Keto watermelon: Is Watermelon Keto-Friendly?

10.08.202304.07.2023 by alexxlab

Is Watermelon Keto-Friendly?

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Nutrition

Medically reviewed by Natalie Olsen, R. D., L.D., ACSM EP-C — By Rachael Ajmera, MS, RD on November 28, 2019

Watermelon is a delicious and refreshing summertime staple.

In addition to promoting hydration thanks to its high water content, it’s a good source of several nutrients, including vitamins C and A (1).

What’s more, watermelon contains several antioxidants, such as lycopene, which may be linked to improved heart health and a lower risk of certain cancers (2).

You may wonder whether watermelon can fit into the ketogenic, or keto diet, an eating pattern that involves limiting your carb intake and eating a high amount of healthy fats instead.

Given that the keto diet is highly restrictive and requires strict adherence to maximize results, many fruits are considered off-limits, causing some to find it somewhat challenging to follow.

This article determines whether watermelon can be enjoyed as part of a healthy keto diet.

Because most fruits are high in carbs, those following the ketogenic diet can only enjoy them in small amounts.

However, compared with other types of fruit, watermelon is relatively low in carbs.

In fact, 1 cup (152 grams) of diced watermelon contains about 11.5 grams of carbs and 0.5 grams of fiber, which means that it has about 11 grams of net carbs (1).

Net carbs is a term used to describe the number of carbs in a portion of food that is absorbed by the body. They’re calculated by subtracting the grams of fiber from the grams of total carbs.

Whether watermelon can fit into a ketogenic diet depends on what else you’re eating during the day.

On a 2,000-calorie diet, you may be restricting your carb intake to just 100 calories, or 25 grams, per day.

Therefore, a single serving of watermelon could take up nearly half of your daily carb allotment.

Though you can definitely fit watermelon into a keto diet, it may take careful planning and require you to reduce your portion sizes to keep your carb count in check.

Summary
Watermelon can fit into a ketogenic diet, but it may require careful planning and decreased portion sizes to stick within your daily carb allotment.

Restricting your carb intake doesn’t mean that you need to cut fruit out of your diet altogether.

In fact, several fruits can easily fit into a well-planned ketogenic diet.

For instance, avocados are low in carbs but high in heart-healthy fats and fiber, as well as a number of other important vitamins and minerals (2).

Lemons and limes are also much lower in carbs than other types of fruit (3, 4).

Plus, certain types of berries can be enjoyed in moderation.

For example, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries contain moderate carb contents but are high in fiber, making them lower in net carbs (5, 6, 7).

Summary
In addition to watermelon, several other types of low carb fruits can be enjoyed in moderation on a ketogenic diet.

The ketogenic diet requires you to significantly cut back on carbs, which often means eliminating higher carb foods like fruit from your diet.

Fortunately, compared with other fruits, watermelon is relatively low in carbs and can be enjoyed as part of a ketogenic diet.

However, it may require careful planning, and you may need to decrease your portion sizes to help fit it in.

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It’s recommended to work with a registered dietitian to ensure that your intake of important nutrients, such as fiber, are fulfilled daily, as well as to help incorporate the right amount and types of carbs on a keto diet.

Last medically reviewed on November 28, 2019

How we reviewed this article:

Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available.

Current Version

Nov 28, 2019

Written By

Rachael Ajmera, MS, RD

Medically Reviewed By

Natalie Olsen, RD, LD, ACSM EP-C

Copy Edited By

Christina Guzik, BA, MBA

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Medically reviewed by Natalie Olsen, R.D., L.D., ACSM EP-C — By Rachael Ajmera, MS, RD on November 28, 2019

Is watermelon keto? Nutrient profile, and list of keto fruits

A person can eat watermelon as part of a keto diet, as long as they make sure the carbohydrate content fits within their desired macronutrient ratio.

Watermelon is rich in nutrients and can hold a lot of water. For this reason, they are a suitable fruit for maintaining hydration and overall health.

However, as with all fruits, watermelons naturally contain sugars. Therefore, people following a ketogenic diet may worry that eating watermelon could take them out of ketosis, the metabolic process that burns fat instead of carbs.

A ketogenic, or keto, diet is an eating plan containing high amounts of fat, moderate amounts of protein, and very low amounts of carbohydrates.

As sugars are carbohydrates, it is reasonable to assume that watermelons are not keto-friendly.

