Low-carb fats and sauces – the best and the worst
, medical review by Dr. Bret Scher, MD
Evidence basedWhat are the best and the worst fats and sauces on a low-carb diet? It’s an important question as many commercial fats and sauces may have hidden carbs and sugars that can make it difficult to stay on a low-carb diet.
There are tons of great options for adding more fat or sauces to your diet, but there are also some not-so-good ones. For more details, please check out this visual guide. The lower-carb options are to the left:
Detailed list and recipes for low-carb fats & sauces
Below is a detailed list of carbs in fats and low-carb sauces. The number is net carbs per 100 gram (3½ ounces).
Do you want to make your own low-carb sauce, or use fat? Follow the links for awesome recipes.
Coconut oil 0
Vinaigrette 0
Mayonnaise 1
Béarnaise sauce 2
Ranch dip 2
Aioli 2
Mustard 2
Guacamole 3
Thousand islands dressing 3
Heavy cream 3
Soy sauce 4
Blue-cheese dressing 4
Salsa 6
Pesto 8
Tomato paste 15
Sauces
Butters
Low-carb fats and sauces – the best and the worst - the evidence
This guide is written by Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt, MD, Dr. Bret Scher, MD and was last updated on December 8, 2022. It was medically reviewed by Dr. Bret Scher, MD on August 3, 2022.
The guide contains scientific references. You can find these in the notes throughout the text, and click the links to read the peer-reviewed scientific papers. When appropriate we include a grading of the strength of the evidence, with a link to our policy on this. Our evidence-based guides are updated at least once per year to reflect and reference the latest science on the topic.
All our evidence-based health guides are written or reviewed by medical doctors who are experts on the topic. To stay unbiased we show no ads, sell no physical products, and take no money from the industry. We're fully funded by the people, via an optional membership. Most information at Diet Doctor is free forever.
Read more about our policies and work with evidence-based guides, nutritional controversies, our editorial team, and our medical review board.
Should you find any inaccuracy in this guide, please email andreas@dietdoctor.com.
Net carbs = digestible carbs, i.e. total carbs minus fiber. ↩
Are you concerned about saturated fat? In all likelihood, you may not need to be. Although still somewhat controversial, several recent systematic reviews of randomized trials have failed to show a connection between eating saturated fat and increased heart disease risk:
Open Heart 2016: Evidence from randomized controlled trials does not support current dietary fat guidelines: a systematic review and meta-analysis [strong evidence]
Nutrition Journal 2017: The effect of replacing saturated fat with mostly n-6 polyunsaturated fat on coronary heart disease: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
[strong evidence]Learn more here: A user guide to saturated fat ↩
Millions of years ago, the only vegetable fats our ancestors consumed likely came from wild plants.
World Review of Nutrition & Dietetics 1998: Dietary intake of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids during the paleolithic [overview article; ungraded]
Around 4000 BC or earlier, pressed olive oil became a staple in the diets of people living in Italy, Greece, and other Mediterranean countries.
American Society for Horticultural Science 2007: Olive oil: history, production, and characteristics of the world’s classic oils [overview article]
Around 100 years ago, there was very little vegetable oil in the food supply, and it did not form a significant part of the diet.
Journal of the American Oil Chemists Society 1974: Fat in today’s food supply – level of use and sources [overview article; ungraded]
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2005: Origins and evolution of the Western diet: health implications for the 21st century [overview article; ungraded]
The consumption of soybean oil increased more than 1,000-fold between 1909 to 1999.
American Journal os Clinical Nutrition 2011: Changes in consumption of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in the United States during the 20th century [observational study, weak evidence] ↩
Vegetable Oils and Oilseeds 1970: A review of production, trade, utilisation and prices relating to groundnuts, cottonseed, linseed, soya beans, coconut and oil palm products, olive oil and other oilseeds and oils [text book article; ungraded] ↩
Chemical Engineering Transactions 2017: Recovery of vegetable oil from spent bleaching earth: state of-the-art and prospect for process intensification [overview article; ungraded] ↩
This is based on our consensus opinion at Diet Doctor, but it is not conclusively supported by scientific evidence as we detail in our guide on vegetable oils. ↩