Is Seitan Keto or Not?

Is seitan keto-friendly or not? The keto diet has a wide variety of benefits. The goal of the diet is to force your body to burn fat for energy. That way, you may start to lose weight. If you want to follow the keto diet, you need to limit your carb intake. One potential option is to go with seitan.

What is seitan?

Seitan is a specific type of plant-based protein. Seitan is friendly for people who follow the vegan diet because it is made from hydrated wheat gluten. Typically, this food is made by taking wheat gluten, kneading it in water, and working with it until it forms strips. Then, these strips are sold as seitan. Because seitan is just wheat gluten, it is not unusual to see it flavored with certain spices. One of the most popular flavoring options is soy.

At the same time, is seitan keto-friendly? There are a few important points to keep in mind.

Yes. In general, seitan is keto-friendly. Seitan is very high in protein but also very low in fat and carbohydrates. When you follow the keto diet, your goal is to keep your carbohydrates as low as possible. Even though many foods that people eat on the keto diet are high in fat, it is not a requirement that something has to be high in fat for it to be keto-friendly. It simply has to meet your macros, which means limiting your carbohydrate intake. Therefore, because seitan is low in carbohydrates, seitain keto friendly.

On the other hand, if you want to meet all your macros, you may need to target foods that are higher in fat. That way, you can get the recommended fat intake for the day.

Many people are wondering how something can be made from wheat protein and still be low in carbs. The starches in wheat are what make it high in carbohydrates. After all, bread has a lot of carbohydrates. When seitan is produced, it is made only from wheat protein. All of the starch is left behind. Because seitan does not have a lot of starch, it is still very low in carbohydrates. Therefore, if you are looking for a protein source that will not increase your carbohydrates significantly, you should consider going with seitan.

Seitan Nutritional Facts

If you take a look at the seitan nutritional facts, there are a few facts that will jump out.

First, the ingredient list typically consists of:

Water
Vital wheat gluten
Whole wheat flour

You may notice a few other ingredients depending on the type of seitan you buy. For example, the list may also include soy sauce, soybeans, sea salt, garlic, and onion. Always look at the ingredient list before deciding what type of seitan to purchase. Sometimes, seitan can have flavors added to it, increasing your carbohydrate intake.

If you take a look at the nutritional facts, you might see the following:

Serving size: 2 ounces
Calories: 90
Total fat: 0.5 g, with 0 g of saturated fat
Sodium: 440 mg
Total carbohydrates: 5 g
Total sugars: 0 g
Total protein: 18 g

Remember that the exact numbers can vary depending on your serving size of seitan. Because seitan does have a few grams of carbs, you still need to be careful about how much seitan you eat. You also need to pay close attention to the serving size to ensure you do not consume too many carbs. Even though you can consume seitan on the keto diet, you still need to be careful with how much you eat.

Health Benefits of Seitan

If you decide to go with plant-based meat, such as seitan, there are a few significant benefits you may enjoy. Keep in mind that many health benefits are subjective, and many people choose to eat plant-based meat for personal reasons. If you decide to add plant-based meat to your diet, there are a few benefits you may enjoy. They include:

Possible Heart Health Benefits: If you consume plant-based meat instead of traditional meat, you may be able to avoid certain ingredients that could increase your risk of developing heart disease. Even though it all depends on what type of plant-based meat you eat, and how much of that meat you consume, you might be able to protect your heart.
Possible Lower Risk of Cancer: You might also be able to reduce your risk of developing certain types of cancer. During the past few years, eating red meat has been linked to a higher chance of developing certain types of cancer, such as breast cancer and colon cancer. Therefore, if you replace traditional meat with seitan, you might be able to reduce your risk of developing certain types of cancer.
Protect Your GI Tract and Metabolic Health: Numerous plant-based meat, including seitan, have a decent amount of dietary fiber. By increasing your fiber intake, you may reduce your risk of developing certain chronic medical conditions. This includes conditions that can impact your GI tract and metabolic health. You might want to explore other dietary fiber sources, but seitan has some fiber in it.
Possible Weight Loss: In general, plant-based meat, such as seitan, has fewer calories when compared to traditional meat. If you consume seitan, you might be able to reduce your caloric intake. As a result, you may lose weight, as your body will have to burn other resources for energy. To lose weight and improve your overall health, you might want to eat plant-based meat, such as seitan.

These are just a few of the top benefits of consuming seitan. It is important to remember that this is an active area of research, and more information comes out from time to time. You might want to consider including seitan in a well-rounded keto diet.

Best Keto Brands of Seitan

If you are interested in trying seitan, you need to think carefully about the brand you buy. Because seitan itself does not have a lot of flavor, there are a lot of companies that add flavoring to it. The flavoring could increase your carbohydrate intake. Some of the best options to consider include:

Original Seitan by Blackbird: One of the most popular options is original seitan by Blackbird. This company makes a wide variety of flavors, but be careful about the carbohydrate content of the flavoring. If you go with the original option, it only contains 4 grams of carbs per serving.
Franklin Farms: Another option you may want to consider is Franklin Farms. This is another solid option for seitan, and you may want to consider the chicken flavoring. The chicken flavor only has 4 grams of carbs per serving, so it could be a great option for those following the keto diet.
Love Seitan: You may also want to consider Love Seitan. This is a great brand that has fractional carbohydrates per serving. If you really want to limit your carbohydrate intake, this may be an option. Remember to look at all the flavors, as some have more carbs than others.

All of these are great options if you want to consume seitan and follow the keto diet. Always think carefully about the number of carbohydrates per serving and the number of servings you add to your meal. You can enjoy a high-protein meal without knocking yourself out of ketosis.