The best keto supplements – revealed

Everybody seems to be going crazy for the keto diet, the high fat, low carb way of living.

But here’s the thing, as with most diets, following a keto regime means sticking to some food and swerving other types of food. As a rule of thumb, keto dieters’ nutrient intake needs to be around the 70% fat, 25% protein and 5% carbohydrate mark.¹

This low carb, high fat/protein way of eating works by encouraging the body to get its energy from burning body fat, which produces an energy source, called ketones. It’s this process of breaking down or burning the body fat that’s known as ketosis or keto for short.²

But for now, back to the subject of supplements, in particular keto supplements that can help make sure the body still receives the nutrients it needs.

We caught up with one of our nutritionists, Emily Rollason, for her expert advice on the best keto supplements.

What are the minerals and nutrients that keto diet followers may be missing?

Cutting out or limiting certain foods can lead to nutrient deficiencies in any diet, which is why it’s always advisable to try and include as many types of food as possible.

Because keto diets are made up of high-fat medium protein and low carb, it’s possible to lack the nutrients you’d get from carbohydrate-based foods. These nutrients include:

Folic acid
Vitamin E
Vitamin A
Vitamin C
Magnesium

What type of supplements do people need on a keto diet?

Ideally, you should consider taking a good strength supplement that contains all of the nutrients listed above. You can take individual supplements for certain vitamins and nutrients or buy an overall multivitamin.

Individual supplements – options include:

Multivitamins & mineral supplements – options include:

Are there any supplements you should avoid on the keto diet?

It’s unlikely that a supplement can cause too much of a concern if you’re following a ketogenic diet. However, most people do try to avoid supplements that contain added sugar (usually chewables or gummies) just to limit their carbohydrate intake, although the carbohydrate content is likely to be minimal.

Do you need to take extra fibre if you’re eating keto?

The keto diet and fibre supplements is an area that tends to attract a lot of questions, as fibre intake in a ketogenic diet may be more difficult to maintain compared to a diet that contains adequate carbohydrates.

In short, you don’t necessarily need extra fibre, but it is important to make sure you’re getting enough fibre from the food you’re consuming (aim for 25 to 30g a day). Cruciferous vegetables, such as cauliflower and broccoli, leafy greens, avocado and nuts and seeds, like chia flax and walnuts, all contain good amounts of fibre, whilst being lower in net carbohydrates.

What else should people bear in mind if they want to follow a keto diet?

As we mentioned a bit further up, a ketogenic diet does cut out a variety of foods that are packed full of nutrients. A balanced diet, i.e. is full of a range of fresh fruit and vegetables, wholegrains, lean protein and small amounts of healthy fats and dairy, is usually recommended for optimum health.

Keto-specific supplements

You may not realise this, but as well as the certain vitamin, nutrient and mineral-boosting supplements we touched on above, there’s also a whole range of supplements that have been specifically developed for keto dieters.

There are far too many of them for us to list them all, but here’s a few of them to give you a flavour of what we mean:

All clued up about keto supplements now? We hope you feel more in the know about the nutrients and minerals that you need to keep topped up, as well as the range of supplements that can help you achieve ketosis.

Shop Keto Supplements

Last updated: 2 October 2020

Emily Rollason is a qualified Nutritional Therapist, achieving a Diploma from the Institute for Optimum Nutrition.

Working with Holland & Barrett for six years, Emily has valuable experience working on a one-to-one basis with clients with a variety of health concerns such as endometriosis, adenomyosis and aiding those looking to support certain dietary requirements, such as a vegan or vegetarian diet. Emily has a long history of working with customers to guide them on what products are best suited to help them with their ailments. Her particular interests in nutrition and wellness focus around digestive health, female health and allergies/ intolerances.

Sources
1 https://www.ruled.me/guide-keto-diet/
2 https://www.diabetes.co.uk/keto/