In a previous version, Keto Chow utilized Psyllium Husk powder for fiber. I'm very happy that we switched over to Acacia Gum. It’s water soluble so it has no texture and has some great benefits for ketosis and general gut health. Notably, it’s fermented by gut bacteria into short chain fatty acids that make keto happy.

Keto Chow uses 0.08g (80mg) of sucralose, most commonly known by the brand name Splenda but without the maltodextrin you get in store-bought Splenda. Why? Otherwise, it’s rather bland. If you’re concerned, you can read the Wikipedia page regarding sucralose and draw your own conclusions. We don’t use any other artificial sweeteners (Acesulfame Potassium, Aspartame, Saccharin). We also do not use Maltitol or any other sugar alcohol.

We don’t use anything but sucralose because there really isn’t a need to do so. By limiting the number used, it simplifies things greatly – fewer questions to answer. It should be noted that if you do not like sucralose or want to use your own flavoring, we have the “Natural Strawberry” which uses monk fruit as a sweetener, and we have the Keto Chow Base Powder available as an option. It contains all of the vitamins, minerals and other ingredients EXCEPT for the protein, the sweetener, and the flavoring. You mix it with a protein of your choosing.

Depending on your taste and how long you let Keto Chow “rest” in the fridge after mixing (30 minutes minimum, overnight preferred), you may find Keto Chow rather salty at first. This isn’t by accident, it’s an essential feature.

When you do keto, your body will burn through electrolytes rather quickly. There are several mechanisms at work that cause this but the end result is that you need higher than normal electrolyte amounts. If you don’t get enough you may experience nausea, cramping, fatigue and other flu-like symptoms. This is why the condition is commonly referred to as “Keto Flu”. The fix is easy: get some sodium, potassium, and/or magnesium. Keto Chow, by design, should allow you to completely avoid the Keto Flu, so long as your other meals (if you’re eating other keto food) contain sufficient electrolytes.

Most people find that the saltiness goes away after letting it refrigerate overnight (or longer). You may also actually start to crave the saltiness as your body adjusts to ketosis and the higher electrolyte requirements.

Our primary manufacturing facility has an employee that’s allergic to peanuts – producing the Chocolate Peanut Butter flavor (which contains actual peanut flour, not just peanut flavor) at that facility was not an option. Instead, the Chocolate Peanut Butter flavor is mixed and packaged at a different location. The result is that all of our flavors, except chocolate peanut butter, are completely peanut free.

Soy is a funny thing. There’s a lot of “well I heard it from a dude at the gym that soy gives you cancer” information running around. There is very, very little scientific information based on studies to back up the concerns about phytoestrogens in soy protein causing problems in vivo with humans. Regardless: Keto Chow does not use any soy protein (which is the problem-child and what people can be allergic to) or soy ANYTHING.

The Natural Strawberry uses monk fruit as a sweetener

The Savory Chicken Soup, Creamy Tomato Basil, Spicy Taco Base, Beef Soup Base, and Base Powder contain no sweetener.

The other flavors of Keto Chow use 0.08g (80mg) of pure sucralose. Many confuse sucralose with its brand name, Splenda, which contains maltodextrin as a bulking agent. You won’t find any of that in Keto Chow.

The different flavors of Keto Chow have various ingredients for flavoring, here are some of the major allergens and which (if any) flavors have them.

GLUTEN AND WHEAT: All flavors of Keto Chow are gluten-free and wheat-free.

SOY: All flavors of Keto Chow are soy-free.

PEANUTS: Chocolate Peanut Butter, Nutmeg, Eggnog, Pumpkin Spice Caramel

TREE NUTS (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, brazil nuts, cashews, pecans, pistachios and macadamia nuts, etc…): Aside from nutmeg, all flavors of Keto Chow are tree nut-free.

DAIRY: All but 4 flavors HAVE dairy proteins, the dairy-free flavours are: Base Powder, Creamy Tomato Basil, Spicy Taco Soup Base, Beef Soup Base.

EGGS: Eggnog

FISH: All flavors of Keto Chow are fish-free.

LUPIN: All flavors of Keto Chow are lupin-free.

SHELLFISH AND MOLLUSKS: All flavors of Keto Chow are shellfish-free.

SESAME: All flavors of Keto Chow are sesame-free.

There are several key differences between 1.5 (the version you can make yourself) and 2.0+. Some are also differences from 1.5 to 1.9.

* A custom-made vitamin and mineral pre-mix. This replaces several ingredients (the vitamin pill, Calcium Phosphate, Vitamin K, Choline L-Bitartrate, Calcium/Magnesium Citrate, Vitamin D3). There’s also more Magnesium. Other vitamins and minerals have also been adjusted above minimum levels to optimal levels, and optimal forms for bioavailability.

* Additional Potassium to comply with the new US dietary requirements.

* Better Magnesium source that makes is a lot easier on digestion.

