There are many things to come out of the world’s most modern age. The advancement in technology and healthcare, the ability to travel great distances in a matter of hours, and the range of foods we can now eat as part of a healthy diet.
This last one is particularly interesting because before the 1950s, most people’s diets were pretty similar in what they could eat and food was generally localized unless you lived at the top echelons of society.
Nowadays though people can eat whatever they choose and as such a lot of diets have developed to help people maintain a healthy lifestyle.
One of these diets is the Keto diet, which is a high fat, low carbohydrate diet that forces the body to burn fats instead of carbs for energy.
With this kind of diet, it is crucial to know what you can and can’t eat on it without falling off the wagon. Therefore, we thought we would find the answer to whether sour cream is keto or not.
What Is Sour Cream?
Sour cream is actually a group of different dairy products that have been fermented by incorporating different kinds of lactic acid bacteria into them.
The bacterial culture introduced can be done so deliberately – which is mainly done in a controlled commercial setting – or it can be done naturally – which is normally done by letting the cream that skimmed from the top of the milk ferment in a moderate temperature environment.
There are many different kinds of sour cream depending on the culture that you are from. These include Crème Fraiche which is originally from France, Smetana from Central and Eastern Europe, and Crema from Central America.
The most common one that is eaten in the states is that of just plain sour cream or Crema, as it is most often enjoyed with Mexican or Central American food.
Generally, this is because it adds a creamy and fresh component to the heavily spiced foods that exist in these areas. A dollop of sour cream can take the edge off even the hottest burrito, taco, or Puerco Pirbil.
Even though the cream is sour, you can also have it in sweet dishes, as the sour taste of the cream works really well in offsetting the incredibly sweet flavor and helps to mellow it slightly.
Is Sour Cream Keto?
So the answer to this is: yes and no. Sour cream is low in carbohydrates – containing between 2 and 6 grams in a single serving – as it is mostly fats and proteins, which are good on a keto diet. The problem lies in the variations of sour cream.
Generally, if you buy full fat sour cream that hasn’t been changed in many ways, you will be fine. However, if you buy low fat or no fat sour cream, then you should be wary of what is in the cream.
These sour creams still want to give the cream the smooth, creamy texture you would get from a fatty sour cream. As such, they do this by adding carbohydrates to the cream.
This means that the low fat sour cream has a fair amount more carbs, and the no-fat sour cream has significantly more carbs than the full fat sour cream.
Therefore, if you buy sour cream, you should do one of two things, the first is to always check the labels for carbs. Just because a food is assumed to be keto, doesn’t mean it is.
The second is to always go for full fat sour cream, as it is the safest option out of all of them. Once you’ve found one that is suitable for your diet and your diet plan, then you can happily enjoy sour cream to your heart’s content.
Benefits Of Sour Cream
Despite these setbacks for finding a low fat source of sustenance on your keto diet, full fat sour cream can actually be very beneficial to your overall diet plan in general. Here are just a few of those benefits:
Digestive
Sour cream contains bacteria in the same vein as sauerkraut and miso, which makes it incredibly good for your gut’s biome and will help to maintain a healthy gut.
By having a healthy gut biome, the body will be able to absorb nutrients better and allow for better mineral production.
It also functions as an antacid and has been shown to have antioxidant properties. If you are struggling with gut health in your diet, then it might be worth trying adding a dollop of sour cream to your dishes every once in a while.
Obesity And Weight
We are not here to say that a fairly high fat food is going to automatically cure you of your perceived weight problem, but it will act as a good replacement for other high fat foods.
For starters, it doesn’t have as much fat in it as other foods, like cheese and heavy whipping creams, and it will give you the little bit of protein you need to sustain yourself throughout the day.
Vitamins And Minerals
Sour cream can provide you with a lot of the vitamins and minerals that you would normally get for other sources, especially those that can be hard to come by if you are cutting out animal products.
These include the B vitamins, especially vitamin B12, vitamin A and E, as well as phosphorus, magnesium, and potassium.
Although it doesn’t contain a lot of other vitamins, they are still present which can help – especially vitamin K, which can stop blood clots. Sour cream is also a food that contains a lot of calcium, which is great for growing and healthy bones.
Conclusion
Sour cream can be incorporated into a keto diet, and it can be amazing for your diet, however it is important to note that some sour creams are not actually keto, and they can be problematic if you want to maintain a keto diet throughout a certain time period.
As such, you should always check the label and make sure they are keto.
One of the most common things I talk to my clients about is calories, but so few of them actually know anything about them.
Calories is not a dirty word. If you remove emotion from it, it is simply a unit of energy.
We need calories to live and thrive, and knowing how many to consume is important to ensure that you’re living a healthy lifestyle.
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