Frequently Asked Questions.

Ingredients are available on each product’s page. A list of some common allergens are below. Please note, we cannot guarantee that this list reflects all flavors or allergens. If you have concerns about any allergen, please contact us at 385-645-5386 or hello@ketochow.xyz and we will speak to our suppliers to ensure we have the most accurate information possible.

Common Allergens

Gluten and wheat

• All flavors of Keto Chow are gluten-free and wheat-free.

Soy

• All flavors of Keto Chow are soy-free.

Peanuts

PLEASE NOTE: All Keto Chow is manufactured at the same facility. However, after processing flavors that do contain peanuts, the facility is cleaned according to FDA guidelines to prevent cross-contamination.

• Chocolate Peanut Butter
• Peanut Butter

Tree Nuts

(almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, brazil nuts, cashews, pecans, pistachios and macadamia nuts, etc…)

Nutmeg

• Apple Pie
• Chai Latte
• Eggnog
• Pumpkin Spice Caramel

Aside from nutmeg, all flavors of Keto Chow are tree nut-free (including the pistachio which does not have pistachios in it). Pecan Sticky Bun does not contain tree nuts.

Dairy

• Dairy-free options are available. Keto Chow Core, Base Powder, Creamy Tomato Basil, Spicy Taco Soup Base, and Beef Soup Base.

Eggs

• Eggnog
• Egg White Protein

Other Allergens

Cinnamon

• Snickerdoodle
• Pumpkin Spice Caramel
• Apple Pie
• Pecan Sticky Bun
• Gingerbread

Tomatoes

• Creamy Tomato Basil
• Spicy Taco Soup Base

Fish

• All flavors of Keto Chow are fish-free.

Lupin

• All flavors of Keto Chow are lupin-free.

Shellfish and Mollusks

• All flavors of Keto Chow are shellfish-free.

Sesame

• All flavors of Keto Chow are sesame-free.

Pineapple extracts

• Pina Colada

Allspice

• Apple Pie
• Chai Latte
• Gingerbread
• Pumpkin Spice Caramel

Coffee

• Caramel Macchiato
• Irish Cream
• Mocha

Cardamom:

• Apple Pie
• Chai Latte

Ginger:

• Gingerbread
• Pumpkin Spice Caramel

Cloves:

• Gingerbread

Basil:

• Creamy Tomato Basil

The short answer is no. But here’s why:

The primary goal of Keto Chow is very simple: simply and easily get the best nutrients for humans and make eating a ketogenic diet more enjoyable and sustainable. All of the decisions we make, including which ingredients we use, derive from that goal. We are more interested in using the best, most nutritious ingredients than using ingredients that would qualify to be certified organic. It would be a disservice to our customers that rely upon us for the highest quality nutrition possible to show more concern for the label than for the actual effect those ingredients will have.

We understand that products that are certified “organic” or “GMO-Free” is important to many people. Caring about your health is a great thing! Our research directs us to put actionable data and science above philosophy. This, unfortunately, means that if you only purchase “organic” products, this isn’t the best option for you.

Yes! Check out the Keto Chow Core line for dairy-free options.

Yes! Time-restricted eating is another name for intermittent fasting. You limit your mealtimes to fall within a designated window, and fast outside that window. You can use Keto Chow as a meal replacement during one (or more) of your scheduled meals or eating windows.

Keto Chow is designed to provide 1/3 of what your body needs in every serving—including sodium.

In fact, many people on keto, especially as they are first starting out, don’t get enough sodium. This can result in imbalanced or low electrolytes, causing flu-like symptoms. (This is sometimes called the keto flu.)

Many find they feel their best by adding sodium above and beyond what Keto Chow has. You can check out our other keto supplements to get the extra electrolytes you need.

Some simple math will solve this dilemma. Take your daily calorie target and divide it by two. You can then use our How To Chow graphic (down below). This will help you determine how much fat you need for half of your daily calories in one shake.

Yep! At its core, Keto Chow is a low-carb meal replacement shake. It also just happens to be 1/3 of everything you need in a day…and also super convenient.

In May 2018, we removed Nickel and Boron from the vitamin/mineral formulation of Keto Chow. You’ll find this change on the Keto Chow Change Log where we publicly list what we’ve changed in each revision of Keto Chow.

