The ketogenic diet is a low carb, high-fat diet that has countless benefits. It has been said to help treat type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, Parkinson's disease, and more. The Body Reboot book reveals more on how the keto diet may change life in positive ways such as losing weight and experiencing less body inflammation. Luckily the keto diet approach is relatively easy to follow: it’s all about sticking to a low-carb diet where you eat real food and not just foods that are low in carbs. There are many recipes and simple food items that can make keto dieting easy, and there are also some foods you should avoid. To learn about which keto diet foods you should avoid at all costs, keep reading.

Coffee

For some saying no to coffee may be next to impossible, but Keto Connect mentions that cutting back on coffee has multiple health benefits. You may think you need coffee to function, but perhaps you should consider it more of a luxury.

On average, Americans consume 3.2 cups of coffee per day, and let's not forget caffeine is a drug. It can increase anxiety, heart rate, and the withdrawal symptoms are real. Cutting back on caffeine has been difficult, but highly rewarding. We no longer have coffee on the weekends, which doesn't sound like much of a change, but after two days without coffee, that Monday morning cup of joe is amazing.

Coffee is no longer something we need to function. Instead, we view caffeine as a tool we use to have better workouts and be more productive at work.

We encourage you to try this method out for a week. We would love to hear how using coffee as a tool effects you!

Sugar-Free Snacks

It’s entirely up to you whether you want to indulge in sugar-free snacks, but Prevention offers a valid argument as to why it may be a good idea to keep them out of your diet. Besides, since sugar-free snacks do not provide any nutritional value why would they be a good fit for your diet?

Sure, they might fit the bill from a numbers perspective. (Cookies with 2 grams of carbs? Sign me up!) But like other snack foods, they’re basically void of nutrients. Plus, there’s a good chance they also contain some stuff you don’t want. “These snacks may be ultra-processed with artificial ingredients, sweeteners, or preservatives,” Nico says. Aside from the fact that artificial ingredients and preservatives are best avoided no matter what diet you’re on, hidden sweeteners could mess with your blood sugar and possibly take you out of ketosis.

Milk and Low Fat Dairy

Perfect Keto recommends staying away from reduced-fat dairy products because they tend to be higher in carbohydrates. Naturally, people assume that since dairy is high in fat that all dairy is created equal, but that’s just not the case.  

Full-fat dairy products like yogurt, butter, heavy cream, and sour cream are okay on the ketogenic diet, but avoid all other milk and low- and reduced-fat dairy products.

Not only is it too high in carb content, but pasteurized milk is hard to digest for most people, is lacking in beneficial bacteria, and usually contains harmful hormones. Raw milk is okay in small amounts (start with no more than a serving per day), just don’t forget to account for the carbs.

Berries

Berries sure are tasty and are packed full of nutrients, but if you’re trying to lose weight and stay in ketosis, you should eat very few berries or avoid them altogether. The reason why it’s best not to eat very many of them is that they have a lot of sugar and carbs. Even though berries have a lower carb count than most fruit, if you’re struggling to stay in ketosis you may consider cutting them out (or at least that’s what Keto Connect recommends).

Neither of us have ever been big fans of berries. Many people eat berries for their antioxidants, but we find the sugar load is too high for the small amount of micro nutrients we can get from a handful of berries.

The more research we do, we are discovering the bio availability of any nutrients from plant foods is a lot lower than animal foods. Just because a blackberry contains a certain level of antioxidants, doesn't necessarily mean our body can convert them into usable nutrients.

This is just our personal preference. Berries are keto-friendly and are a great alternative to regular candy!

Processed Vegetable and Seed Oils

The word processed should always raise a red flag while on the keto diet and even for people not on a low carb diet. Keto Summit covers a few processed oils that anyone on a low carb diet should avoid, such as canola and corn oil. Keep reading to learn about other oils that you may want to keep out of your keto food list.

The first thing you should strike off your list when following Keto are processed seed and vegetable oils.

Eliminate anything cooked with the following oils if at all possible:

Vegetable Oil
Sunflower Oil
Soybean Oil
Cottonseed Oil
Corn Oil
Safflower Oil
Canola Oil
Processed vegetable and seed oils are unhealthy because:

The unstable fats in these oils go rancid easily.
These cooking oils are often rancid before you even use them. They’re often stored for years on shelves in clear plastic bottles. And then you heat them during the cooking process, oxidizing them further. Your body cannot readily make use of these rancid fats, and they can lead to toxicity to certain cells and inflammation.

Sugary Drinks

Of course, sugar is a no-go while on the keto diet, but what about soda? Most sodas are packed full of sugar and don’t disclude diet drinks from the bunch. Some keto dieters, such as Fat Fit Go believe that diet drinks can lead to cravings for candy and other unhealthy foods you should be staying away from on the keto diet. As opposed to being tempted, for some, it may be better to stay away from them altogether.

It is easiest to sum this one up with one word: soda. Whether it is sugar-sweetened or diet soda, it has no place in your fridge, in your hand, or in your body. All sodas increase cravings and offer no nutritional benefits whatsoever.

Also in this category are sugary, processed fruit and vegetable juices and smoothies. While some diets may call for these, their high amount of carbs disrupt ketosis.

Condiments

Even though some condiments are alright to incorporate into a keto diet, you should use many sparingly or not at all, depending on how sensitive your body is. Here are a few condiments Keto Diet App recommends using occasionally.

healthy zero-carb sweeteners (Stevia, Swerve, Erythritol, etc.)
thickeners: arrowroot powder, xanthan gum (keep in mind xanthan gum is not paleo-friendly – some people following the paleo diet use it, as you only need a very little amount)
sugar-free tomato products (puree, passata, ketchup)
cocoa and carob powder, extra dark chocolate (more than 70%, better 90% and beware of soy lecithin), cocoa powder
beware of sugar-free chewing gums and mints – some of them have carbs

Low Fat Yogurt

Prevention mentions that low-fat yogurt should be left out of the keto shopping list because it has a lot of carbs. They explain it well below and just remember, no matter what store you’re at it’s best to check the labels and become familiar with what ingredients (and not just the amount of carbs listed) to avoid.

Most people consider it a protein, but yogurt still contains some carbs in the form of the milk sugar lactose. How much, exactly, depends on the yogurt’s fat content. You’ll get around 16 grams of carbs in a cup of plain low-fat yogurt, compared to 11 grams of carbs in the same amount of whole milk yogurt. Flavored varieties have the most of all, thanks to all that added sugar. Believe it or not, some varieties of low-fat vanilla yogurt pack 31 grams of carbs.

High Carb Vegetables

Of course, high carb anything should always ring a bell, but the problem is that some people may think that all vegetables are low carb, and that’s not true. Some vegetables have so many carbs that it’s best to avoid eating them, or, at least, sparingly. See what veggies Men’s Journal recommends not having a part of your keto diet:

Starchy, high-carb vegetables, like potatoes, peas, corn, yucca, parsnips, beans, yams, and legumes are great, nutritious whole foods that work well in the regular diet of a guy looking to get healthy and fit—however, their elevated carbs make them a no-go for achieving ketosis.

At the time of writing this post, we're currently giving away free copies of the Body Reboot book because it's our mission to increase awareness and to help people lose weight and get healthy! If you help us cover the cost of shipping, we’ll send a copy to your door FREE. Go over to this page to see if there are any copies left.

Sources: Keto Connect, Perfect Keto, Keto Summit, Keto Diet App, Fat Fit Go, Prevention