Is Tuna Keto? Tune your body with Tuna on the Keto Diet

Tuna is an excellent source of lean protein to eat on a ketogenic diet. Commonly, it is canned in water or oil and sold fresh as steaks or fillets. When buying fresh you will commonly find 2 varieties:

• Bluefin tuna has a dark red color meat and is generally fattier with a richer flavor.
• Yellowfin tuna which is also known as Ahi Tuna has a milder flavor and has a medium red colored meat.

As steaks, the simplest way to get the most flavor is to cook tuna is to either pan sear or grill them on high heat but not to cook them all the way through.

Canned tuna is an inexpensive and convenient option as it comes already cooked and can be consumed without preparation. When shopping for canned tuna, you’ll commonly find 3 kinds which have distinctive differences between them:

• Albacore is a mild flavored tuna and is also called white tuna due to its light colored meat.
• Skipjack is a stronger flavored tuna and is also highest in fat.
• Yellowfin is also known as Ahi Tuna. It has a milder flavor and can be identified with its pale pink meat.

One commonly asked question about canned tuna is “Is canned tuna healthy?”. Yes! It is absolutely healthy, especially if you choose tuna that is canned in water. The problem with canned in oil is that the oil they use is generally inflammatory vegetable oil or low quality olive oil.

The average serving size of tuna is approximately 3 ounces (85 grams) in weight and has approximately 128 kcal calories.

Straight tuna meat itself contains no carbohydrates and therefore is keto approved.

Tuna is high in protein, with a 8:1 protein to fat ratio. In a serving of tuna, there is approximately 24 grams of protein and 3 grams of fat, mostly as omega 3 fats. Tuna is also a good source of Vitamin B3, B12, Vitamin K, phosphorus and a notably excellent source of selenium providing 109% of your daily intake (RDA) in a single serving.

Although low in fat, tuna provides an excellent 1:7 omega 6 to omega 3 fat ratio which helps fight inflammation.(r)

Selenium is an essential mineral which acts as an antioxidant in the body. This mineral allows the maximum activation of glutathione peroxidase enzyme, which is one of the main endogenous antioxidant systems in your body and is critical to help fight inflammation. The requirement for selenium is increased in athletes due to increased oxidative stress from exercise.(r) However, the studies also show that increased intake pass requirements does not further enhance the performance of these effects.(r)

Studies show that foods with a high tryptophan absorption improve improve serotonin synthesis in the brain due to this amino acid being the primary precursor. Serotonin is an important neurotransmitter in the brain which affects mood and sleep. (r)

Tuna being an excellent source of Vitamin B3 will also help maintain better moods throughout the day as intaking enough through the diet is important to prevent the body from diverting tryptophan away to make Vitamin B3. This has been shown to reduce serotonin in the brain affecting mood and sleep.

Tuna is great for weight loss, it has a 8:1 protein to fat ratio making it support fast and sustainable fat loss on a Ketogenic diet. However, this ratio is incredibly lean and may not provide the satiety you need while trying to lose weight. You should therefore pair this with other protein sources to increase the fat intake. Use tuna to increase your protein intake and dilute the fat ratio from other animal protein sources. If you are just starting out on the Ketogenic diet, for the first few weeks, it is recommended that you do so with a higher fat intake to allow your body to adjust and create enzymes it needs to utilize fats for energy more efficiently. Eating too lean may cause cravings for more energy which make it hard to sustain everyday.

Tuna is very lean but a great source of protein. If you are trying to increase your protein intake without the fat then tuna is a great option. Using tuna as a tool to increase your protein intake while staying low fats is the ideal way to get rid of any stubborn fat on your body.

Eat tuna paired with other fatter meats which you will need for the extra energy on a ketogenic diet. An ideal for performance level of fat intake on a keto diet will be around 2:1 protein to fat ratio or even 1:1 for extremely intensive exercise.