Nickel and Boron both *might* be necessary for good health (see this article), but there are no clear results that can be looked at for absolute certainty.

Why do Nickel and Boron remain on the ingredients list? There is still a chance people could get one of the old bags. We would rather lose a potential customer than make those who are allergic to nickel ill. We’ll list it on until ALL of the product we have on-hand has switched to version 2.1.2 or newer.

Most flavors of Keto Chow do not contain caffeine. The exceptions are below, with the amount per serving listed.

• Mocha – 110 mg. (from coffee powder, added caffeine, and cocoa powder)
• Chocolate (Classic and Core) – 9.2 mg. (from 4g of cocoa powder)
• Chocolate Mint – 3.45 mg. (from cocoa powder)
• Irish Cream – 2.5 mg. (from coffee powder)
• Caramel Macchiato – 0.93 mg. (from coffee powder)

Learn more about our label transparency here.

Despite being viewed by some as the “bad” macro, fat is essential for your body. Even aside from its necessity in biological processes, it also plays an important role in making sure you stay full—making it less likely that you will overeat and consume extra calories. It’s what makes low-carb eating sustainable. Without enough fat to keep you full, your body will not be able to maintain this way of eating. Especially in the transition to keto, consuming extra fat helps your body learn how to burn fat for fuel instead of the carbs that it’s used to. I suggest thinking of it like this: on keto, keep carbs low, make sure you reach your recommended protein goal each day, and then add fat to satiety.

First things first: there is some confusion between “Splenda” (that you buy at the grocery store) and pure sucralose. Splenda uses bulking agents so that you can “measure it like sugar” – typically this will be 99.8% maltodextrin which is simply a carbohydrate and no good for a Ketogenic or low carb diet. The maltodextrin in store-bought Splenda will absolutely spike your blood sugar. Pure sucralose, on the other hand, will not. Even if it did have an effect on blood sugar, there is simply too little of it to have any effect. In Keto Chow, we use 0.08g per serving. To put that in perspective: that is 1/64 the weight of a US nickel. Even 0.08g of actual sugar will only raise your blood sugar by 0.32mg/dL – essentially no effect.

You may also find people snidely referencing sucralose as “chlorinated sugar” – assuming that any form of chlorine is bad for humans. This would be ignoring Sodium Chloride (salt) and other essential chemical compounds that contain chlorine.

OK, back to the question of why we use sucralose for many of the sweet flavors of Keto Chow. The short answer is: because stevia doesn’t taste very good to the overwhelming majority of our taste testers. Ultimately, stevia, monk fruit, erythritol, or any other “natural sweeteners” are not magical and cause the same reactions in humans as anything else that’s sweet so why not use the best tasting option? We actually paid a 3rd party to do a blind taste test and they confirmed that Keto Chow with sucralose tastes “more natural” than products using Stevia, Erythritol, or Monk Fruit.

• Erythritol and Allulose would seem a good choice but they DOUBLE the weight and volume of Keto Chow, instead of 21 meals you’d get 10 for the same price and shipping. That sucks.
• Keto Chow CORE is available with either NO sweetener (add your own!) or with Stevia
• We do have the “Natural Strawberry” that does use monk fruit instead of sucralose. It costs more to produce and doesn’t taste as good (in my opinion).
• We have the “Base Powder” version which you combine with your choice of flavored/sweetened protein powder – lets you use whatever you’d like. Want to use egg white protein with Stevia? Go for it! You’ll still get all of the vitamins and minerals you’d normally get with Keto Chow.
• We have 4 savory soup flavors (you mix them hot!) that do not use any sweetener, because that would be gross.

Allow me to quote Julie from the Keto Villiage Facebook group – she illustrates why we use sucralose really well:

Holy what the hell. Go buy Keto Chow. It is NO joke. I am not a packaged foods kinda gal but needed something to get me back on the Keto track. I was thinking, honestly, “ok, I can choke this down for a couple weeks.” Um. NOT EVEN CLOSE. This shiz is delicious!!! And easy to make! Holy wow!
I bought both the peanut butter chocolate and the raspberry cheesecake. I blended 1/2 c heavy cream and 1/2 cup coconut milk with ice with a scoop of chow. Thick like a milkshake. No weird malt “slim fast” taste.

