Made from milk fat, butter is a kitchen staple that can be used in a variety of ways — you can cook with butter or use it as a baking ingredient. If you can’t live without butter, you’ll be glad to know that you can have it on keto.
Is Butter Keto-Friendly?
Yes. Butter is one of the best fats you can consume on a ketogenic diet. It’s almost carb-free. You can choose between salted and unsalted butter depending on whether you need sodium in your recipes or a little more flavor.
Carbs in Butter
1 tablespoon of butter provides 0.01 grams of carbs (1). Nearly carb-free, butter can be added to your black coffee to make “keto Bulletproof coffee.” A lot of low-carb recipes also use butter as it lends some richness to food.
Fats in Butter
1 tablespoon of butter provides 11.52 grams of fat (1). It contains conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a naturally occurring fatty acid in dairy. CLA is thought to help with weight loss and support the immune system.
Protein in Butter
1 tablespoon of butter provides 0.12 grams of protein (1). While it’s low in carbs and high in fat, butter is not the best protein source. However, you can incorporate butter into your protein-rich foods or cook with it instead of other oils. For example, basting steak with butter or using butter to fry eggs.
Calories in Butter
1 tablespoon of butter provides 102 calories, making it a high calorie food (1). If you’re watching your calorie intake, you’ll want to avoid consuming butter in large amounts.
Summary
Butter is great for a very low-carb ketogenic lifestyle. As a high-fat food, it can help provide you with energy while maintaining ketosis. However, since it’s also high in calories, be sure to use it wisely. Here’s an additional tip: Avoid butters with additives!
References:
- FatSecret. Calories in 1 tbps Butter and Nutrition Facts
