List of Foods Containing Low Carbs

When beginning a low carb diet, it can seem like you can't eat anything since a significant amount of carbohydrates are eliminated from your diet. Foods that are higher in simple carbohydrates (sugar, white bread, rice, etc.), can raise your insulin levels as you are given energy to either burn through exercise or store as fat. With a low carb diet, you eat a limited amount of simple carbohydrates and, instead, consume complex carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates aid in the digestion of food and don't significantly raise insulin levels within the body.

Low Carb Vegetables

• Vegetables, because they have low sugar contents, are one of the ideal foods for a person to eat while on a low carb diet. Dressings and vinaigrettes that don't contain sugar are typically low in carbs and go well with this food group.

  Vegetables with a low amount of carbs per serving include marinated artichoke hearts (1 g each), bok choy (a type of cabbage; 1.5 g per cup), asparagus (3.8 g per 6 spears), broccoli (3.9 g per half cup), green and red cabbage (1.9 g per half-cup), cauliflower (4.4 g per 6 florets), collard greens (7.3 g per 4-oz. serving), cucumber (4 g each), eggplant (3.3 g per half-cup), lettuce (any; 1.3 g per cup), jalapeño peppers (0.8 g per each), raw spinach (1.1 g per cup), tomatillos (2 g each) and watercress (0.4 g per cup).

Low-Carb Fruits

• Fruits have a lot of natural sugar in them and are, as a result, typically higher in carbohydrates. Fruit juices will usually have higher carb contents than a piece of fresh fruit, as will dried fruits. Of all the fruits, berries have the lowest amount of carbs.

  Low carb, diet-friendly fruits you can enjoy are fresh apricot (3.9 g each), blueberries (5.1 g per quarter-cup), blackberries (4.6 g per quarter-cup), cantaloupe (3.3 g per quarter-cup), lemon juice (1.3 g per teaspoon), lime juice (1.4 g per teaspoon), plum (8.6 g each), and tangerine (7.8 g each).

Low Carb Dairy Products

• Lactose in dairy products is the sugar milk contains. The higher amount of lactose a dairy product has, the more carbs it will have. In turn, the more fat a dairy product has, the less lactose it will contain.

  Examples of low carb dairy products include the following: American cheese (0.3 g per slice), shredded cheddar cheese (0.2 g per 2 teaspoons), whole milk ricotta cheese (1.9 g per quarter cup), butter (0 g), provolone cheese (0.6 g per oz.), cream cheese (0.8g per 2 teaspoons), half-and-half cream (1 g per 2 teaspoons), whipping cream (0.8 g per 2 teaspoons), whole milk (11.4 g per cup) and yogurt made with whole milk (11.4 g per cup).

Low Carb Meats and Seafood

• Meat-lovers appreciate low carb diets because the focus is off the fat content of the foods, and meat does not have a lot of carbohydrates in it. Almost all meats have 0 grams of carbs in them, while deli meats and frankfurters/sausages have no more than 2 grams for every 6 ounces.

  Seafood is usually very low in carbs and will contain 2 grams of carbs or less for every 6-ounce serving. Those higher in carbs include conch (26.4 g) and oysters (12.5 g). Seafood is a beneficial protein for those on a low carb diet as it contains healthy Omega-3 fatty acids.