American cheese gives another level of taste to any food: either a sandwich, burger, pasta, ramen, or tortilla wrap; it won’t go wrong with any item. But if you’re on a keto weight loss diet, you may wonder if it is keto-friendly or not. So, is American cheese keto-friendly?
A quick answer could be to avoid American cheese on keto diets. A single cheese slice contains up to 2 grams of carbs, which can slow ketosis when used in excess amounts. Meanwhile, it is also a good source of high fats and protein while being low in calories, so many people eat it in moderate and balanced amounts.
So, what should you do? Consider it or throw it away? Let’s find out in this guide, along with keto-friendly cheese options.
Is American Cheese Keto?
American cheese meets the keto food criteria: low carbs, high fat, and high protein content. However, it is not considered best for strict keto diets because some cheese choices are more deficient in carb content than American cheese slices.
A single American cheese serving contains up to 2 grams of carbs (10% of your DV), but you can find cheese options with less than 1g of carbs per serving, such as blue cheese, have <1 g of carbs, while goat cheese contains 0 carbs; so they are considered suitable for keto diets than American cheese.
Nevertheless, it doesn’t mean that you can’t eat your favorite American yellow slices in your burgers or sandwiches. If you keep your carbs within 20 to 30 g/day, you can use it as part of your diet. Moreover, some brands offer American cheese with less than 1 g of carbs, such as Sargento’s sliced Provolone, which has almost 0 carbs.
So, when you’re taking the cheese in your keto diet, it is important to track your carbs and calorie intake and keep it balanced; otherwise, you may not achieve your ketosis stage and lose weight.
A Quick Overview of the Keto Diet
A keto or ketogenic diet is a meal plan that includes very high fats and few carbohydrates, such as ~20 g per day. This meal plan with low carbs and high-fat content shifts the body’s energy fuel from carbs to fats, medically known as ketosis state. In this metabolic process, the body utilizes the stored fat to convert it into ketones, which use it as a basic unit of energy instead of glucose. It helps in weight loss, decreases inflammation, reduces oxidative stress, reduces insulin resistance, improves brain function, and improves cardiovascular function.
How Many Carbs Are in American Cheese?
Carbohydrates and calories in American cheese vary depending on the ingredient lists, specific brands, and cheese types. Typically, single slices of American cheese have 1.8 to 2 grams of net carbohydrates with 0 fiber.
However, some brands may have even more or less carbs; such as Kretschmar American Cheese has 1 g of carbohydrates, while Kraft Deli Deluxe American Slices have up to 2.9 grams of carbs. You can check the carb content on the nutritional label of the cheese packet.
Keto Cheese List
American cheese is okay for the keto diet, but it could be healthier and have a relatively high carb content; a single slice can make up to 10% of the daily carb requirement. It is way too much when you have the other options with less than 1% carbs of DV.
Following is the list of cheeses that meet the ketogenic standards of diet:
- Goat cheese
- Cream cheese
- Blue cheese
- Parmesan cheese
- Gouda
- Cheddar cheese
- Cheese crisps
Comparison of Carbs Content in Different Cheese
Following is the comparison of the cheese keto nutrient profile:
| Cheese | Carbs | Fat | Protein | Calories |
| American Cheese | 1.8 g | 4.9 g | 3.6 g | 66 |
| Goat Cheese | 0 g | 6 g | 5.3 g | 75 |
| Cream Cheese | 1.6 g | 10 g | 1.8 g | 102 |
| Blue Cheese | 0.7 g | 8.1 g | 6.1 g | 100 |
| Parmesan Cheese | 0.7 g | 1.4 g | 1.4 g | 21 |
| Gouda | 0.6 g | 7.8 g | 7.1 g | 101 |
| Cheddar Cheese | 0.9 g | 9.4 g | 6.5 g | 115 |
So, if you are still querying about how much cheese on keto, let me be precise for you!
Goat cheese, Gouda, and blue cheese are best for a keto diet because it has < 1 carb, high fats, and a high protein ratio while also being moderate in calories.
Why Is American Cheese So Bad?
American cheese is unhealthy for regular eating, even with snacks, burgers, and mac n cheese. It has relatively high sodium, cholesterol, preservatives, emulsifiers, and artificial additives, which increase the risk of hypertension, cardiovascular disorders, toxicity, inflammation, and obesity.
Cheese slices have high saturated fats, which raise LDL (bad) cholesterol in the blood and cause adverse health effects. Moreover, high salt content particularly increases the risk of heart disease and artery clogging.
American cheese also increases the risk of prostate cancer in men and menstrual abnormalities in females. Furthermore, it has lower nutritional value than real cheese.
Additionally, it is not vegan and contains lactose, so it may not be suitable for vegetarians and lactose-intolerant people.
Overall, eating American cheese is okay if it is treated as occasional eating, but using it in excess may cause many adverse effects. So, you should eat it only as a part of a balanced and monitored diet plan.
Conclusion
You can have the American cheese as a keto diet, but I recommend you choose the other options with low carbs and high healthy-fats content, such as goat cream, Gouda, Parmesan cheese, and blue cheese. Anyhow, if you’re only a fan of yellow cheese, eat it in low to moderate amounts and strictly avoid high consumption.
Related Article: Is Mac and Cheese Healthy?
FAQs
Is American Cheese Keto Approved?
American cheese meets the requirements of a keto diet, but it is not considered best for strict keto diets; other cheese options are available that best suit the keto diet.
Is American Cheese Real Cheese?
Technically, American cheese is not real cheese. For a cheese to be true, it should have at least 50% cheese, but it is a blend of cheeses, particularly cheddar and Colby. FDA assigned it “pasteurized processed American cheese food.”
Is Kraft American Cheese Keto?
Kraft American cheese has a net of ~10 g of carbs per 100 grams, so it is ideal to avoid it and go for fewer carbs-containing cheese.
Is Deli American Cheese Keto?
A Deli American cheese provides 2 g of carbs per serving, making 10% of carbs daily value. It can be taken as a keto diet, but you may better choose goat cheese, Parmesan cheese, or cream cheese to keep your keto diet in balance.
Is American Cheese Low-Carb?
It is generally considered low-carb cheese. A single serving of American cheese typically constitutes 1.8 to 2 grams of carbohydrates or even less or more in some variants.
Is Swiss Cheese Keto-Friendly?
Swiss cheese typically has less than 1 g of carbs, so adding it to the keto diet can be good.
Is Feta Cheese Keto?
Typically, feta cheese has 3 to 4 grams of carbs per serving, which is a significant amount on a keto diet. So, it is good to avoid it and pick low-carb cheese options.
Is Mozzarella Cheese Keto-Friendly?
Mozzarella cheese is generally high-fat and low-carb, typically treated as keto-friendly. But some brands also have cheeses with up to 3 grams of carbs per serving, so it is good to check the nutrients label (carbs should be < 1 g) before adding mozzarella cheese to your keto diet.
Why Is Cheese Keto and Not Milk?
Milk has a relatively higher carb content than cheese. During the cheese-making process, most of the carb content in the milk is utilized by the bacteria during fermentation, which reduces the cheese’s net carb, making it more keto-friendly than milk.
Is Cheddar Cheese Keto?
Yes, cheddar cheese is keto-friendly. It has approximately less than 1 gram of carbs, 9 grams of fats, and 6–7 grams of protein, which makes it an ideal dairy item for a keto diet.
Is Parmesan Cheese Keto?
Parmesan cheese is keto-friendly; it has low carbs, high protein, and a high-fat ratio.