This article will provide some nutritional information about watermelons and discusses their proper place in a ketogenic diet. It will also list some keto-friendly fruits.

Watermelons contain many different nutrients.

Vitamin C

One cup of diced watermelon provides 21% of a person’s daily requirement of vitamin C. This is an antioxidant that helps the body maintain healthy tissues, blood vessels, and bones. It also assists in forming collagen, healing wounds, and absorbing plant-based iron.

Vitamin A

A cup of diced watermelon also contains around 17% of a person’s daily vitamin A requirement. This helps maintain the immune system and keeps the skin and eyes healthy, among other essential functions.

Lycopene

Red-fleshed watermelons contain high levels of lycopene. This carotenoid antioxidant, which is also in tomatoes and pink grapefruits, gives these fruits their reddish color.

Importantly, lycopene may help protect the body against heart disease and many forms of cancer.

Carbohydrates

According to the Department of Agriculture, those following a keto diet should note that 1 cup of diced watermelon also contains around 11 grams (g) of net carbohydrates.

Net carbohydrates are the carbohydrates the body actually absorbs from a food source. Within foods, they are the total amount of carbohydrates minus the fiber it contains since fiber is an indigestible form of carbohydrate.

One cup of diced watermelon has 11 g of net carbohydrates because it contains 11.6 g of total carbohydrates and around 0.6 g of fiber.

Ketogenic diets heavily restrict the amount of carbohydrates that a person can eat in a day. In a typical ketogenic diet that restricts carbs to 5–10% of total calories, a person who consumes 2,000 calories a day will only eat between 20–50 g of carbohydrates daily.

This means the amount of watermelon a person can eat on a keto diet while staying in ketosis depends on how restrictive their diet is.

For example, 1 cup of diced watermelon would make up more than half of an individual’s daily carbohydrates if they are aiming for only 20 g of carbs per day.

If a person is aiming for around 50 g of carbs per day, then 1 cup of diced watermelon comprises 23.2% of their daily carbs.

Therefore, there is no conclusive answer to the question of whether watermelon is keto-friendly. A person can eat watermelon and other fruits while staying in a state of ketosis, depending on what else they eat in a day and their daily carbohydrate target.

Whether they remain in ketosis will depend on the macronutrient ratio they are aiming to achieve, as well as what else they want to eat on a given day.

Calories

One cup of diced watermelon contains 46 calories. According to a 2019 study, diets that include fruit with high levels of water and fiber could help a person maintain a moderate weight.

The paper suggests that watermelon can promote a feeling of fullness, which researchers call satiety, as its high water content gives it a low energy density proportionate to its volume when compared with many other fruits.

As many people who follow a keto diet do so for weight loss, the high satiety to volume ratio that watermelon provides makes it additionally beneficial.

The most keto-friendly foods are low in net carbohydrates. Many fruits are high in carbohydrates, including fiber and natural sugars. However, some of the more keto-friendly options include:

Avocados: Contain around 8.53 g of net carbohydrates per 100 g.
Tomatoes: Contain around 3.89 g of net carbohydrates per 100 g.
Blackberries: contain around 9.61 g of net carbohydrates per 100 g
Strawberries: Contain around 7.68 g of net carbohydrates per 100 g.
Peaches: Contain around 10.1 g of net carbohydrates per 100 g.

By comparison, 100 g of watermelon contains around 7.5 g of net carbohydrates.

The ketogenic diet is gaining in popularity. Recently, many people have become interested in severely limiting their daily intake of carbohydrates, usually with the aim of losing weight.

However, it is worth noting that the ketogenic diet can be quite extreme.

Healthcare professionals initially developed the diet as a treatment for epilepsy in children. The average American diet consists of around 55% carbohydrates, while the Institute of Medicine recommend that 45–65% of daily calories come from carbohydrates for a healthy diet. Many keto plans require a person to limit their daily carbs to 5–10% of their total calories, based on a diet of 2,000 calories a day.

There is also some evidence that ketogenic diets can have unwanted short-term effects. These include:

dizziness
nausea
vomiting
fatigue
insomnia
headache
constipation
difficulty exercising

Doctors sometimes refer to these symptoms as “keto flu.” However, they bear no relation to the influenza virus and usually disappear after a few weeks on the diet.

There are also other long-term effects from the diet that may last longer than 2 years, including:

various vitamin and mineral deficiencies
fatty liver disease
kidney stones

Importantly, scientists do not yet know whether keto diets are beneficial for health. This is because dietary science is complex and influenced by many factors. Scientists must conduct long-term studies before drawing conclusions.

