There are lots of people who love desserts and worry that they won’t be able to have desserts or anything sweet in a ketogenic or low-carb diet. That is why some people struggle with a ketogenic or low-carb diet.
When I first changed to a low-carb, ketogenic diet, one of the biggest challenges with the lack of ice cream. Without a doubt, it is my favorite dessert. Traditional ice cream, which is high in sugar, is the furthest thing from low-carb, making ice cream not keto-friendly. On the other hand, there may be other low-carb ice cream and keto ice cream options out there. One of the questions I asked was if the plant-based ice cream Arctic Zero was keto or not.
Short Answer: Is Arctic Zero Ice Cream Keto-Friendly
So, is Arctic Zero Ice Cream keto-friendly? The answer is that it depends. It depends on what flavor you get, what your carbohydrate limit is, and how often you eat it. For example, the Arctic Zero cake batter flavor may be keto-friendly depending on how quickly you eat it. On the other hand, other flavors might not be as friendly.
What Defines If Something Is Keto-Friendly?
Before taking a deeper dive into Arctic Zero and its nutritional parameters, it is important to understand how we are defining whether something is compatible with the ketogenic diet. If you decide to give the ketogenic diet a try, the goal is to eliminate as many carbohydrates from your diet as possible. Most people try to limit their total carbohydrate intake to less than 50 grams of carbohydrates per day; however, some people may follow stricter limits than that.
The goal of eliminating carbohydrates from your diet is to encourage the body to burn fat for energy. If the body has carbohydrates available, it will digest them, using them for energy. If carbohydrates are not available, the body will try to convert fat into ketones, which is where the name comes from.
If you put your body into a state of ketosis, this means that is burning fat for energy. You may even notice a fruity smell on your breath, as ketones tend to smell like fruit. If you eat too many carbohydrates, you will knock your body out of ketosis, meaning that you may not be burning fat for energy. Therefore, it is important to take a closer look at the carbohydrate content of Arctic Zero ice cream.
What is Arctic Zero ice cream made from?
When I first found Arctic Zero ice cream in my local grocery store, it was because my personal trainer had listed it as a “post-workout” treat. Comparing Arctic Zero to the other “low-carb” ice creams also available, I was struck by the fact that a pint of Arctic Zero ice cream was only 160 to 180 calories, while the rest of the low-carb or keto ice cream pints were well over 300 calories (and some up to 600 calories) per pint.
Arctic Zero ice cream is a plant-based ice cream made from fava beans (or faba bean), monk fruit, organic cane sugar, and allulose (a sweetener derived from raisins and figs). While these sugars (monk fruit, allulose, and cane sugar) do count towards your daily carbohydrate count, there’s a small enough used in the Arctic Zero ice cream where a serving (1/4 of a pint) can be enjoyed without knocking you out of ketosis.
What About the Arctic Zero Cake Batter Flavor?
Even though there are lots of flavors from which to choose, one of the most popular Arctic Zero flavors for the ketogenic diet is cake batter. As the name suggests, this is a delicious flavor that resembles a birthday cake. It is an ice cream that is completely free from dairy while also being very low in calories and carbohydrates. Furthermore, Arctic Zero cake batter ice cream also has a significant amount of prebiotic fiber. This type of fiver will provide the bacteria in your gut with the energy they need to support healthy digestion. Finally, the high amount of fiber in this specific flavor reduces the net carbohydrate count to fewer than 5 grams per serving.
The nutrition facts of cake batter ice cream from Arctic Zero (per one serving, which is ½ cup of 58 grams) include:
- There are 40 calories
- There are 0 grams of fat
- There are 4 grams of fiber
- There are 9 grams of carbohydrates, 5 of which come from sugar
- There is one gram of protein
- The net carbohydrate rating is 5 grams
Keep in mind that these nutrition facts are for one serving from one flavor of Arctic Zero ice cream. There are other flavors as well. A few examples include cookie shake, chocolate, salted caramel, and others. These flavors are readily available online as well as in grocery stores.
How Much Arctic Zero Ice Cream Can I Eat?
So, is the cake batter flavor of Arctic Zero ice cream compatible with a ketogenic diet? Based on the nutrition facts above, the answer is, probably. Of course, the true answer rests in just how much ice cream you eat (and how quickly you eat it).
If you are limiting yourself to 50 grams of carbohydrates per day, you should be able to have one serving of the Arctic Zero cake batter ice cream and still be within your carbohydrate limits. If you are trying to stick to a strict or limit, you may not be able to eat as much of this ice cream. Of course, if you decide to have three or four servings of this ice cream, the chances of you knocking your body out of ketosis are probably going to be high.
Furthermore, it also depends on how quickly you eat this ice cream. For example, if you have one scoop of ice cream early in the day and one scoop of this ice cream later in the day, you are unlikely to knock your body out of ketosis. On the other hand, if you have two scoops of ice cream back-to-back, your body is going to be processing a total of 10 net grams of carbohydrates at the same time. This has a greater chance of kicking your body out of ketosis. Therefore, it depends on how much of this ice cream you eat and when you eat it.
What About the Other Flavors of Arctic Zero Ice Cream?
Of course, cake batter is only one of the many flavors available from Arctic Zero. What about the other flavors? Can you eat them as well? Of course, the answer is that it depends. Each of the individual flavors of Arctic Zero ice cream has its own set of nutrition facts. Therefore, it is important to take a closer look at the nutrition facts of each individual flavor.
As an example, the cookies and cream flavor from Arctic Zero has a total of 16 grams of carbohydrates in a single serving. This is almost twice as many carbohydrates when compared to the cake batter flavor of Arctic Zero. Even though this flavor of ice cream has fewer carbohydrates than traditional ice cream, it is not likely to be compatible with the ketogenic diet.
On the other hand, the chocolate flavor of Arctic Zero might be more compatible with the ketogenic diet. When taking a look at the nutrition facts of this flavor, there are only 6 grams of carbohydrates per serving. You may be able to eat one or two servings of this ice cream without breaking ketosis.
Therefore, it is important to take a look at each individual flavor of Arctic Zero individually. Some of them might be compatible with the ketogenic diet. Others might not be compatible. It is also possible that they may release additional flavors in the near future. Therefore, you need to compare your macros to the number of carbohydrates in each individual flavor before you make a decision on whether you can eat this without knocking your body out of ketosis.
Are There Other Options for Low-Carb Ice Cream That Could Be Compatible with the Keto Diet?
If you are someone who loves to eat ice cream, then you may want to take a closer look at a few flavors of Arctic Zero. You might be able to eat a few of these flavors without breaking your ketosis. On the other hand, there are other options available as well. A few other ice creams you may want to consider if you are looking for ice cream that is compatible with the keto diet include:
- Rebel’s Butter Pecan Ice Cream: Take a closer look at the butter pecan flavor from Rebel. This brand of ice cream was specifically created to offer ice cream that has a low number of carbohydrates. This specific flavor has a net carbohydrate rating of just two grams.
- Enlightened Chocolate Peanut Butter: This is another delicious flavor of ice cream (and my current favorite low-carb ice cream flavor) that only has a net carbohydrate rating of 4 grams. It has also been sweetened with sugar alcohols.
- Halo Top Cookies and Cream: If you are looking for an alternative to the cookies and cream flavor from Arctic Zero, consider this option for Halo, which has a net carbohydrate rating of 8 grams.
These are just a few of the many options that are available if you are looking for ice cream that is compatible with the ketogenic diet. Take a look at the nutrition facts closely before you make a decision.