Carbohydrate-free foods: the complete list of foods for the keto diet!

Have you decided to go on a keto diet or a low carb diet? Then you will eat without carbohydrates. This is not as easy as it may seem at first glance. A low-carb diet or a carb-free diet requires a balanced diet to supplement protein and other important ingredients. We've compiled a list of carbohydrate-free foods that you can include in your diet to add flavor as well as vitamins, healthy fats and protein.

What are carbohydrates?

Carbohydrates, like proteins and fats, are macronutrients. They are found in almost all foods, but there are some foods that do not contain carbohydrates. These are the focus of several dietary approaches that we will introduce here. Carbohydrates can be thought of as the starches and sugars that provide our bodies with the greatest supply of energy. There are carbohydrates that are important to our bodies and should be eaten - unless we choose to diet, and then there are carbohydrates that are better to limit or omit altogether. If we eat foods that contain so-called fast sugars, refined sugars or processed carbohydrates, we will have a quick supply of energy, but one that will in turn be quickly depleted.

What effect do carbohydrates have on our bodies?

One of the reasons why carbohydrates are important to the body is the production of glucose, which is the powerhouse - the source of energy - for our bodies and organism. It affects brain and organ function and is involved in muscle growth. Carbohydrates are also important for satiety. When we eat foods with carbohydrates, we feel full and don't feel the need to eat all the time. However, they must be healthy carbohydrates and not fast sugars. These, in turn, affect our hunger and overeating, or eating more sugars. We've written more about the breakdown of carbohydrates and healthy and unhealthy sugars in our article Carbohydrate-rich foods to find out more. For this article, the basics mentioned above will suffice.

What is low carb?

Low carb, or also keto diet, is a diet plan in which you completely cut out foods that contain carbohydrates. If you have a diet plan set up well, it can work and you can eat purely from carbohydrate-free foods. We'll see which ones those are below. If you drop carbs in this diet, it is important to replace them properly, specifically with fats and protein. If you follow the carbohydrate-free diet well, you can get your weight down very quickly and effectively.
A body that is not getting a supply of carbohydrates goes into what is called ketosis, which is the body's natural state and response to a lack of carbohydrates. Our body will deal with this in its own way. It starts to draw energy from fats instead of carbohydrates, even body fats. This is also why there is such a rapid loss of weight and body fat.

Low-carbohydrate and carbohydrate-free diets

There are several diet plans where we cut out carbohydrates. They can be divided into several groups. In the first option, the looser carbohydrate diet, you just need to reduce your carbohydrate intake to 100 to 150 grams of carbohydrates per day. In the second option, a strict low-carbohydrate diet, carbohydrates are reduced to 50 to 100 grams of carbohydrates per day. And in the third option, the no-carbohydrate diet, the low carb or keto diet, carbohydrates are reduced to less than 50 grams per day.

Why (not) eat carbohydrates?

Above we have already written down why carbohydrates are important for our body. From this it is clear that unless it is necessary, or unless we opt for a low-carbohydrate diet or a diet that excludes carbohydrates completely, we should eat them. Of course, we need to look at what carbohydrates they are. Refined sugars in particular are more harmful to our bodies than helpful.If we choose the wrong carbohydrates, our consumption of such foods can lead to obesityovereating, but also diabetes, which can be a really big problem. These carbohydrates are mainly found in various snacks, sweets, chocolate bars, biscuits etc.

In addition to diabetes, which is caused by elevated triglyceride levels in the blood, heart disease can also occur. These are caused by the same problem. In diabetes, however, it is still insulin resistance. Rising blood sugar also causes hyperglycemia, which is sugar dependence. As a result, immunity is compromised, poor cellular response to insulinn, which results in diabetes, and our metabolism will also suffer.
Carbohydrates should properly make up 50-60% of our diet. If we have a sweet or a sugary pastry here and there, it's not a big deal. Unfortunately, these foods cause us to crave them more and more, and eventually we can find ourselves in a rut where they make up the majority of our diet. And then that can be a problem. That's why it's better to avoid them and make our diet varied and balanced.
Now we will look at foods that do not contain carbohydrates and are thus an important part of the diet.people who want to eat healthily - and of course people who choose to follow a carbohydrate-free diet.

Carbohydrate-free foods

For a simpler way of eating, i.e. to make it easier to put together a dietWe have again put together a table for you to find the carbohydrate-free foods that are suitable to include. So that you don't accidentally reach for something that contains carbohydrates and disrupt your diet plan, we've includedt and a list of foods and drinks that contain carbohydrates and therefore can be included in a low-carbohydrate diet. You can also add carbohydrates to the low-carb diet.

What carbohydrate-free foods can you eat?

As we have already mentioned, if you choose to eat carbohydrate-free foods, it is important to structure your diet so that your body gets enough energy that it otherwise takes from carbohydrates. That's why you need to replace them with fats and proteins. This will put your body into a state of ketosis in a few days and you will begin to lose weight and bulk.
Carbohydrate-free foods include all meats, but choose lean meats, fresh and if you can, preferably from home reared, farmers etc. In addition to meat, it is a good idea to enrich your diet with fish and seafood, which are very healthy and contain omega-3 fatty acids, which have a very positive effect on our immunity, among other things.
Baked goods should be avoided, but if you choose low-carbohydrate baked goods and don't eat too much, that's fine. On various keto diet e-shops you can also find carbohydrate-free baked goods, suitable just for eating a keto diet. You can also purchase various protein meals here, from porridges, soups, sauces and other mixes to smoothies. These are not only tasty but will help to give you energy and fill you up for a period of time. Eggs and dairy products are also important in a low-carbohydrate diet.

Nuts and seeds are rich sources of fiber, vitamins and other important elements. You should also include these in your no-carb diet. Cashews, Brazil nuts, but also walnuts, hazelnuts and any kind of seeds you can think of are suitable. For example, you can add chia seeds to yoghurt or smoothies, which are a superfood and very beneficial for our health.
You should rather skip sheep or reduce its intake to a minimum. It contains a lot of carbohydrates, so it is not suitable either fresh or in any other form - dried, freeze-dried, etc. Instead, replace it with vegetables. Vegetables that are green in colour are ideal. This is such a simple guide to choose correctly and not to go wrong. Some of the best carbohydrate-free foods include avocados or olives, which are often forgotten in lists of suitable foods.
Since our body mainly uses fats in addition to protein, it is also advisable to consume them. Healthy and unrefined fats and virgin oil are the most suitable. For example, you can make a salad dressing with olive oil, which not only improves the taste but also increases the quality and value of the whole dish.