(Chris here) I personally use Keto Chow for at least 2 meals a day, often 3. Instead of something that I have to suffer through, I want something so delectable that I’m sad when I run out. It should taste so good that I swish it around in my mouth, enjoying the flavor; not plugging my nose and chugging it as fast as possible. And I won’t sell something that’s gross or barely tolerable. It’s gotta be delightful and that’s what you get with sucralose: the best flavor possible. A meal replacement that doesn’t taste AMAZING isn’t helpful in its intended use.

What about the rat studies showing changes in gut bacteria when exposed to sucralose? Humans are not rats. Those rats weren’t consuming acacia gum. Those rats weren’t on a ketogenic diet. Even more important, is the DOSE that the rats received. The dosage is usually expressed in mg/Kg or how many milligrams of sucralose were given per Kilogram of body weight. In the US, it was estimated (top of page 3) that most people consume 98mg of sucralose per day resulting in a dose of 1.6mg/Kg. In a recent study to determine the effects of sucralose, the rats were given an average of 80.4 mg/kg. Let’s see how that compares to what *you* would get by consuming Keto Chow: Let’s assume a 180lb person, they would need to consume 82 meals of Keto Chow *A DAY* in order to get the level of exposure in that rat study. If you measure in KG the math gets really easy, a 75kg person would need 75 meals.

The Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) level for sucralose was set at 5 mg/kg body weight per day (mg/kg/d) (page 10) in the US and 15 mg/kg/d in the EU. So you’d only be close to that using Keto Chow if you do it 3x a day and weigh 100lbs/45kg.

In a widely refuted study from 2016, researchers gave mice 62mg/kg of sucralose and claimed a connection to leukemia – the science on that paper was so poorly done, an entire paper was published taking it apart. If you ever see someone claim sucralose is implicated in cancer or leukemia, they are only reading the original sensational headlines and ignoring the later contrary published proof. A 180lb person would need 62 meals of Keto Chow a day to get the 62mg/kg dose from the study.

In a study published in May 2021, researchers exposed different bacteria to 3 artificial sweeteners (saccharin, sucralose, and aspartame) in Petri dishes (“in vitro”) and then measured their growth, how they formed colonies, and how effectively they can attack mammal intestinal cells. Of the 3 sweeteners tested, Keto Chow only uses pure sucralose. Saccharin modified bacterial growth and all 3 made it easier for the bacteria to form biofilms and to attack intestinal cells. Again, this was under laboratory conditions, not in living organisms – it also didn’t have the added benefits of acacia gum which are likely to erase all of the potential issues found.

One of the very interesting aspects of the study was the researchers also tested what would happen if a compound (zinc sulfate) that blocks sweet tastes was added. Adding this compound changed how the bacteria reacted, based on my reading of the study, that would indicate that it is sweetness causing many of the changes. If this is indeed the cause, that would likely indicate that ALL sweet substances would similarly affect the bacteria, including: stevia, monk fruit, sugar alcohols (like erythritol, allulose, xylitol, etc…), and regular plain sugar.

Unfortunately, the researchers stopped short of testing the logical next step which would be using “natural” sweeteners (including stevia, monk fruit, and actual sugar) as a control to contrast against, they only tested the 3 artificial sweeteners against no sweetener. Because there isn’t a legitimate control in the experiment, it’s currently not possible to derive any conclusions about whether artificial sweeteners cause substantially different results in humans compared to other sweet compounds. This is one of the reasons why it’s important that you not rely on the “news” version that’s been enhanced with incendiary headlines but actually read the full text of the published papers.

Similarly, there was a study in 2013 where researchers gave obese, insulin-sensitive individuals, who did not typically use sucralose, stevia, or monk-fruit either water or sucralose; then gave them 75g of glucose and measured their blood sugar response. The study notes that there are many non-nutritive sweeteners (sucralose, saccharin, aspartame, acesulfame potassium, neotame, stevia, and monk fruit) but they only tested sucralose. In fact, the study says “it has been demonstrated that the gastrointestinal tract (4,5) and the pancreas (6,7) can detect sugars through taste receptors and transduction mechanisms that are similar to those identified in taste cells in the mouth.” – that would indicate that monk fruit, stevia, allulose, etc… would be expected to have the same result as sucralose, since they are (plain and simple) sweet!