* Protein Isolate which has significantly lower carbohydrates compared to the concentrate/isolate/hydrolyzed protein blend used in 0.7-1.9. Most flavours are only 0.56g net carbs before adding any heavy cream.

* Custom made flavours. Earlier versions used off-the-shelf protein powder with flavoring. Using our own makes the flavors more stable and lowers the cost.

* Eliminated 2 sweeteners: AceK and Stevia.

* Mixed and packaged in a different facility. All of the flavors (except Chocolate Peanut Butter) are now completely peanut-free and safe for people with peanut allergies.

OK, so we give 10 people a portion of food containing 50g of digestible carbohydrates. Depending on the flavor of Keto Chow, that varies. Let’s use Salted Caramel for the following illustration. Each 44.8g serving of Salted Caramel Keto Chow has 0.50g of non-fiber carbohydrates. That means we would need to give our test subjects exactly 100 servings of Keto Chow to get the 50g. Each of the 10 participants in the study would need to consume 4.480 kg (9.87 pounds) of powder, equaling 11,800 calories, mostly of protein. In a liquid form, mixed with half a stick of butter per serving, you would need the same 100 servings but you would now be consuming 55,000 calories with a volume of 15.6 gallons.

Because our product is designed for a ketogenic diet, the standard method for measuring the Glycemic Index doesn’t actually even work! We would need to give people such an absurdly large quantity of Keto Chow – I’m sure it would be deemed unethical. Calculating the Glycemic Load needs the Glycemic Index. With both figures, it can reasonably be said that they are below the measurable threshold.

In the simplest terms, a “natural” ingredient means it is derived from something found in nature. That could be something like the red from beets or orange from carrots, but it would also cover poisonous and dangerous compounds from other sources. “Natural” does not mean “better” it’s simply a way to designate the origin. An “artificial” ingredient means that it’s created by combining compounds together. By the strictest definition, you can create “artificial” water and carbon dioxide in a lab using oxygen, heat, and fuel to make fire.

As far as Keto Chow goes, here are the colorings that are used in various flavours. Several of the different flavours of Keto Chow contain no coloring at all:

* Savory Chicken Soup

* Spicy

* Taco Soup Base

* Creamy Tomato Basil

* Beef Soup Base

* Chocolate

* Chocolate Peanut Butter

* Cookies and Cream

* Snickerdoodle

* Vanilla

* S’mores

* Mocha

Raspberry Cheesecake has 0.4g of beet extract and 0.04g of Elderberry extract – these are what would be called “natural” colors and they fade to a greyish purple over the course of a few hours. Strawberry and Natural Strawberry use 0.2g of the same beet extract, which does still fade but without the purple from the missing Elderberry coloring.

Banana uses 0.03g of Turmeric. The same color system is used for Lemon Meringue.

Eggnog has 0.035g of beta carotene, it comes from carrots and tints Doritos the orange color you’re familiar with. Although technically it’s a source of an inferior source of vitamin A, we don’t declare that on the nutrition panel because humans don’t convert beta carotene to retinol (true vitamin A) at a very efficient rate.

Chocolate Mint has 0.06g of GNT Blue and 0.04g of Colorcon Green. Pistachio has the same coloring blend.

Pumpkin Spice Caramel uses 0.4g of beta carotene, as well as 0.275g of caramel color. There is 0.4g of Caramel color in Salted Caramel, 0.537g in the Chocolate Toffee, and 0.538g in Root Beer Float.

Orange cream has 0.4g of beta carotene, 0.025g of “Orange Blend N”, and 0.022g of Dye Lake Blend 1488.

To quote Wikipedia: “A lake pigment is a pigment made by precipitating a dye with an inert binder, or ‘mordant’, usually a metallic salt. Unlike vermilion, ultramarine, and other pigments made from ground minerals, lake pigments are organic.”

The simple way of thinking of pigments are they’re ground up minerals, whilst dyes are extracts of organic compounds, often plants or synthetic organic compounds.

Keto Chow is designed to provide 1/3 of what your body needs in every serving, including sodium. Unless you have a rare, specific medical condition, it will not negatively affect you.

Interestingly enough, the recommendation that people limit their salt intake isn’t based on good science. New data and studies show that you’re more likely to encounter problems from consuming too little salt!

Above all, on a keto diet, you need a LOT of sodium. Failure to get sufficient salt will leave you with an electrolyte deficiency commonly referred to as “keto flu.” Many find they feel their best by adding sodium above and beyond what Keto Chow has.

Depending on the flavor, Keto Chow uses either milk protein isolate or beef protein and beef bone broth. You can find the amino acid profiles for those on the nutrition labels above.

There are nine “essential” amino acids. Meaning, your body can’t synthesize them: phenylalanine, valine, threonine, tryptophan, methionine, leucine, isoleucine, lysine, and histidine. You can find all nine in both protein-types of Keto Chow.

More info here on Wikipedia