We heard conflicting reviews before testing the Smart Sweets Gummy Bears. They are a tasty, beloved brand for individuals who have dropped sugar in and out of the ketogenic community. They are gluten-free, with only 3 grams of sugar per bag. On the other hand, those who test their ketone levels on a keto diet have accused these of being “keto friendly.” So we knew it was time to put this gummy candy to the test here at Eat Healthy is Good!

Tara Bosch, the founder of Smart Sweets, was fed up with all the added sugar in our regular foods and snacks. She made a sugar-free gummy to share with everyone with a sweet craving. Smarts Sweets contains no added sugar, no sugar alcohol, no peanuts or tree nuts, no GMOs, no dairy/soy/lactose, and no artificial flavors or colors. That’s all good, but does it convert into a keto-friendly product?

Smart Sweets Gummy Bears ingredients

SOUR GUMMY BEARS: Tapioca fiber, chicory root fiber, unflavored gelatin powder, lactic acid, citric acid, rice flour, malic acid, fumaric acid, fruit, and vegetable juice (for color), natural fruit flavor, coconut oil, stevia leaf extract, carnauba wax.

FRUITY GUMMY BEARS: Tapioca prebiotic soluble fiber, gelatin, chicory root fiber, citric acid, malic acid, fruit, and vegetable juice (for color), natural fruit flavor, coconut oil, stevia leaf extract, and carnauba wax.

Looking simply at the ingredients, the rice flour (primarily in the sour gummies) pops out as not keto-friendly. Rice is a high-carb item. Thus, individuals following the ketogenic diet should avoid it. This component, however, may be found in many “keto” or “low carb” premade goods. The gummies in this situation are not being advertised as low carb or keto. Those in our community, however, have discovered that gummies have a low net carb level for sweets, notably gummies. Is this to say you can’t consume them because of the rice flour? The solution is more complex.

The short answer is that you can enjoy these keto gummy bears… in moderation. If you read our last article on reading nutritional labels, you’ll recall that components are listed in decreasing order of concentration in the product. Rice flour ranks sixth out of 13 members in these sour gummies. So, when consumed in moderation, sour gummies can be keto friendly (but stay reading because we put them to the test!). Nothing on the ingredients list of the fruity low-carb gummies stands out as being non-keto-friendly.

“Didn’t I see something on Instagram/YouTube/Facebook about soluble fiber being converted into sugar when digested?” you may be wondering. “Doesn’t it make me crave sweets?” We’re sorry to burst your bubble. We’re going to answer it with some citations.

According to the Harvard School of Public Health, fiber is a carbohydrate that the body cannot digest. While most carbs are converted into sugar molecules, fiber cannot be broken down and travels undigested through the body. Fiber “helps regulate the body’s use of sugars, aiding in controlling hunger and blood sugar” (Fiber, 2018). Based on this brief remark, we may reasonably presume that soluble fiber is not broken down and transformed into glucose. And, while we will stay within the science in this article, you can guarantee there will be a follow-up post on fiber!

So, regarding components, the sour gummies are a maybe (in moderation), and the fruity gummies have none that we are concerned about.

NUTRITIONAL FACTS

Consuming the whole bag of gummy bears would not be keto friendly based on the nutritional statistics alone. This bag has 5g of net carbohydrates. Most people who follow the ketogenic diet limit their carbohydrate intake to 20g net carbohydrates or fewer. With this one bag accounting for ¼ of your daily allowance, it would be a waste of carbs that would be better served by meals rich in vitamins and beneficial fats.

That is not to say that these gummies are not keto-friendly… The portion amount might not be. Instead, we recommend dividing the bag into two to three portions. This would reduce the net carbohydrates to just 2.5 grams for two pieces or 1.7 grams for one of three meals. The bag is large enough to split the portions while feeling like you’re getting a delicious treat (though this is pretty subjective!).

TASTE

These gummies are excellent, with sour gummies being our fave! They have the gummy texture you are accustomed to, like the high carb equivalent. This was one of the areas where we were pleasantly impressed.

We must give Tara credit here after attempting to make keto handmade gummy bears at home (complete with droppers and gummy bear molds) and failing on several occasions in terms of texture and consistency. The granular sour combination on the sour gummies reminded us of (but was less harmful than) a rotten patch. We’d kick up the sour a notch!

EFFECTS ON KETOSIS

We decided to test how each serving size influenced our ketosis by eating an entire bag, half a bag, and one-third of a load on various days. We were pleasantly delighted to see that our prediction about the influence of serving size appeared correct. However, remember this was one-person research, and your results may differ.

We recommend using sour gummies with caution based on the ketone levels measured in this trial. While we remained in ketosis, our classes took a significant drop and did not fully recover by the 2 hour mark, as we desired. We experienced a knock to our ketones levels with the fruity gummies, as predicted with most things, but with the smaller portions, we got close to our beginning levels at the 2-hour point. If you consume Smart Sweets candies, stick to the fruity varieties and ½ to ⅓ each bag. Eat them like you would any other keto or diet snack.

The bottom Line

Finally, Smart Sweets fruit gummies (available on Amazon) are a pleasant treat that should be used in moderation. Regarding sour gummies, approach carefully and restrict your serving size to one-third of a bag. Disclaimer: As with any new prepackaged food, it is advised to err on the side of caution and TEST your blood glucose and ketones pre and postprandially (before and after eating the snack) to confirm that this snack does not negatively impact YOU and your progress. This is true even with sugar-free gummy bears since alternative sweeteners like swerve, erythritol, and others can disrupt ketosis in certain keto dieters. Everybody is unique. It is usually a good idea to test.

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