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KenDBerryMD - 11 High-Sugar Vegetables to Avoid on KETO

Thumbnail of the video “KenDBerryMD - 11 High-Sugar Vegetables to Avoid on KETO”
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Author: KenDBerryMD
Categories: Nutrition
Tags: nutrition
Views: 2 · Last viewed: 2026-10-17 00:45 UTC

Short Summary

Main recommendation: On keto, limit or avoid vegetables with higher pure sugar content, especially root vegetables, because their sugar can spike blood sugar and insulin and slow fat burning. Dr. Ken Berry lists 11 vegetables and, for each, gives the grams of pure sugar per 100-gram serving (about 3.5 ounces). He notes that people with insulin resistance or hyperinsulinemia may need to be more cautious than others.

Key Points

  • The 11 high-sugar vegetables to avoid on keto, as named in the video, are: 1) shiitake mushrooms (3.8 g sugar), 2) red cabbage (3.8 g), 3) turnips (3.8 g), 4) rutabagas (4 g), 5) red bell peppers (4.4 g), 6) onions (4.7 g), 7) carrots (4.7 g), 8) sweet potatoes (5.5 g), 9) green peas (5.9 g), 10) sweet corn (6.3 g), 11) beets (8 g).
  • The sugar in these vegetables can raise blood sugar, elevating insulin, which can switch off the body's ability to burn fat as fuel, a concern for anyone trying to lose weight.
  • Dr. Berry notes the video measures only pure sugar, not total carbohydrates, and says total carbs also matter.
  • Underground vegetables (tubers and roots) tend to be higher in sugar because plants store sugar underground.

Details Worth Noting

  • Concrete instructions: Check the sugar content of each vegetable per 100 grams and decide which to eat, avoid, or limit to small amounts. Use small quantities of flavoring vegetables like red peppers and onions, since only a little is needed for taste and larger amounts add sugar. Limit or avoid the higher-sugar root vegetables, particularly beets, sweet potatoes, and carrots, and watch how your body responds, since tolerance varies by metabolic health. Beets are often promoted as healthy in juice form, but Dr. Berry notes their high sugar load still applies.
  • Dr. Berry personally avoids most of these vegetables despite liking their taste, citing his experience and that of tens of thousands of keto dieters, who reported that eating too many of them too often slows, stalls, or may reverse fat loss.
  • Vegetables that are low in sugar and high in fiber release carbohydrates more slowly, and most people can eat them on keto. He mentions a separate video on seven veggies that can be eaten almost freely at the start of keto, and suggests that these may need to be scaled back later.
  • Dr. Berry is a family physician with 20 years of clinical experience. The video reflects his views and is not professional medical advice.

Bottom Line

Dr. Berry's guidance is to treat the sugar content of vegetables as a key variable on keto: enjoy the lower-sugar options freely, use high-sugar options such as beets, sweet potatoes, and sweet corn sparingly, and adjust based on your own metabolic response.