Fruits are typically not that good for ketogenic diets but there are exceptions. Find out whether passion fruit is keto-friendly or not.
100 grams of passion fruit contains around 13 grams of net carbs (total carbohydrates minus fiber).
There could be some situations where you could eat a small amount and stay in ketosis.
That being said, since they are somewhat higher in carbs, it is fair to say that passion fruit is generally not keto-friendly.
In any case, there are lower-carb alternatives if you just want something sweeter but don’t necessarily like passion fruit that much.
How many total and net carbs there are in passion fruit
The number of total and net carbs in foods like passion fruit are important details when following a ketogenic diet.
100 grams of passion fruit contain the following amounts of carbs (1):
- Total carbs: 23.4 grams
- Of which fiber: 10.4 grams
- Net carbs: 13 grams
If you consider the amounts of carbohydrates people typically already get from other foods, the extra 13 grams of net carbs in 100 grams of passion fruit is often too much to stay in ketosis.
The inside of one passion fruit is about 18 grams and contains the following amounts of carbs:
- Total carbs: 4.2 grams
- Of which fiber: 1.9 grams
- Net carbs: 2.3 grams
As you can expect, eating smaller amounts of passion fruit will also make it so you consume fewer carbs. 2.3 grams of net carbs is a lot more reasonable for a ketogenic diet.
At the same time, that would still be a lot of carbohydrates for such a small amount of food.
Other nutrition information passion fruit
In some cases, you can consider adding small amounts of nutritious food to your ketogenic diet even if they are somewhat higher in carbs.
This is because other nutrients like fat, protein, vitamins, and minerals are still important for your health no matter what diet you follow.
100 grams of raw passion fruit contain the following nutrients (1):
- Calories: 97
- Protein: 2.2 grams
- Carbs: 23.4 grams
- Part of the carbs that is fiber: 10.4 grams
- Fat: 0.7 grams
- Vitamin C: 50% of the DV (Daily Value)
- Vitamin A: 25% of the DV
- Potassium: 10% of the DV
- Iron: 9% of the DV
- Riboflavin: 8% of the DV
And some other vitamins and minerals in smaller amounts.
Passion fruit does contain a few valuable nutrients in nice amounts. However, these are likely not enough to add passion fruit to your keto diet from a nutrition standpoint.
There are many foods that are lower in carbs and higher in nutrients.
Carbs in passion fruit juice
There are multiple ways to eat passion fruit. One of these preparation methods is juicing the passion fruit.
You do need to know that this version has a different nutrient composition than the regular fruit. This changes how much fits into your keto diet.
You can find the amounts of carbs in raw passion fruit and passion fruit juice in the table below (1, 2).
| Values Per 100g | Raw Passion Fruit | Passion Fruit Juice |
|---|---|---|
| Total Carbohydrates | 23.4 g | 13.6 g |
| Of Which Fiber | 10.4 g | 0.2 g |
| Net Carbs | 13 g | 13.4 g |
When it comes to the amounts of net carbs, the difference is relatively small.
You do want to keep in mind that it is a lot easier to drink half a glass of passion fruit juice than to eat 100 grams of passion fruit.
Additionally, fiber can help reduce to what extent the passion fruit spikes your blood sugar.
Next, the example of passion fruit juice is without added sugar. Many brands do add sugar which makes the passion fruit juice less keto-friendly.
In short, if you absolutely want to consume passion fruit on keto, you likely want to stick to the regular raw version.
Why you can sometimes eat passion fruit on keto
While it is typically not recommended, you could sometimes eat passion fruit on keto in very small amounts. It can be smart to quickly go over the ketogenic diets to make sure you don’t overdo it.
Ketogenic diets are ways of eating where you get and stay in ketosis. Ketosis is a state where you mainly burn fat as fuel (3).
To do this you have to keep your carbohydrate intake low enough. Exactly what is enough depends on details like your weight, body composition, and workout habits.
That being said, there are some general guidelines that can help you get an idea of how many grams of passion fruit and/or carbs you can eat on keto.
A typical recommendation is consuming 55%-60% of your calories in fat, 30%-35% in protein, and 5%-10% in carbohydrates.
For many people, this will mean eating around 20 to 50 grams of carbs a day.
Keep in mind that you typically don’t include the fiber in food. Fiber is a category of carbohydrates but your body processes them in more keto-friendly ways.
With these keto fundamentals, you get somewhat of a better idea of how much passion fruit in combination with what diets would still be small enough to keep you in ketosis.
How to avoid eating too much passion fruit on keto
So passion fruit is generally not keto-friendly but you could fit it into your diet in small amounts.
If you want to keep your portions small enough, it is typically not a good idea to put a big bowl of passion fruits in front of you and just hope you won’t eat too much.
Some of the following tips can help you keep your portions more reasonable:
- Figure out in advance how many grams of passion fruit would fit in your ketogenic diet
- Weigh out this amount and keep the other passion fruits out of sight
- Don’t eat unlimited amounts while doing other activities like watching a movie
- Consider buying smaller portions of passion fruit or none at all if you can’t resist them
Keep in mind that your initial estimations of how many carbs you can eat while staying in ketosis can be suboptimal.
You may have to adjust your portions of passion fruits over time.
Substitutes for passion fruit on keto
Luckily, passion fruit is not the only way you can eat something sweeter on a ketogenic diet. Passion fruits are not the worst option but there are many lower-carb fruits too.
You may like these passion fruit substitutes just as much but find it easier to stay in ketosis with them. The numbers next to them are the amounts of net carbs per 100 grams (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9):
- 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
You do need to keep in mind that these substitutes still contain carbohydrates. Sometimes in high amounts.
That means you may still need to control your portions to stay in ketosis.
Why are you following a keto diet?
By now it should be clear that passion fruits are generally not keto-friendly. Even consuming small amounts can kick you out of ketosis.
That being said, whether this is actually that much of a problem or not depends on why you follow a ketogenic diet.
More specifically, there are people who need/want to stay in strict ketosis 24/7. These individuals likely want to stay away from passion fruits.
On the other hand, passion fruits could still be somewhat helpful for losing weight and general health. Even if they are too high in carbs to be considered keto.
Following a ketogenic diet can help weight loss and health but it is typically not the only way to achieve these things.
Lastly, passion fruit juice is typically not recommended. No matter whether keto, weight loss, and/or health are your main goals.
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FAQ
Are passion fruits high in carbs?
100 grams of passion fruits contain around 23.4 grams of carbohydrates. Even if you consider that 10.4 grams of these are fiber, you can say that passion fruits are somewhat higher in carbs.
Does passion fruit spike blood sugar?
Similar to most foods, passion fruit spikes your blood sugar to some extent. Its glycemic index is around 30 which is still considered to be low. That being said, there are many foods that spike your blood sugar to a lesser extent too.