Many different factors play into a person’s health. For this reason, it can take a long time for scientists to work out the real effects of a given diet.

Watermelon can be keto-friendly if people eat it in moderation. This rule holds true for many other fruits.

Generally, anyone considering a ketogenic diet should first seek the advice of a doctor, registered dietitian, or both.

This is especially important for people with diabetes, as sudden shifts to a ketogenic diet could cause hypoglycemia.

Is it possible to have melon and watermelon on a keto diet?

Benefit for health

1. Rich source of vitamin C

2. Rich in Antioxidants

3. Maintain blood pressure

4. May Support Blood Sugar Levels

Carbohydrate content

How to eat melons and watermelons on keto

What are your favorite low carb fruits on keto?

Some fruits like raspberries, blueberries, cranberries, blackberries, and avocados are good for a keto diet, but what about melons and watermelons?

Health Benefits

But First, Let’s Know Their Health Benefits:

1.

Rich Source of Vitamin C almost 65% of the recommended daily value of vitamin C. Since your body cannot produce it on its own, it is very important that you get enough of this vitamin in your diet.

Vitamin C acts as an antioxidant to help neutralize free radicals and calm oxidative stress in your body. Oxidative stress is thought to be the cause of many chronic diseases, so keeping your vitamin C levels high is an important preventive measure.

Studies show that a high dietary intake of vitamin C reduces the incidence of heart disease, eye disease, cancer, and neurodegenerative disease.

It also plays an important role in skin and joint health as a nutrient essential for collagen synthesis. The latter is the main protein and supports the connective tissue of your joints by creating a strong extracellular matrix.

For these reasons, vitamin C deficiency can lead to problems such as joint pain, poor wound healing, bleeding under the skin, and thickening of the skin.

2. Rich in antioxidants

Vitamin C isn’t the only antioxidant you’ll find in melons and watermelons.

In fact, most golden foods contain two antioxidants, lutein and zeaxanthin, which are known to support eye health. In particular, cantaloupe is a good source of these two free radicals.

Lutein and zeaxanthin act as shields to protect the macula from blue light. It is thought that over time, ultraviolet radiation from blue light can lead to degenerative eye diseases such as cataracts and macular degeneration.

Research shows that consuming lutein and zeaxanthin can combat the harmful effects of blue light, reducing the risk of degeneration in your eyes.

3. Maintain blood pressure

One of the most effective ways to control blood pressure is to control sodium and potassium levels in the body. Working in tandem, these two minerals control your blood pressure and volume, but when you have too much sodium in your body, you can have high blood pressure.

Therefore, to combat sodium’s effect on blood pressure, it is essential that you have enough potassium in your diet to balance sodium’s hypertonic properties. And just melons and watermelons are an excellent source of potassium.

4. May maintain blood sugar levels

One type of melon, known as bitter melon, is distinguished by its bitter taste. For centuries, this fruit has been used as a medicinal herb to treat a number of ailments, including eczema, jaundice, gout, kidney stones, psoriasis, and arthritis.

However, one of the most well-researched benefits of bitter melon is its ability to stabilize blood sugar levels. High blood sugar is associated with various conditions and can lead to obesity, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic syndrome.

Studies show that bitter melon lowers blood sugar levels and has powerful antioxidant effects, with therapeutic effects in diabetes and related metabolic conditions.

Do you like melons/watermelons?

YesNo

Carb Content

Now that you have a good understanding of the health benefits of melons and watermelons, let’s look at the amount of carbohydrates to determine if melons and watermelons can fit into a keto diet.

Today there are more than 20 different varieties of melons, here are the carbohydrate values of the most famous varieties.

Serving size = 100 grams

Cantaloupe – 8.16 g total carbohydrates, 0.9g fiber and 7.26 g net carbohydrates

Watermelon – 7.55 g total carbohydrates, 0.4 g fiber and 7.15 g net carbohydrates

Honey melon – 9.4 g total carbohydrates, 0.8 g fiber and 8.6 g net carbs

Bitter melon – 4.32 g total carbs, 2 g fiber and 2.32 g net carbs

Cassaba (winter melon) – 6.58 g total carbs, 0.9 g fiber and 5 .68 g net carbs

Wax gourd – 3.02 total carbs, 1 g fiber and 2.02 g net carbs

How to eat melons and watermelons on keto

Expert opinion

Tatyana Filatova

Tanya is a professional food photographer, keto blogger and recipe author.

