But if you follow a ketogenic diet, can you partake in the spiked seltzer craze? Molly Knudsen, M.S., RDN shares the lowdown on how the beverage could affect someone in ketosis. Knudsen warns anyone on the keto diet to steer clear of sugary drinks like margaritas, sangria, and daiquiris. “Any drink with fruit juice, sweetened sodas, or simple syrups are going to be loaded with carbs and could knock you out of ketosis in a snap. I would also think twice before selecting beer as your keto drink of choice,” she says. “Opting for a light beer will still typically cost you 6 grams of carbs, and a regular beer will cost you around 13 grams.” Her recommendation for drinking on the keto diet? Besides White Claw, she says to stick to any low-carb beverages. “If you do decide to drink, I recommend keeping to options such as red or white wine (which is around four grams of carbs per five-ounce serving), or liquor like vodka, rum, or gin (which all have zero grams of carbs) with seltzer water.” Even though alcoholic beverages can be a part of a keto diet, Knudsen doesn’t encourage it as a regular or integral part of the diet. “I would prefer a person’s carbohydrate allowance go toward optimizing nutrition,” she says. She recommends prioritizing foods that contain important vitamins and minerals, like vegetables like broccoli, kale, zucchini, mushrooms, and red bell pepper. The current Dietary Guidelines for Americans1 recommend that people who consume alcohol should always do it in moderation, which is defined as no more than one drink per day for women or two drinks per day for men.
