Keto is a restrictive diet requiring individuals to significantly reduce their intake of carbohydrates. The strictest forms reduce carbs to no more than 20 per day while other low car versions limit carbs to under 50 a day. Does Herbalife fit into a keto diet?
Herbalife encourages people to eat balanced nutrition with important nutrients and to engage in a healthy, active lifestyle. This diet focuses on eating lean proteins, fruits, vegetables, and nonfat or low-fat dairy products.
There are a few key things that make Herbalife limited benefits to those on a keto diet. First, in a keto diet, the goal is to reduce carbohydrate intake drastically. That includes natural sugars from fruits.
It also requires a person to increase fat consumption (in most forms). The goal of this diet is to eat more natural fats to increase the body’s ability to burn fat stores. By eating fat, proteins, and vegetables, a person trains the body to use fat for fuel, therefore encouraging it to eliminate stored body fat.
Herbalife aims to be a healthy, well-rounded diet plan.
However, it does not have the highest quality of nutrients in it and it does not follow the same concepts as a keto diet. Some of those doing keto also aim for a very clean diet – one with natural foods and proteins rather than processed products.
Others, such as those who follow a “dirty keto” diet, may include more use of manufacturer-made products. In those cases, some products may fit.
It’s also important to understand how carbs are typically calculated in a keto diet. For those following the most common form, the net carbs of a product are used. To calculate the net carbs, subtract any fiber or sugar alcohols listed on the product’s nutrition label from the total carb count. Keto does not pay any attention to calories.
The two diets are significantly different. Can you use Herbalife as a component of your keto lifestyle? That depends on what you plan to use. Here’s a look at a few products.
Are Herbalife Protein Shakes Keto Friendly?
Herbalife protein shakes come in powder form. They contain 24 vitamins and minerals and 15 grams of soy protein per serving. They contain 5 grams of carbs per serving. This may vary somewhat by the flavor of the product selected.
Short answer:
Herbalife protein shakes may be an acceptable option for those on keto if it fits within their daily allotted carb intake. With 5 net carbs, it may help some. However, it does have one added sugar. There may be other protein shakes on the market better fitting to the keto diet.
Long answer:
Herbalife is probably not the ideal option for keto for several reasons. First, it contains added sugar, which is highly restricted and usually not allowed on a keto diet. A small amount of sugar can throw a person out of ketosis, the state of burning fat, and fast weight loss.
Another key concern about the Herbalife protein powders is that they contain a huge list of less-than-natural products. A glimpse of the list shows problems such as:
- Corn syrup solids
- Dextrose (all -ose names are a type of sugar)
- Artificial flavoring
It’s also important to know that mixing this product with water may be the better option. Mixing it with a milk product introduces more sugars and carbs to the drink, making it even less ideal.
This is one example – some protein products may have different ingredients as well as carbs.
Are Herbalife Protein Bars Keto-Friendly?
Herbalife offers a line of protein bars. These range widely in what they contain but are typically meant to be used as a meal replacement (just like the shakes). These products contain a laundry list of ingredients. Consider protein bites, one of the company’s tools for weight loss management.
Not Good For Keto Keto
Protein bites contain 13 grams of carbohydrates with no dietary fiber and a total of 7 sugars. As a result of this, it is not an ideal option for a keto diet. It may fit some low carb diets with limitations.
Long answer:
Protein bites may be designed for weight loss on the Herbalife diet, but they are not ideal or even an option for most people on a keto diet. The first and most important reason why is the added sugar.
With 7 grams of sugar, these protein bites are problematic in every situation. Any sugar, even small amounts, can kick a person out of ketosis, leading them back to storing fat instead of burning fat.
With a total of 13 carbohydrates, it is also quite high on the keto scale. Even if it was the only thing consumed for the day, it would not be beneficial to the keto diet’s goals.
In some situations, sugar in foods can pass on the keto diet. However, this only occurs when those are natural sugars not added sugars. There simply is no room for this level of sugar consumption in a small bite.
