Fruits are often not good for ketogenic diets but there are exceptions. Find out whether kiwis are keto-friendly and what substitutes could be better.
100 grams of raw kiwis (likely without skin) contain around 11 grams of net carbohydrates (total carbs minus fiber).
Since this is somewhat higher in carbs, kiwis are generally not very keto-friendly.
In theory, you could eat small amounts of kiwis in and still stay in ketosis.
That being said, in combination with reasonable amounts of food, kiwi will likely increase your carbohydrate intake too much for a ketogenic diet.
If you still have a craving for fruit, it is smarter to consider one of the lower-carb substitutes for kiwi even though these are not perfect either.
Carbs in kiwis
The number of carbs in kiwis plays an important role in whether this fruit is keto-friendly and in what amounts.
100 grams of kiwis (likely without skin) contain the following amounts of carbs (1):
- Total carbs: 14 grams
- Of which fiber: 3 grams
- Net carbs: 11 grams
If you look at the general carbohydrate recommendations for ketogenic diets, it should become clear that the 11 grams of net carbs in 100 grams of kiwi are likely too much.
One medium kiwi fruit (likely without skin) is about 75 grams and contains the following amounts of carbs:
- Total carbs: 10.5 grams
- Of which fiber: 2.3 grams
- Net carbs: 8.2 grams
By making your portions smaller it becomes somewhat more doable to fit kiwi into your ketogenic diet.
That being said, this is still a lot of carbohydrates for such a small amount of food.
This could make you feel hungry and reduce how many grams of nutrient-dense foods still fit in your daily limit.
Other nutrition information kiwis
The number of carbohydrates in what amounts of kiwis is definitely important on keto but other nutrients still matter.
Fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals can play a role in whether you stay in ketosis and how good kiwis are for other goals like weight loss and general health.
100 grams of raw kiwis contain the following nutrients (1):
- Calories: 64
- Protein: 1.1 grams
- Carbs: 14 grams
- Part of the carbs that is fiber: 3 grams
- Fat: 0.4 grams
- Vitamin C: 125% of the DV (Daily Value)
- Vitamin K: 50% of the DV
- Copper: 7% of the DV
- Folate: 7% of the DV
- Potassium: 6% of the DV
And some other vitamins and minerals in smaller amounts.
Kiwi is mostly impressive in its amount of fiber. The extra vitamins and minerals are welcome but not that great compared to many other food options that are lower in carbs.
When it comes to nutrients, it is likely not worth squeezing kiwi into your ketogenic diet.
Why you can sometimes eat kiwi on keto
If you approach the ketogenic right, you can sometimes fit in foods like kiwi that are somewhat higher in carbs. The keto basics can help you understand why this is and help you avoid overdoing it.
You can call any way of eating where you get into ketosis a ketogenic diet. Ketosis is a state where your body mainly burns fat as fuel (2).
To get into this state, you have to keep your carbohydrate consumption below a certain level. Exactly where this level is depends on details like your body weight, muscle mass, and genes.
This fact about keto diets makes things more confusing but there are still general recommendations. These are not perfect in every case but do help you get an idea of how many grams of kiwi and carbs could be keto-friendly.
A typical guideline for people who want to stay in ketosis is getting 55%-60% of their calories from fat, 30%-35% from protein, and 5%-10% from carbohydrates.
If you do the calculations for your situation, you will likely find out you can eat around 20 grams to 50 grams of carbohydrates a day.
Something important to note is that you typically don’t include the fiber in kiwis and other foods in these amounts. Fiber is a category of carbohydrates but your body deals with it in more keto-friendly ways.
How to avoid eating too many kiwis on ketogenic diets
By now it should be clear that if you want to have a chance of staying in ketosis while eating kiwis, you will have to keep your portions small.
Preparing a big bowl of kiwis and just hoping that you won’t eat too many carbs will typically not keep you in ketosis.
Following the tips below can help you avoid a situation like that:
- Estimate beforehand how many grams of kiwis still fit within your keto diet
- Only prepare this amount and put the other kiwis in a different place
- Don’t eat big amounts of kiwis while doing other things like watching a movie
- If you really crave kiwis too much, you may need to buy smaller portions or none at all
Even when following these tips you may get kicked out of ketosis. If that happens, it is a sign that your initial estimations of how many grams of kiwi you can eat are off.
More keto-friendly substitutes for kiwis
You are likely interested in kiwis on keto because they offer some extra sweet taste.
Luckily, there are fruits that are lower in carbs too. These may be able to satisfy your sweet cravings too while adding fewer carbohydrates to your diet.
The numbers next to these more keto-friendly kiwi substitutes are the amounts of net carbohydrates per 100 grams (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8):
- Blackberries: 4.9 grams of net carbs
- Raspberries: 5.4 grams of net carbs
- Strawberries: 5.7 grams of net carbs
- Watermelon: 7.1 grams of net carbs
- Cranberries: 7.6 grams of net carbs
- Cantaloupe: 7.9 grams of net carbs
As you can see, even these lower-carb kiwi substitutes still contain good amounts of carbohydrates.
To stay in ketosis, you will likely still have to implement the portion control tips with these fruits.
What is your goal with staying in ketosis?
Even eating small amounts of kiwis on top of a reasonably low-carb diet could be too much to stay in ketosis. Whether this is an issue and to what extent depends on your goal with this way of eating.
There are people who need/want to stay in ketosis every minute of the day. If you are in this category, you likely want to stay away from kiwis.
On the flip side, if you just want to lose weight and get healthier, kiwis can be good or decent. Even if they raise your carb intake too much to stay in ketosis.
Ketogenic diets have their advantages but there are typically other ways to lose weight and get healthier too.
Related posts:
Is kiwi OK on low-carb diets?
Kiwis contain around 14 grams of carbohydrates (including 3 grams of fiber) per 100 grams. This means kiwis are generally not OK on low-carb diets.
Is kiwi high in sugar and carbs?
Kiwis contain around 14 grams of carbs which includes 9 grams of sugar and 3 grams of fiber. Whether this is high depends on your benchmarks. Compared to vegetables this would be high. Compared to legumes and baked goods this is often low.
