Are Pears Keto-Friendly? (& Substitutes)

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Ketogenic diets often do not allow fruits but there are exceptions. Find out whether pears are keto-friendly and what substitutes could be better.

Raw pears contain around 12.1 grams of net carbohydrates (total carbs minus fiber) per 100 grams.

While there are worse fruits, it is fair to say that pears are typically not that keto-friendly.

In theory, you could likely still eat tiny amounts of pear and stay in ketosis. However, you likely don’t want to use so many of your daily carbohydrates on such a small amount of food.

If you absolutely want to eat something with a sweeter taste on a ketogenic diet, there are lower-carb fruits that tend to be more helpful.

Carbs in pears

The amounts of carbs in pears can make it clear why this fruit is typically not keto-friendly and how small your portions should be if you want to eat it anyway.

100 grams of pear contains the following amounts of carbs (1):

  • Total carbs: 15.2 grams
  • Of which fiber: 3.1 grams
  • Net carbs: 12.1 grams

Because you likely already consume decent amounts of carbohydrates in the other foods you eat, the 12.1 grams of net carbs in 100 grams of pear is likely enough to kick you out of ketosis.

In turn, you can say that pears are generally not keto-friendly.

One fresh pear is about 180 grams and contains the following amounts of carbs:

  • Total carbs: 27.4 grams
  • Of which fiber: 5.6 grams
  • Net carbs: 21.8 grams

By eating more grams of pear, you will also consume more carbs. In turn, it becomes even harder to stay in ketosis while eating pears.

You can also use this principle in the opposite way by consuming smaller amounts of pears but even this fruit contains good amounts of carbs.

Other nutrition information pears

How many carbohydrates pears contain is definitely important when following a ketogenic diet but you want to keep in mind that there are other nutrients too.

Fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals still influence your health in a variety of ways. This even includes whether you stay in ketosis but also more importantly, how good your health will be.

100 grams of raw pear contain the following nutrients (1):

  • Calories: 59
  • Protein: 0.4 grams
  • Carbs: 15.2 grams
  • Part of the carbs that is fiber: 3.1 grams
  • Fat: 0.2 grams
  • Vitamin C: 7% of the DV (Daily Value)
  • Vitamin K: 5% of the DV
  • Copper: 4% of the DV
  • Potassium: 3% of the DV
  • Magnesium: 2% of the DV

And some other vitamins and minerals in smaller amounts.

In some cases, you can consider adding small amounts of certain foods that are high in carbs on keto to get valuable nutrients.

However, pears are typically not one of these cases. Besides in terms of fiber, pears are not that impressive when it comes to the nutrients they contain.

Why pear can be keto-friendly in small amounts

Going over the keto fundamentals can help you understand why you could consider small amounts of pear and how to avoid overdoing it.

You can consider any way of eating where you lower your carb intake enough to get into ketosis as a ketogenic diet. Ketosis is a state where you mainly burn fat as fuel (2).

Below what level you need to keep your carb intake to get into ketosis depends on details like your body weight, muscle mass, genes, and movement habits.

This keto fact makes things more complicated but there are still general recommendations. These are not perfect for everyone but can help you get an idea of how many grams of pears you can still eat on keto.

One standard recommendation is that you want to eat 55%-60% of your calories in fat, 30%-35% in protein, and 5%-10% in carbohydrates.

For most people, this means consuming about 20 to 50 grams of carbs a day.

Something important to note is that you typically don’t include the fibers in pears and other foods in these amounts. While these are actually carbs, your body deals with them in more keto-friendly ways.

Are Asian pears keto-friendly?

Not all pears are exactly the same. One variation is the Asian pear. 100 grams of this contain the following amounts of carbs (3):

  • Total carbs: 10.6 grams
  • Of which fiber: 3.6 grams
  • Net carbs: 7 grams

Interestingly enough, Asian pears are a lot lower in carbs than the regular version.

Not quite to the point where Asian pears would be keto-friendly but it should be easier to stay in ketosis while eating this variation.

Are bartlett pears keto-friendly?

Bartlett pears are another specific type of pear. 100 grams of this variation contain these amounts of carbs (4):

  • Total carbs: 15 grams
  • Of which fiber: 3.1 grams
  • Net carbs: 11.7 grams

While bartlett pears are lower in carbs than certain other types of pears, they are still not that keto-friendly.

How to avoid eating too much pear on keto

If you want to stay in ketosis while eating pear you will have to keep your portions small.

Slicing up a big bowl of pears and hoping that you don’t eat too many carbs is typically not a keto-friendly strategy.

Following some of the tips below can be helpful for not eating too much pear on a ketogenic diet:

  • Figure out beforehand how many grams of pears you can eat
  • Prepare this many grams of pears and put the rest somewhere else
  • Don’t eat unlimited amounts of pear while doing other things like watching TV
  • If you really crave pears too much you may need to buy smaller portions or none at all

Keep in mind that your initial estimations can still be off. You may need to make your portions of pears smaller to actually stay in ketosis.

Substitutes for pear on keto

You are likely interested in pears because you want to eat something sweeter than most of the standard keto-friendly foods.

Luckily, you don’t have to give up this goal entirely. There are a nice amount of fruits that are lower in net carbohydrates than pears.

The values next to the substitutes are the amounts of net carbs per 100 grams (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10):

  • 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, these fruits still contain good amounts of carbs. You may still need to apply some of the pear portion control tips above to keep your diet keto-friendly.

Why do you want to stay in ketosis?

By now it should be clear that there is a big chance that eating pear will kick you out of ketosis. Depending on why you want to stay in ketosis this may not be the end of the world.

More specifically, pears can still be good for weight loss and decent for health even if they are not keto-friendly. This diet is typically not the only way to achieve these health goals.

On the other hand, there are individuals who need/want to stay in ketosis 24/7. These people likely want to stay away from pears.

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FAQ

Is pear good for low-carb diets?

Pears contain around 12.1 grams of net carbohydrates per 100 grams. Since this is somewhat higher, it is fair to say that pear is generally not good for low-carb diets.

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Author:

Matt Claes founded Weight Loss Made Practical to help people get in shape and stay there after losing 37 pounds and learning the best of the best about weight loss, health, and longevity for over 4 years. Over these years he has become an expert in nutrition, exercise, and other physical health aspects.