Can I add carrots to my salad on keto?

Yes in moderate amounts.

What is the glycemic index of carrots?

It’s 72, which is high.

What is the glycemic index?

It’s a scale of carbohydrates and how fast each carbohydrate will raise your blood sugar. Below 55 is low, above 70 is high.

But, we need to look at the whole picture.

The glycemic load is the concentration of carbohydrates in a food. The glycemic load will take into consideration the fiber, as well.

The calculation for glycemic load is:

The glycemic index multiplied by the number of carbs divided by 100. Less than 10 would be low, over 21 would be high.

For carrots:

72 multiplied by 4 g divided by 100 = 2.88 (very low)

Even though carrots are high on the glycemic index, they have a lot of fiber which inhibits the glycemic reaction.

But, different variables, like taking the carrot juice out of the carrot fiber, or cooking the carrots, can raise the glycemic index.

Overall, are carrots healthy? Yes.

Are carrots one of the keto-friendly vegetables? Yes. 

Can I eat corn on keto? No, due to the high carbohydrate content.

Corn nutritional profile:
Potassium 476 mg
Carbohydrates 123 g
Sugar 1 g
Protein 16 g