No one wants to give up the welcoming warmth of coffee when they decide to go keto. Thankfully, you don’t have to! In fact, says our own resident keto expert and Certified Nutrition Specialist Amy Berger, keto coffee is actually just coffee.
What keto-friendly creamers can I use?
“You don’t need to add tons of butter or MCT oil or coconut oil to make your coffee keto,” she explains. “The first and most important principle of keto is to keep your carb intake very low; it’s not about loading things up with fat. So any and every coffee is keto whether or not it has any fat in it, as long as you don’t put a lot of sugar in it or other sweeteners that have a big impact on blood sugar and insulin.”
That said, most coffee lovers love that they can sweeten up their java; even the finest coffees have an inherent bitterness.
So does going keto mean you can’t go sweet? Nope. The only sweeteners that Amy strictly avoids are regular sugar and the very sugary nondairy creamers. But there are a ton of keto-friendly options, she notes, including:
- saccharin
- sucralose
- aspartame
- stevia
- monk fruit
- allulose
- erythritol
- Keto Chow
Feel free to add those to your morning brew.
What keto creamer is best?
“The main advantage is that these sweeteners have little to no effect on blood sugar and insulin, so you can use them and still get the metabolic effects you want from keto,” says Amy, who opts for saccharin in her morning mug. “I know artificial sweeteners are highly controversial, but I’m not convinced by the research, and I don’t have any safety concerns regarding long-term use of them.”
The flavor and sweetness of your morning cuppa is pretty personal. Ask someone how much and which sweeteners and flavors they like, and you’ll get a different answer every time.
“There’s no right or wrong, as long as what you’re doing with your coffee—or any other aspect of your diet, for that matter—isn’t standing in the way of getting the results you want,” Amy says. “It really depends on personal preference. There are some sugar-free or zero-carb flavoring syrups, which are perfect for adding a little something extra.”
Check out our article for the best-tasting keto sweeteners if you’re unsure where to start.
Are keto sweeteners safe?
Some keto purists might insist black coffee is the only way to go, but Amy doesn’t agree. “That is not only unrealistic for a lot of people, it’s also just plain unnecessary,” she observes. “The point of keto isn’t to avoid all things that taste sweet. The point is to keep your blood sugar and insulin within a healthy range and to fuel your body primarily on fat.
“Using artificial sweeteners and other sweetening agents that have a very minimal impact on blood sugar will not interfere with the health benefits or weight loss that most people are looking to get when they follow a keto diet. People have been using artificial sweeteners for decades and getting great results from keto.”
Amy does caution that sugar alcohols are a different story; some of them do impact blood sugar, particularly when added to things such as cereal, granola, ice cream, and cookies that are marketed as keto but are actually pretty high in carbs. But at the levels typically used in coffee, they’re not a problem.
In the end
There’s no right or wrong way to enjoy coffee on keto. “If you hate black coffee, don’t drink black coffee,” encourages Amy. She emphasizes this truth that lies at keto success: do what works for you. If you want to actually stick to keto for the long-term, then you have to like what you eat and drink.
Looking for a full keto meal?
Then try Keto Chow! Keto Chow is a meal powder with 1/3 of your daily recommended nutrients. It adds delicious flavor to your morning coffee (thanks to the 30+ different flavors you can choose from) and only takes seconds to make.