In 2023 a study was published where the researchers looked at a form of sucralose called “sucralose-6-acetate” which they found at typical concentrations of 0.5% in samples of pure sucralose. They performed a number of experiments where they tested sucralose-6-acetate in different concentrations and saw what it did to cells and DNA. They found that high concentrations caused changes in gene expression, intestinal barrier function (but only without typical intestinal bacteria), and breaks in DNA. The LOWEST concentration that problems were observed was at 353 micrograms per milliliter. Assuming their figure of 0.5% and taking a 0.08g dose of sucralose in a 600ml serving of Keto Chow, that would calculate to a theoretical 0.667 micrograms per milliliter in Keto Chow, that is 0.18% of the lowest experiment concentration that showed problems – or the experiment was 529.5 times higher than what is found in Keto Chow.

We do not recommend increasing the sweetener in Keto Chow by 529 times. That would be silly.

Most flavors of Keto Chow use sucralose as the sweetener, but there are some exceptions. The savory flavors of Keto Chow (Savory Chicken Soup, Spicy Taco Soup, Beef Soup Base, and Creamy Tomato Basil) are unsweetened; Natural Strawberry uses monk fruit; and the Core line has an unsweetened option as well as one sweetened with stevia.

There are several key differences between 1.5 (the version you can make yourself) and 2.0+. Some are also differences from 1.5 to 1.9.

• A custom-made vitamin and mineral pre-mix. This replaces several ingredients (the vitamin pill, Calcium Phosphate, Vitamin K, Choline L-Bitartrate, Calcium/Magnesium Citrate, Vitamin D3). There’s also more Magnesium. Other vitamins and minerals have also been adjusted above minimum levels to optimal levels, and optimal forms for bioavailability.
• Additional Potassium to comply with the new US dietary requirements.
• Better Magnesium source that makes is a lot easier on digestion.
• Protein Isolate which has significantly lower carbohydrates compared to the concentrate/isolate/hydrolyzed protein blend used in 0.7-1.9. Most flavors are only 0.56g net carbs before adding any heavy cream.
• Custom made flavors. Earlier versions used off-the-shelf protein powder with flavoring. Using our own makes the flavors more stable and lowers the cost.
• Eliminated 2 sweeteners: AceK and Stevia
• Mixed and packaged in a different facility. All of the flavors (except Chocolate Peanut Butter) are now completely peanut-free and safe for people with peanut allergies.

Depending on the flavor, Keto Chow uses either milk protein isolate or beef protein and beef bone broth. You can find the amino acid profiles for those on the Keto Chow nutrition page.

There are nine “essential” amino acids. Meaning, your body can’t synthesize them: phenylalanine, valine, threonine, tryptophan, methionine, leucine, isoleucine, lysine, and histidine. You can find all nine in both protein-types of Keto Chow.

Women do not need to make any changes or adjustments. Every user of Keto Chow simply adds fat to reach the number of calories they need.

Women may find that the Ladies on Keto Reddit have some really good resources and are super nice and helpful.

That’s the Vitamin A, encapsulated to keep it from oxidizing. After mixing, the capsule dissolves and releases the vitamins, resulting in red-colored streaks within the mixture. It’s completely safe and will go away with a quick shake.

Some plant-based spices, like cinnamon and cocoa powder, contain enough lead to trigger a “reproductive harm” proposition 65 warning (if you consume 1000 times the amount it can cause birth defects). The flavors of Keto Chow that contain these spices (along with any food product that contains these spices) are required to have a Prop 65 warning. You can get more details about Keto Chow and heavy metal levels on this page.

We mix and package Keto Chow in a peanut-free facility. We mix and package the Chocolate Peanut Butter flavor at a facility several miles away to avoid contamination. Therefore, Keto Chow is safe for peanut allergy sufferers (except for the Chocolate Peanut Butter).

The number of calories in each meal depends on the amount of fat you add. Use the How to Chow graphic below as a guide for measuring with heavy whipping cream, butter, or avocado oil. You can also check out the Custom Calorie Calculator, and our preparation instructions page.

