Vegetables are often low-carb but there are exceptions. Find out whether daikon is keto-friendly and what other options you have.
100 grams of raw daikon (mooli) contain around 2.5 grams of net carbohydrates. This means total carbs minus fiber.
This is a relatively low number of carbohydrates. Even compared to many other vegetables.
In turn, it is fair to say that daikon is generally keto-friendly.
You do still want to keep in mind that even a few carbs are sometimes enough to kick you out of ketosis. If you already have a diet high in carbs you may need to keep your daikon portions small anyway.
Additionally, there are a few vegetables that are even better than daikon/mooli for ketogenic diets.
Carbs in daikon
How many carbs daikon and other foods contain plays a big role in whether they are keto-friendly and in what amounts.
100 grams of raw daikon contain the following amounts of carbs (1):
- Total carbs: 4.1 grams
- Of which fiber: 1.6 grams
- Net carbs: 2.5 grams
The 2.5 grams of net carbs in 100 grams of daikon is relatively low compared to many other food options. In turn, you can say that daikon is keto-friendly.
On the other hand, you do want to remember that there are situations where even small amounts of carbs can kick you out of ketosis.
One cup of daikon slices is about 116 grams and contains the following amounts of carbs:
- Total carbs: 4.8 grams
- Of which fiber: 1.9 grams
- Net carbs: 2.9 grams
As you can expect, eating bigger amounts of daikon will also mean consuming more carbohydrates. In turn, it may require a bit more effort to stay in ketosis.
Other nutrients in daikon
Carbohydrates are definitely important when following a ketogenic diet but you want to keep in mind that other nutrients still matter.
Fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and other micronutrients can still influence whether you stay in ketosis and how good your general health will be.
100 grams of raw daikon contain the following nutrients (1):
- Calories: 18
- Protein: 0.6 grams
- Carbs: 4.1 grams
- Part of the carbs that is fiber: 1.6 grams
- Fat: 0.1 grams
- Vitamin C: 37% of the DV (Daily Value)
- Folate: 7% of the DV
- Potassium: 6% of the DV
- Copper: 6% of the DV
- Magnesium: 4% of the DV
And some other vitamins and minerals in smaller amounts.
Besides the nice amount of fiber, daikon is not too impressive when it comes to other nutrients.
You can still consider it for its low carb content but you also want to implement more nutritious foods to keep your ketogenic diet healthy.
Why daikon is not always keto-friendly
As mentioned, even low-carb foods like daikon can sometimes kick you out of ketosis. To avoid this, you want to really understand how ketogenic diets work.
These diets are ways of eating where you get and stay in ketosis. This is a state where you mainly use fat as fuel (2).
To get into ketosis you have to stay below a certain limit with your carbohydrate consumption. Where this limit is depends on personal details like your body weight, muscle mass, exercise habits, and genes.
This keto fact makes things more complicated but there are some general guidelines that are not perfect but do help you get an idea of how many grams of daikon and other carbs you can eat.
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.
This will typically come down to eating around 20 to 50 grams of carbohydrates a day.
Keep in mind that you generally don’t include the fiber from daikon and other foods. It is true that fiber is a category of carbohydrates but your body deals with it in more keto-friendly ways.
Is pickled daikon keto?
A popular way to eat daikon is in its pickled form. Unfortunately, I was not able to find any specific nutrition details for this preparation method.
That being said, if daikon is similar to beets in this area, you can expect pickled daikon to be less keto-friendly than the whole form but likely still doable in small amounts.
When in doubt, you want to check the nutrition label of the store-bought pickled daikon you are considering or play it safe if you are making it yourself.
Substitutes for daikon on keto
Daikon is already low in carbs but there are even more keto-friendly vegetables too. These can make it easier to stay in ketosis and add some variety to your ketogenic diet.
The numbers next to these daikon substitutes are the amounts of net carbs per 100 grams (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8):
- Chicory: 0.9 grams of net carbs
- Spinach: 1.4 grams of net carbs
- Green leaf lettuce: 1.5 grams of net carbs
- Celery: 1.8 grams of net carbs
- Radishes: 1.9 grams of net carbs
- Asparagus: 2.1 grams of net carbs
Something interesting to note is that regular radishes are more keto-friendly than daikon/mooli radishes.
Another thing to keep in mind is that these substitutes still contain carbohydrates. In some cases, you may need to keep your portions small.
Is it always bad to get kicked out of ketosis?
While daikon is typically keto-friendly, you may get kicked out of ketosis by eating them in certain situations. Whether this is an issue and to what extent depends on why you follow a ketogenic diet.
More specifically, there are individuals who need/want to stay in strict ketosis every minute of the day. These people can likely still consider daikon but want to be very careful about their portions.
On the other hand, daikon can still be helpful for losing weight and becoming healthier. Even if their small number of carbs is just too much to stay in ketosis.
A ketogenic diet can be helpful but it is typically not the only way to achieve weight loss and health.
Related posts:
Is daikon high in carbs?
Daikon contains around 4.1 grams of carbohydrates (including 1.6 grams of fiber) per 100 grams. Compared to many other foods, daikon is low in carbs.
