts of pickled ham and smoked sausage without rice I am concerned about the overall carb content of the beans themselves. As you can see a single serving has 27 net carbs which is obviously over the 20 most of us try to adhere to. For me it hasn’t ben a problem especially on days of heavy workouts and cardio. My concern is mostly that my gf and daughter have agreed to join in the Keto WOE and they are struggling with the idea on not eating it especially since they’ve seen me do it on occasion. My idea so far is possibly eliminate it while they adapt then do an n=2 with them and see how they tolerate it. Anyone else have any experience with beans?
Red Kidney Beans?
Very, very borderline. IR people should probably steer clear.
But, 20 grams per day of carbs is a fairly conservative number. Otherwise healthy people may be able to go higher – some people even go to 50 grams.
Also, if you get a case of acute carbohydrate poisoning (too much in a single meal) you could follow it up with some aerobic exercise to burn off the immediate oversupply.
For me going keto was a 100% thing. I focussed more on what I could have rather than what I couldn’t.
If I’d made exceptions for things I used to think were really nice (hot buttered toast for example) then I wouldn’t have succeeded.
There is so much to eat that’s delicious, even decadent, in keto that I’d be focussing on the good stuff.
Bacon anyone?
Ok, This is N=2 and I have no science (other than my wife the science nerd) to back this up. We like us some chili (we use pinto beans) and we occasionally like us some lentils & ham soup. Please note that we don’t do this often, 3 times I think since April.
We have experimented with using nearly sprouted beans (a good solid 2 day soak in a warm place) I think allowing them to actually sprout would be even more advantageous but we never plan that far ahead. The process of activating the growth cycle within the seed converts sugars and decreases the effects of anti-nutrients making many of the nutrients within the seed more available.
On the 3 occasions we have tried this we have both tested ketones afterwards with no discernible impact. I have tested BG afterwards with no discernible impact. My wife has quite low BG to begin with so she never tests.
Again, This is strictly N=2
They’re inflammatory for me, and could be for others. So for those sensitive to inflammatory foods, better to avoid even if under the carb count.
I definitely plan on keeping us away from them as much as possible. We do soak them for about a day before cooking normally and even though my n=1 didn’t seem to affect me I am more concerned for them as they are more susceptible to carb creep in other areas than I am.
Beans are not keto. We have all struggled to drop a food such as bread or pasta. I live in Boston and will miss clam chowder with potatoes and baked beans. Good luck!
Beans are neither keto nor non-keto. The carbohydrates they contain are non-keto. A small-enough portion, or a personal higher limit on carbohydrates that allow one to stay in ketosis, would allow some beans to be eaten as part of a ketogenic diet.
I follow Dr. Eric Westman from Duke University and he would say if it is not on slide 2 of his program it is not part of the diet. I enjoyed reading your opinion Larry.