Another key concern for the Herbalife protein products is that the company recommends up to two servings per day of these products. That would mean 26 grams of carbs in these four pieces of bite-sized candy-like products. That will not provide a person with the nutrients they need to get through the day.
It is also important to take a look at the ingredients in these products. One of the first ingredients is milk chocolate, which contains sugar as its first ingredient. Then, the company adds more sugar into the product along with artificial flavors and numerous numbers of bad oils.
On the keto diet, oil is a good thing if it comes from a healthy source. Good options include extra virgin olive oil and coconut oils. This product contains palm and soybean oils. These are some of the most overprocessed products available. For the keto diet, this product does not work.
Another option – Protein Bar Deluxe
Let’s take a look at another of the company’s bars. The Protein Bar Deluxe, another product recommended for weight management. This product has 10 grams of protein in it and 140 calories.
It is designed as a snack or to be consumed as a pre-workout. It includes three different flavors – citrus lemon, vanilla almond, and chocolate peanut butter.
This bar is not keto-friendly.
The Protein Bar Deluxe contains 16 grams of carbohydrates in it. It does not have any dietary fiber and contains 11 grams of sugars in it. Keep in mind this is not a meal replacement bar, which means most people will need to consume three other meals around it.
The concerns with this product include the added sugars. These sugars come from glucose syrup, sugar in the milk chocolate coating, cocoa liquor, fructose syrup, and other forms. As a result of this, these products are not beneficial to those on the key diet.
Are Herbalife Teas Keto Friendly?
Herbalife also has a line of teas. Herbalife teas are designed to be nutrient-dense. That means they contain nutrients found in many natural foods – such as fruits and vegetables – in the product.
The company also uses caffeine in these products as a way to boost the metabolism and keep the body moving forward. These teas are available in powder form and can be used in either cold or hot drinks. A range of flavors are available.
Short answer:
Yes, you can drink Herbalife tea products on the keto diet. This product contains 1 gram of carbohydrates. However, that gram of carbs comes from fructose, a type of sugar product.
Long answer:
Herbalife tea is made to be a simple drink that does not contain calories. Depending on the product selected, it may contain added ingredients, extracts, and, in some cases, caffeine. Most of the ingredients in this product are okay for use with the keto diet.
The product contains one gram of carbohydrates. For those who are on the keto diet, that initially looks pretty good, but there are a couple of things to consider. For those doing “dirty keto”, this product can work just fine. It contains mostly natural ingredients with some chemical products.
It also includes fructose, but it tends to be a very small amount (with some variation between flavors). That means that if you can fit that one extra carb into your diet, you can use this product.
For those who are very concerned about any added sugar in their diet, this may not be the right choice. The problem is that most other teas on the market contain no type of sugar added to them but also offer the same types of tastes and flavors. In that case, those products may be a good option.
For those who are clean eating, it is important to check out the ingredients carefully. For those eating only natural foods on the keto diet, there are a few ingredients to be worried about here.
A Better Option – Herbalife Liftoff
For those looking for a drink that is beneficial to keto with caffeine in it, consider Liftoff. Is Herbalife Liftoff keto friendly? The answer here is yes, for the most part.
This product is a tablet added to water. It contains 4 carbohydrates. Some of those come from corn syrup solids. This type of product is not necessarily a tea, but it can be a good replacement for those drinking sugary drinks in the morning on their way to a workout or to work.
It is important to know that “drinking” your carbs is not recommended on keto. Yet, for those who are using this product over others, it may be a good overall option to choose from compared to others.
Should You Use Herbalife on Keto?
It may be possible to fit Herbalife into your keto diet if you have room in the allowed number of carbs you are consuming each day. For many people on keto, not all of these products are desirable.
For those who have Herbalife shakes available to them or the Herbalife tea, consuming these may be okay for some people especially those who are not following a strict keto diet.
They do contain fewer sugars and carbs than other products like them including some that are labeled to be keto-friendly. It is a good idea to compare products carefully to determine how well they fit before choosing.
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