Fruits often have the potential to kick you out of ketosis. Find out whether blackberries are keto-friendly and in what amounts.
100 grams of raw blackberries contain around 4.3 grams of net carbohydrates which comes down to total carbs minus fiber.
In turn, you can say that blackberries can be relatively keto-friendly but you likely have to pay attention to your portion sizes and the other foods you eat.
There will definitely also be many situations where blackberries can kick you out of ketosis. Even in small amounts.
On the other hand, blackberries are one of the lowest-carb fruits. There are still some alternatives too but these tend to be somewhat higher in carbs.
If you absolutely want to eat fruit while staying in ketosis blackberries will be one of your best options.
Carbs in blackberries
How many carbs there are in blackberries plays a big role in whether this fruit is keto and in what amounts.
100 grams of raw blackberries contain the following amounts of carbs (1):
- Total carbs: 9.6 grams
- Of which fiber: 5.3 grams
- Net carbs: 4.3 grams
Since this is somewhat low-carb, you can say that blackberries are relatively keto-friendly. All the fiber in them can also reduce to what extent the other foods you eat at the same time increase your blood sugar.
At the same time, the 4.7 grams of net carbs in 100 grams of raw blackberries can sometimes be enough to kick you out of ketosis too.
One cup of raw blackberries is about 144 grams, and contains the following amounts of carbs:
- Total carbs: 13.8 grams
- Of which fiber: 7.6 grams
- Net carbs: 6.2 grams
As you can expect, bigger portions of blackberries will also contain more carbohydrates.
This makes it harder to stay in ketosis so you have to be somewhat mindful about how many grams of blackberries you eat.
Other nutrients in blackberries
The number of carbohydrates in blackberries is helpful when following a ketogenic diet but other nutrients still matter too.
How many grams of fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals blackberries have still influence have healthy you will generally be and even sometimes whether you will stay in ketosis.
100 grams of raw blackberries contain the following nutrients (1):
- Calories: 43
- Protein: 1.4 grams
- Carbs: 9.6 grams
- Part of the carbs that is fiber: 5.3 grams
- Fat: 0.5 grams
- Vitamin C: 35% of the DV (Daily Value)
- Manganese: 32% of the DV
- Vitamin K: 25% of the DV
- Copper: 8% of the DV
- Folate: 6% of the DV
And some other vitamins and minerals in smaller amounts.
Blackberries are mostly impressive in terms of their relatively low carb count and big amount of fiber. The vitamins in minerals in this fruit are definitely welcome but there are more nutritious foods too.
Why blackberries will sometimes kick you out of ketosis
Blackberries are not just always or never keto. There are situations where this fruit is keto-friendly but also ones where blackberries will kick you out of ketosis.
The ketogenic diet fundamentals can be helpful to understand why this is and how to avoid it.
Any way of eating where you get and stay in ketosis can be considered to be a ketogenic diet. Ketosis is where your body mainly burns fat as fuel (2).
To achieve this you need to keep your carbohydrate consumption low enough. Exactly how low depends on details like your weight, body composition, and exercise habits.
There are some oversimplified guidelines that are not perfect but can help you get in the right direction.
A typical recommendation to get and stay in ketosis is getting 55%-60% of your calories from fat, 30%-35% from protein, and 5%-10% from carbohydrates.
For most people, these percentages come down to eating about 20 grams to 50 grams of carbs every day.
Keep in mind that you don’t include the amounts of fiber in blackberries and other foods. Fiber is a category of carbs but your body processes them in more keto-friendly ways.
With the rough guidelines above and how many carbs there are in the rest of your diet, you can start to estimate how many blackberries you could eat before getting kicked out of ketosis.
Alternatives for blackberries on keto
Blackberries are actually one of the best options you have when it comes to keto-friendly fruits. That being said, there are a few other alternatives you can consider too.
These other options are not as low-carb as blackberries but you may prefer them in terms of taste or want to switch up the foods in your ketogenic diet.
The numbers next to these blackberry alternatives are the amounts of net carbs in 100 grams of the fruits (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8):
- Raspberries: 5.4 grams of net carbs
- Strawberries: 5.7 grams of net carbs
- Watermelon: 7.1 grams of net carbs
- Lime: 7.7 grams of net carbs
- Cranberries: 7.6 grams of net carbs
- Cantaloupe: 7.9 grams of net carbs
As you can see, these alternatives often still contain considerable amounts of carbs. Similar to blackberries, you may have to control your portions to stay in ketosis.
Tips to control your blackberry portions on keto
Just putting a big bowl of blackberries next to you while watching TV or in similar situations is typically not a good strategy for people who want to stay in ketosis.
Instead, some of the tips below can help you eat blackberries in keto-friendly portions:
- Estimate how many blackberries would align with your health goals
- Weigh out this amount of grams and put the rest of the blackberries out of sight
- Don’t eat unlimited amounts of blackberries while doing other activities
- People who really like blackberries and crave them too much may need to buy smaller portions or none at all
Something to note is that your initial estimations of how many blackberries you can eat on keto could be suboptimal.
If you notice you get kicked out of ketosis, you may need to implement smaller portions.
Why do you follow a ketogenic diet?
Blackberries are a relatively low-carb fruit but even small amounts can sometimes raise your carb intake too much and kick you out of ketosis.
Whether this is an issue and to what extent depends on your reasons for following a ketogenic diet.
For example, there are people who need/want to stay in strict ketosis 24/7. These individuals need to be careful about their carbohydrate intake and potentially stay away from blackberries.
On the other hand, blackberries can be good for weight loss and health even if they kick you out of ketosis.
Ketogenic diets are typically not the only way to achieve these health goals.
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