You Should Avoid Honey On A Keto Diet. Here's Why

For the most part, there is a clear distinction between foods that are deemed healthy and beneficial for the body and foods that are qualified as unhealthy and provide no nutritional value. According to a Healthline report about 50 super healthy foods, the best rule of thumb is to stock your kitchen with fruits, vegetables, grains, lean meats, and seafood. On the contrary, another Healthline report about 20 foods that are not good for your health recommends staying away from sugary drinks including sodas and fruit juices, as well as pizzas, fried foods, candy bars, and heavily processed foods. 

Sometimes walking the path of health can be difficult, and many people often need guidance, which is why plans like the Mediterranean diet, the DASH diet, the flexitarian diet, and the keto diet have become quite popular in recent years. But even then, it can be confusing to ascertain what you can and cannot eat on these plans. For example, if you are following the keto diet, there are certain foods to stay away from, including certain types of shellfish and honey.

To fully understand why you should steer clear of honey while following the keto diet, it might be helpful to know the strict guidelines needed to be successful on the plan. WebMD stipulates that those doing keto need to consume less than 50 grams of carbs per day. To put that into context, that would add up to roughly one medium-sized banana (about 19 grams), a slice of whole bread (about 12 grams), and 100 grams of cooked quinoa (about 16 grams), per HuffPost. 

So why is honey so bad? According to NDTV, those looking to stay faithful to keto guidelines need to avoid honey because it's high in calorie and carb count. Ketologic explains that one tablespoon of raw honey has roughly 17 grams of carbohydrates (of that, 16 grams are coming from the honey's sugar content). This same article also cites how honey doesn't possess any fat, which is a necessary part of the keto diet. Because of its high carb count, enjoying it would mean needing to focus the rest of your meals on high fat and high protein for the remainder of the day, preventing the chance to have fresh fruits or veggies.