Eating plants on a ketogenic diet is not always straightforward. Find out whether coconut is keto-friendly or not.
Fresh raw coconut contains around 6.2 grams of net carbs (total carbohydrates minus fiber) per 100 grams.
With this, you can say coconut is barely keto-friendly.
You will likely have to watch your portions and the rest of your diet to actually stay in ketosis.
Additionally, shredded coconut which contains a lot less water is generally not keto-friendly with 41.9 grams of net carbs per 100 grams.
Carbs in raw coconut
One of the most important nutrition details for figuring out whether coconut is keto-friendly is the number of carbohydrates.
100 grams of fresh raw coconut contains the following amounts of carbs (1):
- Total carbs: 15.2 grams
- Of which fiber: 9 grams
- Net carbs: 6.2 grams
The 6.2 grams of net carbohydrates per 100 grams in coconut is an edge case.
You should be able to eat small portions while staying in ketosis but many people will also get out of keto if they just add 100 grams of coconut to their diet.
One cup of fresh raw coconut is about 85 grams and contains the following amounts of carbs:
- Total carbs: 12.9 grams
- Of which fiber: 7.7 grams
- Net carbs: 5.2 grams
As you can see, making your portions of coconut smaller will also reduce how many net carbohydrates you eat.
In turn, it becomes more likely that you stay in ketosis while eating this fruit.
At the same time, your keto-related results will still depend a lot on the other foods you eat too.
Other coconut nutrition facts
Carbohydrates are important when following a ketogenic diet but the other nutrients in coconut still matter too.
Nutrients like fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals still play important roles in your health and even whether you will stay in ketosis.
100 grams of fresh raw coconut contain the following nutrients (1):
- Calories: 301
- Protein: 2.8 grams
- Carbs: 12.9 grams
- Part of the carbs that is fiber: 7.7 grams
- Fat: 28.5 grams
- Copper: 19% of the DV (Daily Value)
- Iron: 12% of the DV
- Selenium: 12% of the DV
- Phosphorus: 10% of the DV
- Magnesium: 7% of the DV
And some other vitamins and minerals in smaller amounts.
These extra nutrients in coconut are definitely welcome although you do want to watch the calorie count for goals like weight loss.
However, these nutrients are also not impressive enough to make coconut a must in your ketogenic diet.
Why coconut is not always keto-friendly
So far you did not get a clear yes or no answer to whether coconut is keto-friendly. This is because details like portion sizes and the other things you eat matter a lot.
A ketogenic diet is a way of eating where you get into ketosis. This is a state where your body mainly burns fat as fuel (2).
You get into this state by lowering your total carbohydrate enough. Not just the amount of coconut you eat.
How much you have to lower your general carbohydrate intake depends on things like your body weight, workout habits, genetics, etc.
This makes it even harder to give specific ketogenic diet statistics in terms of whether and how much coconut you can eat.
That being said, to get some idea you can still turn to imperfect general guidelines.
For example, you typically want to eat around 55%-60% of your calories from fat, 30%-35% from protein, and 5%-10% from carbohydrates to get and stay in ketosis.
In practice, this will likely mean eating around 20 to 50 grams of carbohydrates a day.
Something to note is that the fiber in coconut and other foods is typically not included. These are actually carbohydrates but don’t influence your body in a typical way.
Is shredded coconut keto-friendly?
Something that makes coconut slightly more confusing is that you can eat it in many ways.
There is for example shredded coconut which is similar but with a lot of the water removed.
100 grams of unsweetend shredded coconut contains the following amounts of carbs (3):
- Total carbs: 51.8 grams
- Of which fiber: 9.9 grams
- Net carbs: 41.9 grams
By removing a lot of the water you make this food a lot higher in carbohydrates per 100 grams.
In turn, you can say that even unsweetened shredded coconut is generally not keto-friendly.
Is coconut milk keto?
It is also possible to extract coconut milk from this fruit. 100 grams of this contain more or less the following amounts of carbs (4):
- Total carbs: 2.92 grams
- Of which fiber: 0 grams
- Net carbs: 2.92 grams
If you keep your portions small, you should be able to fit in some coconut milk on a keto diet.
You do want to keep in mind that it is relatively easy to drink 100 grams of a fluid aka half a glass. Some extra portion control attention may be needed.
What is your goal with keto?
At this point you likely understand that coconut does have the potential to kick you out of ketosis.
How much of an issue this would be depends on your goal with ketogenic diets.
For example, there are people who need/want to stay in strict ketosis 24/7. If this applies to you, you likely want to be careful with your coconut portion sizes.
On the other hand, many people also just want to lose weight and get healthier.
You often don’t necessarily have to stay in ketosis to achieve these health goals so coconut could be a good food option more often.
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FAQ
Is raw coconut high in carbs?
Raw coconut contains around 15.2 grams of carbohydrates per 100 grams (including 9 grams of fiber). In turn, you can say raw coconut is about average in carbs, not high.
Is coconut considered a carbohydrate?
Since most of the calories in coconut are from fats and a lot of the carbs are from fiber, this fruit is generally not considered to be a carbohydrate.
