Is Feta Cheese Keto or Not?
If you are someone who loves feta cheese, you might be wondering if you can eat this on the keto diet. Genuine Greek feta cheese is made using a combination of sheep’s milk and goat’s milk; however, the combination is usually more sheep’s milk than goat’s milk. Even though it is possible that this milk might be incorporated raw, it is usually pasteurized.
Even though feta cheese is delicious, and is used in numerous dishes, can you eat this on the keto diet? It depends on the nutrition facts. Take a look below, and make sure you understand how feta cheese impacts your keto diet!
Nutrition Facts for Feta Cheese
Before diving into the implications for the keto diet, it is important to take a look at the nutrition facts for feta cheese. All nutrition facts are for 150 grams of feta cheese, which is probably more than you will eat in a single serving (unless you really love feta cheese!). They include:
- 398 calories
- 32 grams of fat, with 20 grams of saturated fat
- 134 mg of cholesterol
- 5.8 grams of carbohydrates, with 0 grams of sugar
- 21 grams of protein
Even though that sounds like a lot of calories and saturated fat, remember that this is a very large serving size. It is not unusual for people to include 30 grams of feta cheese in a dish, which means that you have to cut all of these serving sizes into five pieces to figure out how much you are actually consuming.
Is Feta Cheese Keto?
When taking a look at the above nutrition facts, it is clear that you can incorporate feta cheese into the keto diet. Even though it does contain carbohydrates, the carbohydrate count is relatively low. You need to think about the number of carbohydrates you are allotted on any given day. For example, if you are trying to limit yourself to 50 grams of carbohydrates per day, then you need to think carefully about how much better cheese you consume. If you consume 30 grams of feta cheese, you will probably consume just over one gram of carbohydrates (based on the nutrition facts above).
It is possible for you to eat too much better cheese for the keto diet, but you would have to eat a lot of it. Therefore, feta cheese is usually seen as a keto-friendly cheese. At the same time, you should take a close look at the feta cheese brand you use. Some brands of feta cheese contain more grams of carbohydrates than others.
The Health Benefits of Feta Cheese
There are several key benefits of feta cheese you may want to keep in mind. These include:
- Bone Health: Feta cheese is a great source of calcium. Calcium is important for building strong bones. Feta cheese is also a good source of phosphorus and protein, which is also important for the overall health of your skeletal system. If you consume enough feta cheese, your bones will have plenty of calcium, phosphorus, and protein, which could prevent the development of osteoporosis. This can prevent bone fractures down the road.
- Gut Health: Feta cheese is also great for your gut. Feta cheese is a good source of probiotics, which are friendly bacteria that live in your gut and help you digest your food. These probiotics can support your immune system, protect your gut against dangerous bacteria, and reduce inflammation.
- Fatty Acids: Finally, feta cheese is awesome a great source of beneficial fatty acids. Fatty acids are important for the overall health of your central nervous system. Fatty acids are also important for preventing diabetes, reducing your chances of developing cancer, and encouraging the growth of lean body mass.
These are just a few of the many benefits of consuming feta cheese. Make sure you consider this when you are trying to figure out which foods you want to consume.
Best Brands of Feta Cheese for the Keto Diet
Fortunately, feta cheese is keto-friendly. Therefore, there are plenty of brands that will work well for the keto diet. A few examples you may want to consider include:
- TNUVA Feta Cheese, which contains 0 net grams of carbs
- Treasure Cave crumbed feta cheese, which contains 1 gram of carbs
- TA’AMTI Feta Cheese, which contains 0 net grams of carbs
Check out a few of these options if you are looking for feta cheese for the keto diet.
