Is Linguica Keto Friendly? Linguica is a type of smoked sausage from Portugal. Crudely, it could be described as a less popular cousin of Spanish chorizo. Like most sausages, linguica – especially artisanally produced, additive-free linguica – is a VERY keto-friendly product due to its high-fat and so-low-it’s-insignificant carb content.
What is Linguica?
If you’re reading this and you don’t know what Linguica is, it’s a Portuguese pork sausage, cured with smoked and deliberately seasoned with garlic and peppers, typically paprika and chili.
It’s very similar in taste and texture to Spanish chorizo, boudin, or salami, and somewhat similar to Italian pepperoni, the big difference being that pepperoni is made with a mix of beef and pork, while chorizo and linguica are made from pork only.
In any case, if you’ve never had linguica before, but have had a taste of either chorizo or pepperoni, you already have a solid idea of what linguica tastes like, as all three cured sausages use similar spices for flavoring. More importantly, they are all delicious!
A Keto-Cap (aka A Keto Recap!)
If you’re new to keto and want a bit more information, check out our keto beginners guide.
As a quick summary, if you need it, the keto (also known as the ketogenic diet) is a low-carb, high-fat diet.
The whole concept of the keto diet is that your body transitions from burning glucose, in simple terms, sugars or carbohydrates, to burning fat as its primary fuel source.
For a keto diet, people will restrict their macros to eating;
- 70% of their calories from fat
- 25% from protein
- 5% from carbohydrates
Sticking to these macros for a period of time will put your body into a state of ketosis. Ketosis is when your body has transitioned from burning carbohydrates as its primary fuel source to burning fat for fuel. It is at this point that you will start to see and feel the benefits of the keto diet.
There are a lot of new terms and abbreviations that you may come across, sometimes it can feel like a new language that you need to learn. In order to help you out and keep you on the right track, we have created a keto terms and keto abbreviations guide, bookmark these to make your keto journey easier.
Some people can be put off the keto diet because of the side effects, however, these are only short-lived and the health benefits of keto far outweigh the side effects.
One of the main benefits which attract people to the keto diet is that it can cause significant reductions in insulin levels (by up to 75%) and blood sugar levels, which can be attractive to those that struggle with diabetes, amongst other health complaints.
What is the Nutritional Value of Linguica?
Here’s what the nutritional value of linguica looks like per 100g of product:
- Carbs: 1.8 grams
- Protein: 16 grams
- Fat: 27 grams
- Fiber: 0 grams
- Sugar: 1.8 grams
- Calories: ~325
How Many Net Carbs are There in Linguica?
As there’s no fiber in linguica, its carb content is made entirely out of what we refer to as net carbs.
This means you get 1.8 grams of net carbs per 100g of linguica.
Is Linguica Keto Friendly?
Due to its high-fat, low-carb content, linguica is a very keto-friendly product, you can freely consume in healthy amounts.
Are There Any Linguica Varieties That Aren’t Keto?
As with many products that have a long history of being made at home, there are plenty of varieties to linguica – but the differences keep to spices and the varieties of peppers added.
It’s highly doubtful for the recipe to change to the point where the result (the sausage itself) would become non-keto-friendly.
As always, if you are buying this from a store, check out the nutritional label to check that it has not been filled with non-keto ingredients.
Are There Any Health Benefits to Consuming Linguica?
Linguica can be a great product for those who have trouble reaching their daily fat intake due to its high-fat content.
Its protein content isn’t too shabby either, so eating some together with a green salad (or another keto-friendly side dish) makes for a perfectly balanced keto meal.
However, that’s where the benefits end.
Smoked meat by itself is a controversial topic in the keto community.
In this regard, linguica is no different from other processed meats. Many consider it to be a “dirty keto” product “good keto dieters” should eschew, as it’s not a particularly healthy source of fat.
For those, however, who consider “clean keto” to be far too restrictive, linguica can be a good addition to the diet, diversifying it a bit by bringing in something new.
Keto Top Tips!
Staying hydrated on the keto diet is really important, for more on how much water you should be drinking, check out our guide to staying hydrated on the keto diet.
If you’re planning on dehydrating yourself(!) and drinking alcohol on the keto diet, check out our ultimate guide to drinking alcohol on a keto diet. Also, you may be interested in, how to recover from a cheat day.
Summary: Is Linguica Keto Friendly?
As long as you are not eating a clean keto diet, linguica is keto friendly. Linguica is high in fat, moderate in protein, and low in carbs.