You just need to find a suitable source for 1300mg of Omega 3 fatty acids. Most fish oil pills will advertise boldly how much fish oil they have. You have to look close to find the amount of EPA and DHA. With typical fish oil pills, you need 5 a day to get 1300mg. If you want to use a different source of Omega 3 (algal oil, krill oil, etc.), look closely at the label and do the math.

Keto Chow does not contain potato starch or any resistant starch.

It is! The earliest versions of Keto Chow contained soy lecithin. However, that has been replaced with sunflower lecithin, so Keto Chow no longer contains any soy ingredients.

You can view the nutrition facts and ingredients for the different flavors of Keto Chow on this page.

As far as allergens go, Keto Chow contains dairy and may contain peanuts or traces of peanuts.

No. The Banana flavor uses 100% artificial flavoring. Similar to banana-flavored Runt candy or Laffy Taffy, for example.

Many people who have problems with lactose are able to handle the relatively small amounts in Keto Chow without problems, or by using a lactase enzyme supplement. See this post for details.

In terms of what fat to add to your shake, heavy cream is relatively low in lactose per calorie, but you can also add butter, clarified butter, coconut oil, coconut cream, or avocado oil. You may also choose to add a small amount of MCT oil to another fat source, but we don’t recommend having it as your only fat source in your shake.

Yep! Check out our Keto Chow Core line and Base Powder.

Yes, Keto Chow is certified as gluten-free.

Keto Chow is not certified as kosher or halal.

Keto Chow shakes that use milk protein are not vegan, but are likely vegetarian. Keto Chow shakes that use beef protein are not vegan or vegetarian. Aside from the protein, there are a few other ingredients that vegans or vegetarians may want to take note of:

To the best of my knowledge, everything else is vegetarian aside from the beef protein.

Most of the flavors of Keto Chow provide around 26g of protein per serving. If you’re looking to add additional protein for exercise, hitting a higher macronutrient target, etc. here are some ways to do so:

• You can mix additional low-carb flavored/unflavored protein powder, or collagen powder into your shakes.
• Or you can make some chicken breast, steak, bacon, eggs, etc. and eat it.

I’m going to steal this one right from the /r/keto FAQ:

All foods containing fat – even pure oils – contain a mixture of three kinds of fat:

• saturated
• polyunsaturated, and
• monounsaturated.

We often identify foods by their predominant fat. For example, olive oil as “monounsaturated” butter as “saturated” – but all real foods contain mixtures of the three.

All three types of fats are necessary and important to human health. We should incoporate them into our diet in a balanced proportion. That’s the big question: What is balanced?

• Saturated fat, particularly in the absence of high carbohydrate intake, is not dangerous to human health. When balanced with mono and polyunsaturated fats in a controlled carbohydrate dietary environment, saturated fat has real and measurable benefits. You quickly oxidize saturated fat into energy, once you are keto adapted. So you can enjoy plenty of butter and animal fat guilt-free. Interestingly, coconut oil is something very different: it consists of Medium Chain Triglycerids (MCT) which your body cannot store. It has to immediately oxidize it. That means your body will immediately produce ketones, even when you are not keto-adapted. Nevertheless, this does not mean you’re getting all the metabolic advantages that you would get in a keto-adapted state.
• Monounsaturated fats (like olive oil) have well-known and well-documented benefits.
• Polyunsaturated fats, like vegetable oils, usually contain a lot of omega-6 and very little omega-3. The ideal ratio between omega-6 to omega-3 is 2:1 to 1:1. Generally, this ratio is often 20:1 or even worse. It is therefore important to avoid oils high in omega-6, like corn or soy. Vegetable oils rich in omega-3 contains it in the form of ALA which the body has to convert to DHA and EPA to be of any use. This conversion is highly inefficient. Therefore, ALA omega-3 rich vegetable oils like flaxseed oil or canola are no good either. The best way to get omega-3 is through fatty fish like salmon, or with a DHA + EPA supplement.

As a general rule of thumb, avoid fats high in omega-6. Also, run like hell from highly processed fat (anything that says “hydrogenated” or contains trans-fats) like margarine. Eat foods naturally high in fat like meat, fish, and nuts; use plenty of olive oil and butter. In fact, 50% butter with 50% olive oil approximates quite closely the composition of body fat. Meaning, this is the type of fat that the body can make best use off.