Nuts can be helpful for ketogenic diets but not always. Find out whether macadamia nuts are keto-friendly and the alternatives available.
Macadamia nuts contain around 4.8 grams of net carbs (total carbohydrates minus fiber) per 100 grams or about 40 macadamia nuts.
This is low enough to say that macadamia nuts are often keto-friendly.
At the same time, you will likely still need to keep an eye on your portion sizes and the other things you eat to stay in ketosis. Even foods with small amounts of carbs are not always keto.
Additionally, even in situations where macadamia nuts are keto-friendly, it may be worth holding yourself back to limit your calorie intake.
Carbs in macadamia nuts
To figure out whether macadamia nuts are keto-friendly for your situation and in what amounts you need to know how many carbs they contain.
100 grams of macadamia nuts contain the following amounts of carbs (1):
- Total carbs: 12.8 grams
- Of which fiber: 8 grams
- Net carbs: 4.8 grams
Even compared to other low-carb nuts, macadamias are low in net carbohydrates.
The amount above is also low enough to say that macadamia nuts will often be keto-friendly.
On the flip side, you need to keep in mind that there are many situations where 4.8 grams of net carbs will also be too much to stay in ketosis.
One cup of macadamia nuts is about 132 grams and contains the following amounts of carbs:
- Total carbs: 16.9 grams
- Of which fiber: 10.6 grams
- Net carbs: 6.3 grams
By eating larger amounts of macadamia nuts you will also consume more carbohydrates. This would make it harder to stay in ketosis with a diet that includes this food.
You can also take this principle in the other direction and limit your portions of macadamia nuts to consume fewer carbs.
Other nutrition information macadamia nuts
The number of carbohydrates in macadamia nuts is important when following a ketogenic diet but other nutrients matter too.
Fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals will still play important roles in health goals like losing weight and even staying in ketosis.
100 grams of macadamia nuts contain the following nutrients (1):
- Calories: 716
- Protein: 7.8 grams
- Carbs: 12.8 grams
- Part of the carbs that is fiber: 4.8 grams
- Fat: 76.1 grams
- Thiamin: 47% of the DV (Daily Value)
- Magnesium: 30% of the DV
- Copper: 29% of the DV
- Phosphorus: 20% of the DV
- Iron: 15% of the DV
And some other vitamins and minerals in other amounts.
Besides being relatively low in net carbs, macadamia nuts also contain nice amounts of fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals. This can be helpful for certain health goals.
On the other hand, you also want to keep in mind that macadamia nuts contain a lot of calories. You may want to limit your macadamia nut portions for weight loss.
Why macadamia nuts are not always keto-friendly
Being low in carbs is often not enough for foods on a ketogenic diet. Even small amounts of macadamia nuts can sometimes kick you out of ketosis.
To avoid this, you want to double-check the keto basics.
Ketogenic diets are ways of eating where you limit your carbohydrate consumption enough to get into ketosis. Ketosis is a state where your body mainly uses fat as fuel (2).
Under what level your carbohydrate consumption has to be to reach this state depends on many details. Some of these include your weight, muscle mass, and workout habits.
This fact of ketogenic diets does make things more complicated. However, there are still general guidelines that can give you an idea of how many macadamia nuts you can eat before getting kicked out of ketosis.
More specifically, a typical guideline is that you want to eat 55%-60% of your calories in fat, 30%-35% in protein, and 5%-10% in carbohydrates to get and stay in ketosis.
Most people will get that they can eat around 20 to 50 grams of carbohydrates a day if they do the calculations.
Keep in mind that you don’t include the fiber in macadamia nuts and other foods in these amounts even though it is a category of carbs. Your body deals with fiber in more keto-friendly ways.
How many macadamias can you eat on keto?
If you apply the percentages above to your calories and figure out how many carbs you already ate, you can make an estimation about how many macadamias you can eat on your keto diet.
As an example, let’s say you conclude that you can eat about 20 grams of net carbohydrates before getting kicked out of ketosis.
Additionally, you already ate 17.6 net carbs in other foods.
In a situation like that, you could eat slightly less than 50 grams or about 20 macadamias on your keto diet.
Again, the ratios above are not perfect for everyone. If needed, you can play it safe by making your portions of macadamia nuts smaller.
How to avoid eating too many macadamia nuts on keto
From the things above you should understand there are cases where you have to limit how many macadamia nuts you eat to stay in ketosis or for other goals like weight loss.
Grabbing a big bag of macadamia nuts while watching a movie will typically not be a good way to do this.
Instead, try following some of the tips below to keep your portions of macadamia nuts more reasonable on a ketogenic diet:
- Estimate in advance how many grams of macadamia nuts would align with your keto goals
- Weigh out this amount of macadamia nuts and put the rest somewhere else
- Don’t eat unlimited amounts of macadamia nuts while doing other activities like reading a book
- If you really crave macadamia nuts too much you may need to buy smaller or no portions
Whether it is staying in ketosis or losing weight, if you are not reaching your goals, you may need to reconsider how many macadamias you eat.
What is your goal with keto?
While macadamia nuts are reasonably keto-friendly, they can still raise your carbohydrate consumption too much to stay in ketosis.
How much of a problem this is depends on your goal with ketogenic diets.
For example, there are individuals who need/want to stay in ketosis 24/7. If you are in this category you may still be able to eat macadamias but you likely want to be careful about your portions.
On the other hand, macadamia nuts can still be helpful for getting healthier. Even if they kick you out of ketosis.
Additionally, even if they are keto-friendly, macadamia nuts can still be fattening. Calories still matter for weight loss when following a ketogenic diet.
Related posts:
Are macadamia nuts low-carb?
100 grams of macadamia nuts contain around 12.8 grams of carbohydrates (including 8 grams of fiber). Since net carbohydrates are the most relevant, you can say that macadamia nuts are relatively low-carb.
