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While we normally think of pasta as being an Italian dish, the Chinese were making pasta noodles as far back as 3000 BC. But even with its long history, does Pasta fit in a modern Keto Diet?
Traditional pasta is high in carbs and not keto friendly. Traditional pasta can have up to 40 net carbs per 3/4 cup serving. However, some types and brands are more keto friendly than others. Some low carb pasta brands have as little of 5 net carbs per serving.
Lets dig into the details about which pasta brands are allowed on a ketogenic diet.
Carbs In Pasta
I’ve decided to break pasta into two groups:
- Grain Pastas
- Non-Grain Pastas
Grain pastas are what we are used to and the low carb grain pasta’s are the ones that are going to be most satisfying as you are starting a ketogenic diet. However, they have some problems.
The non-grain pastas are great for a keto diet, but they are not going to be just like the old traditional pasta that you loved. Still, they are worth looking at and I’d encourage you to try them.
Let’s start with grain pasta.
Carbs in Grain Pasta
I’ve created a table below with various brand names of pasta that includes the carbohydrate profile for each. I’m not differentiating between types of pasta (e.g spaghetti vs elbow macaroni) because each brand uses the same basic ingredient for each shape of pasta.
You are going to find that nearly all of these brands have roughly the same number of total carbs. That includes the low carb pasta brands.
I want you to pay close attention to the amount of fiber in each brand of pasta. The low carb pasta are very high in fiber, which is how they get to a low net carb number.
If you look at the ingredients for each of these brands (I’m linking the brand name of most of these pastas to Amazon so you can see the ingredient list there) you’ll find some pretty odd ingredients in the low carb pastas.
Those odd ingredients are ‘fiber stuffers’ and I encourage you to think carefully how how many of those you want to include in your new ketogenic diet.
Are Fiber Stuffers In Pasta Keto Friendly?
For most people, the fiber stuffers found in low carb pasta are keto-friendly. However, other people experience an insulin response to these fibers which will kick them out of ketosis, and many more experience inflammation that can cause all kinds of health issues.
There are countless kinds of fiber stuffers used in low carb baked goods like pasta.
Not everyone’s body reacts in the same way to any of these various ingredients, which means that finding if you’ll have an insulin response or experience the symptoms of chronic inflammation if you regularly eat these highly processed foods.
So when you decide to try these low-carb grain pastas, please do so thoughtfully and approach it as a test.
If you’d like to learn more about chronic inflammation and how it’s symptoms can have a huge impact on your physical and mental wellness, I’d encourage you to look at my Chronic Inflammation Challenge.
Table of Carbs In Various Grain Pasta Brands
The carbohydrates in the table below are per serving of pasta; the standard serving size of pasta in the US is 2 oz. The low carb pasta brands are linked to Amazon for your convenience.
| Pasta Brand | Total Carbs | Net Carbs |
|---|---|---|
| Barilla | 42 grams | 39 grams |
| Barilla Protein Plus | 39 grams | 35 grams |
| Barilla Whole Grain | 39 grams | 32 grams |
| Barilla Gluten Free | 44 grams | 43 grams |
| De Cecco | 41 grams | 39 grams |
| Jovial Gluten-Free Grain-Free | 49 grams | 45 grams |
| Ronzoni | 44 grams | 42 grams |
| Great Value | 41 grams | 36 grams |
| Great Low Carb Bread Company Pasta | 25 grams | 7 grams |
| Al Dente Carba-Nada Pasta | 24 grams | 17 grams |
| Healthy Skinny Xtra Low Carb Pasta | 21 grams | 17 grams |
As you can see, even the low carb pastas are not all that low carb. And if you take into account the fiber stuffers that lowered the net carbs, I’d encourage you to not make these a regular part of your diet.
The Best Low Carb Grain Pasta Brand
However, if you want an occasional treat, the best of the low carb grain pastas are made by The Great Low Carb Bread Company. They have the lowest net carbs, so you’ll just have to experiment and see if their fiber stuffers work with your system.
{ CLICK HERE to see The Great Low Carb Bread Pasta on Amazon. >>> }
Non-Grain Low Carb Pasta Options
To truly get low carb pasta without all of the fiber stuffers, you are going to have to look to pastas that are not made out of grain.
Now I’m not going to BS you, these are not ‘just like regular pasta’, but they do give you the familiar experience of pasta to act as a carrier for your favorite carb friendly sauces.
I challenge you, TRY THESE non-grain pastas before you write them off.
Compare the table below to the one above and you’ll see why these are worth a try. They total carbs and net carbs are significantly less than their grain pasta counterparts.
I’m also including links to each on Amazon so you can jump over there and look at the ingredients for each.
What you’re going to find is a much shorter ingredient list, so you’ll be eating much cleaner.
Table of Carbs In Various Non-Grain Pasta Brands
The carbohydrates in the table below are per serving of pasta; the standard serving size of pasta in the US is 2 oz. The low carb pasta brands are linked to Amazon for your convenience.
| Non-Grain Pasta Brand | Total Carbs | Net Carbs |
|---|---|---|
| Palmini Low Carb Linguine | 4 grams | 2 grams |
| Natural Heaven Spaghetti | 4 grams | 2 grams |
| SOLELY Organic Spaghetti Squash Pasta | 6 grams | 4 grams |
Should You Try Low Carb Pasta?
You should absolutely try low carb pasta. You should try some of the grain-pastas and some of the non-grain pastas! But you should consider these ‘tries’ a test, not a new way of eating.
Starting a ketogenic diet is an experiment of one. You will experiment with what works for you for the rest of your life.
So try these pastas and pay close attention to how they affect your ketones and weight loss { CLICK HERE to learn more about Ketones. >>> } and pay attention to how eating these things make you feel physically and mentally
~Angela
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