Keto Foods

Is SPAM Keto-Friendly or Really Bad for You?

By Bree

Last updated on September 6, 2022

Spam has been one of the most popular types of canned meat for decades on end. In fact, it goes as far back as World War 2 as a cheap and readily available source of protein. These days, it’s still incredibly popular for pretty much the exact same reasons. But is spam keto?

What Makes Spam Such a Popular Choice for Low Carb Diets?

Let’s start out by first taking a look at a few of the reasons why spam is so popular with low carb dieters in the first place. In no particular order, here are 3 of the main reasons why spam remains such a popular meat:

Spam is a cheap and readily available source of canned meat that is low in carbs, while also offering up a solid amount of both protein and dietary fat.
Many people are typically put off by the high sodium content of Spam, but it can actually be rather beneficial for low carb dieters to help prevent the dehydration associated with rapid water weight loss.
Spam is quite easy to incorporate into low carb diet plans; you can easily use it as a cheap meat substitute in plenty of recipes.

Is Spam Keto?

Let’s get one big fact out of the way right off the bat: Spam can indeed be considered a 100% keto-friendly food.

It has next to no carb content to speak of and it’s chock full of both protein and saturated dietary fat. On top of that, Spam is readily available (and super affordable) pretty much all over the globe.

With that out of the way, let’s address the other elephant in the room: Spam isn’t exactly the healthiest meat option that you can find. While it’s absolutely not the ‘mystery meat’ that some people claim it to be, there’s still no denying the fact that Spam also contains some harmful preservative chemicals as well.

With that being said, it’s probably not going to harm your health too much if you enjoy a bit of Spam every now and then. It can definitely work in a pinch to provide you with a solid amount of protein and fat – but we wouldn’t recommend making it part of your daily diet.

Our final verdict on Spam?

It’s keto-friendly but something that should definitely only be enjoyed in moderation.

Spam Nutrition Facts

Here is the approximate nutritional breakdown for a 2 ounce (56 gram) serving size of Spam Classic, made with ground pork and ham:

180 calories
16 grams dietary fat
7 grams protein
1 gram carbs
0 grams dietary fiber
1 gram sugar
40 mg cholesterol
790 mg sodium
190 mg potassium

Keto Spam Substitutes

Not a fan of the Spam? Not to worry – there are plenty of other viable cheap and readily available meat options for keto dieters. Here are a few of our top picks for keto-friendly spam substitutes: