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Are Tamales a Good Fit for the Keto Diet?

Tamale is a traditional dish of Mesoamerican origin, made of starchy, corn-based masa.

It can have meat, cheese, vegetables, or fruit fillings according to taste preferences.

Tamale is a flexible dish that you can prepare according to how to like to eat it.

What makes its preparation unique is that steam it in a banana leaf or, most commonly, corn husk.

Read on if you are looking for an answer to the question, “Are tamales Keto friendly?”

So Are Tamales Keto Friendly?

Before heading to the main query, let’s first learn about the requirements of a keto-friendly food.

According to WebMD, keto food should be high in fats and low in carbohydrates.

The main reason for this is to push the body to use up fats instead of carbs.

Also, according to Healthline, the Standard Ketogenic Diet is the most researched and commonly practiced form of Keto diet, which allows a daily intake of only 5% carbohydrates.

Now let’s take a look at Tamales’ dietary information to see if they qualify as keto-friendly.

Most tamales have meat fillings, so you can get about 12g of protein in one Tamale.

When it comes to calories, one tamale contains approx. 285 calories.

They are rich in dietary fibers, vitamins, and minerals. Did you know? One tamale can contain about 8-18 mg of iron and 8-11mg of zinc.

If you are on a keto diet, you probably know that corn isn’t a very good option due to the high amount of carbs.

And since tamale constitutes corn-based dough, you might want to steer clear from it.’

It is pretty easy to watch out for carbs when it comes to Mexican foods.

Most of them come from rice, beans, and corn. Tamale is a carb-dense food.

According to experts, the keto diet allows only 20mg of carbs per day for you to enter ketosis.

Therefore, as long as you are determined to stay on a low-carb diet, it’s better to stay away from carbohydrate-rich foods like tamale.

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