Ask the Expert

The goal of keto is to keep carbs below 50g per day. Yes, you can eat melons or watermelons during this diet, but you need to do it in moderation so as not to exceed your carbohydrates. It is best to eat melons on a cyclical keto diet that combines workouts and carb days.

What are your favorite low carb fruits on keto?

If your low-carbohydrate diet includes fruits/berries, what are your favorite fruits/berries? Or what fruits do you most often use in your recipes? You have 3 options)

Tomatoes

Total score

3402

338

3740

Avocado

Total score

2871

256

3127

Raspberry

Total score

1885

179

2064

Lemon

Total score

1682

1738

Strawberry

Total score

1399

1437

Sweet pepper

Total score

1277

Coconut flesh

Total score

459

499

Blackberry

Total score

291

320

Lime

Total score

224

268

Is watermelon keto friendly? – Drink-Drink

07/04/2022 DrinkDrinkAdmin

Content

Carbohydrate content of watermelon
How to cut: watermelon
Other keto-friendly natural fruit
bottom line

Watermelon is a delicious and refreshing summer staple.

In addition to hydration due to its high water content, it is a good source of several nutrients, including vitamins C and A (1).

What’s more, watermelon contains several antioxidants, such as lycopene, that may be linked to improved heart health and reduced risk of certain cancers (2).

You may be wondering if watermelon could fit into a ketogenic or keto diet, a diet that involves limiting carb intake and eating lots of healthy fats instead.

Given that the keto diet is very restrictive and requires strict adherence for maximum results, many fruits are considered off-limits, making them difficult for some to follow.

This article determines if watermelon can be consumed as part of a healthy keto diet.

Carbohydrate content of watermelon

Since most fruits are high in carbohydrates, those on a ketogenic diet can only enjoy them in small amounts.

However, compared to other fruits, watermelon contains relatively few carbohydrates.

In fact, 1 cup (152 grams) of diced watermelon contains about 11.5 grams of carbs and 0.5 grams of fiber, which means it has about 11 grams of net carbs (1).

Net carbs is a term used to describe the amount of carbohydrates in a serving of food that is digested by the body. They are calculated by subtracting grams of fiber from grams of total carbohydrates.

Whether watermelon can fit into a ketogenic diet depends on what else you eat during the day.

On a 2,000 calorie diet, you can limit your carbohydrate intake to 100 calories or 25 grams per day.

Thus, one serving of watermelon can take up almost half of your daily carbohydrate intake.

While you can definitely incorporate watermelon into your keto diet, it may require careful planning and smaller portion sizes to control carbs.

Conclusion
Watermelon can fit into a ketogenic diet, but careful planning and portion size reduction may be required to meet your daily carbohydrate intake.

How to Cut: Watermelon

Other Keto-Friendly Fruits

Restricting your carbohydrate intake doesn’t mean you have to completely eliminate fruits from your diet.

In fact, a few fruits can easily fit into a well-planned ketogenic diet.

For example, avocados are low in carbs but high in heart-healthy fats and fiber, as well as a number of other important vitamins and minerals (2).

Lemons and limes are also much lower in carbohydrates than other fruits.3, 4).

In addition, some types of berries can be consumed in moderation.

For example, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries are moderate in carbs but high in fiber, so they have less net carbs.5, 6, 7).

Conclusion
In addition to watermelon, several other low-carbohydrate fruits can be eaten in moderation on a ketogenic diet.

Bottom line

The ketogenic diet requires you to significantly reduce your carbohydrate intake, which often means eliminating high-carbohydrate foods such as fruits from your diet.

Keto watermelon: Is Watermelon Keto-Friendly?

Is Watermelon Keto-Friendly?

Nutrition

How we reviewed this article:

Read this next

Is watermelon keto? Nutrient profile, and list of keto fruits

Vitamin C

Vitamin A

Lycopene

Carbohydrates

Calories

Is it possible to have melon and watermelon on a keto diet?

Health Benefits

1.

2. Rich in antioxidants

3. Maintain blood pressure

4. May maintain blood sugar levels

Carb Content

How to eat melons and watermelons on keto

What are your favorite low carb fruits on keto?

Is watermelon keto friendly? – Drink-Drink

Carbohydrate content of watermelon

How to Cut: Watermelon

Other Keto-Friendly Fruits

Bottom line

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