The keto and paleo diets are very popular in the world of fitness and health. Both of these diets have some similarities and a few differences and are so popular among those who want to lose weight and improve their overall health. However, there has been an ongoing debate on which is the better diet between keto vs paleo. In this article, we look at some detailed comparison between these two diets to help you decide which one is worth your time and effort.
The Ketogenic Diet
The ketogenic diet is an extremely low carb but a high-fat diet with the goal of helping your body achieve the state of ketosis. Ketosis is a process where the body burns stored fats instead of carbs in order to produce energy molecules called ketones. Therefore, most of the dieter’s calories come from fat.
Unlike a standard diet, the keto diet macronutrient breakdown contains high fat, moderate protein, and a few carbs. One of the benefits of the keto diet is its ability to help with weight loss and improve blood sugar control.
The Paleo Diet
The paleo diet, also known as Paleolithic or the caveman diet, is based on the idea that eating foods that our ancestors ate will enhance optimal health. It is based on the principle that processed foods like table salt and refined sugar are detrimental to human health, and dieters should avoid them. Unlike the modern man, early cave dwellers were forced to eat a diet composed of protein since they had limited access to greens and grains.
The paleo diet permits foods such as meat, fish, eggs, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, selected fats like olive oil and coconut oil, and minimally processed sweeteners like raw honey. Practitioners of the Paleolithic diet emphasize on getting energy from animal products with a macronutrient breakdown of high protein and low carbohydrate.
What Do the Keto Diet and Paleo Diet Have in Common?
- Both Eliminate Grains and Legumes
Although for different reasons, both keto and paleo diet eliminate legumes, grains, and sugar, the paleo diet discourages eating of grains and legumes since they were not consumed by early cave dwellers. It is also discouraged because it contains anti-nutrients which can interfere with the body’s ability to absorb nutrients and minerals, and this causes digestive distress.
- Both Emphasize on Food Quality
Both paleo and keto encourage dieters to eat high-quality foods like raw nuts and seeds, organic produce, and healthy fats like coconut oil, avocado oil, and grass-fed butter. However, both diets discourage heavily processed fats like Trans fats, which can be damaging to human health when taken regularly.
- They are Effective Weight Loss Solutions
Both paleo and keto diets have gained recent popularity because of their potential to help individuals lose weight. Apart from weight loss, both diets can be used for other health goals. Keto is effective in treating inflammation, epilepsy, heart disease, acne, and diabetes while paleo helps treat inflammation, high cholesterol, diabetes and symptoms of IBS.
Differences Between the Keto Diet and Paleo Diet
The differences between these two diets come from their focus. The focus of the keto diet is to throw the body into the ketosis state which manipulates the macronutrient intake that includes high fat and low carb. On the other hand, the paleo diet focuses on food choices in order to promote health and not cause a metabolic change. This diet requires eliminating grains, dairy, and processed foods.
Which One is Better?
When it comes to choosing between keto vs paleo, you need to consider your goals and what you intend to achieve. While both diets can help in weight loss in the short-term, most people find the keto diet an effective weight loss tool since it eliminates hunger pangs and enables the dieter to eat less. Keto changes your metabolism, and this makes it effective in fat burning and improving physical performance, mood balance, and mental clarity.
Both diets can also help improve your cholesterol levels and blood sugar and reduce the symptoms of various diseases. Therefore, the associated health benefits of both diets can enable you to live a long and healthy life.
However, long-term research done on these diets has shown that they lack the efficacy and safety. Also, their restrictions can be difficult to maintain. Most people prefer the paleo diet because of the flexibility that comes with food choices and the fact that it is easier to maintain long term. Apart from having several options, paleo is a healthier option because most of your calories will not come from full fat. Therefore, the better choice between the two would probably be paleo.
Whichever diet you choose, the Modern Fit system can incorporate it into a tailored meal plan to help you lose weight easily.
