paleo diet vs keto- A Deep Analysis

paleo diet vs keto- A Deep Analysis

When we look at the diet trends of the 2000s, there are two diets that stand out: keto and paleo. While these two diets share some common practices, they are also radically different. You can't use them at the same time, but if we compare the two you can get an idea of what works best for you and understand the key principles of an effective diet. Today we're going to compare and contrast these two important diets so you can cut through the hype and choose the right diet. Why compare paleo diet vs keto? For starters, they are popular and relatively effective. You will see positive results with both when you switch from a 'normal' or unhealthy diet. The real question is which one will be most effective for you. The popularity of both diets is also a reaction to the same thing: a low-quality, high-carb, high-calorie diet that has become 'normal'. The keto diet tries to address the carbohydrate problem, while the paleo diet is more about the processing and 'food product' market we have built. Finally, they are examples of diets that take radically different approaches to solving the same health and fitness problems. What matters most is what essential lessons you will take away from the equation. What is the Keto diet and how does it work?

Keto is a low-carb, high-fat diet. It aims to induce a state of ketosis (what happens when you run out of carbs and start burning fats) long enough for you to get used to a low-carb diet. This makes you more efficient at using fat as a fuel source. It also means you'll likely eat fewer calories and keep your diet a bit "cleaner." The main idea behind using the keto diet is that you will become more efficient at using fat , which should mean moving more body fat. In reality it's more complicated than that, but as a simple explanation of how it works, it's not far off. The one thing to remember is that it doesn't magically burn more fat: it just makes you more effective at burning fat during exercise. The pros and cons of a Keto diet The main benefits and weaknesses of the Keto diet stem from the same fact: it is a diet specialized in endurance and fat burning. Keto is constructed in such a way that you become efficient at burning fats, you don't have to worry about topping up on carbs, and you have hundreds of thousands of calories of body fat to rely on. This has been shown to improve performance and reduce body weight in athletes. The problem is that if you don't do much work on your endurance, it probably won't bring many additional benefits. Keto can be helpful for healthier aging, but it won't benefit you now. The additional problem is that you have to be patient to see the results. While many other diets are a relatively short transition and will produce benefits quickly, the keto diet requires metabolic adjustment. Your body doesn't do anything quickly and the keto adaptation process continues to improve for up to 3 months after starting the diet. This is of course accompanied by an improvement in health and well-being. Reducing carbohydrates is a great way to reduce the insulin response and ensure your blood sugar levels remain low and steady – essential for improving health and managing the symptoms of diabetes. What is the Paleo Diet and how does it work?

Paleo is a diet designed around some of the ideas of food “cleanliness” and the whole food movement. This is just the idea that you shouldn't eat so much junk food as a logical conclusion. The paleo diet says you shouldn't eat anything that wasn't available to our caveman ancestors. This diet gained much popularity thanks to the development of CrossFit – a sport that for a long time flew under the Paleo banner. The top athletes in that type of exercise no longer use the Paleo diet, but it became popular in its own right. However, CrossFit's nutritional motto sticks to describing Paleo: “Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no (added) sugar. Keep intake at a level that supports exercise, but not body fat”. The pros and cons of a Paleo diet The benefits of a paleo diet are obvious: you reduce your intake of poor-quality foods and stock up on whole foods. This may be a difficult change at first, but it has benefits for overall diet quality – linked to a whole range of health benefits, from heart disease to diabetes and healthy aging. The hard part is over-restricting major, healthy food groups. For example, beans and whole grains aren't a big part of paleo, but they provide essential nutrients like magnesium and zinc. These are crucial plant-based starches and provide some of the best carbohydrate-protein blends available. The Paleo diet also seems to struggle to clearly define what to eat and why. The problem is that the concepts of what you should eat on the Paleo diet are not scientific, but moralistic or perhaps ideological. It is a lifestyle approach to eating and what was available to Paleolithic man included grains and other plant foods and has nothing to do with your health. The side effects of the diet are beneficial: improving whole food intake, focusing on lean proteins and plant foods, and reducing overall carbohydrate intake to healthy levels. However, these aren't just for the paleo diet – they are found in many other, more scientific and often moderate diets. The problem with Paleo is that it is still a big “why” that it cannot answer. Why should you care what Paleolithic man ate? It doesn't address your physiology or nutritional needs. You can simply adjust everything else to reap the benefits and then allow yourself to eat processed foods and starches where they help you stick to your diet or provide additional benefits. The problem with paleo, as I see it, is that it adds more restrictions than necessary – many of which are unnecessary or even counterproductive. A half-paleo diet makes sense (cutting out a lot of processed foods – and relying on whole foods), but all together it focuses on the old, 'hardcore' CrossFit lifestyle – not on your health and results. Where do Keto and Paleo disagree? Crucially, Keto does not accept carbohydrates, while Paleo does not accept processed foods. It is not correct to say that a keto diet is of lower quality because it is based on processed, fatty foods of poor quality. These are plentiful, and you could (theoretically) follow a keto diet with nothing but butter, bacon, and chocolate. That is of course not the intention. It's about eating high-fat, high-quality food. On the other hand, however, the Paleo diet seems overly restrictive on healthy foods and the category for defining healthy foods seems vague and ill-defined. After all, you can eat a paleo diet and still get fat if you don't have control over calories and the types of foods you consume. In many ways, the Keto diet offers a more scientifically rich overview. Of course, they also have strong similarities. The Paleo diet clearly reduces carbohydrate intake, although not as drastically as the Keto diet. The restriction on starch is a clear indication that these are low-carb diets, as eating little starch and no sugar means a significant restriction in carbohydrates. paleo diet vs keto: Which is Better? Keto vs Paleo question mark This isn't really a fair question as it's more important to ask which one will be best for you. Keto is superior if you want to improve your endurance and burn fat. It will decrease your overall strength output, but it will boost your endurance and aerobic performance. It's a simple trade-off, but one you need to think about in relation to your goals. Paleo, on the other hand, is generalized. It is not specific to endurance, although a reduction in carbohydrates will tend more toward endurance than strength. The focus on “whole” foods is great, although not specific to paleo, and it can be a great way to improve your overall diet quality if you can stick to the often strict ideas about what you can eat. The real question you need to ask yourself, however, is what behavior do you want to change? The best we can take from the keto and paleo diets is the common thread that makes them both effective: cleaning up your diet, focusing on high-quality foods, and reducing your dependence on food products and overfeeding. The space in the middle of the Venn diagram between keto and paleo is carbohydrate restriction, a focus on better quality and dealing with the underlying behavior. Paleo is great if you find yourself eating way too much processed junk, while Keto is a lifeline for anyone dealing with pre-diabetes and a penchant for sugary snacks. The crucial lesson is to choose what is right for you and remember that this may change over time. The best diet for you is the one you can stick to and the Keto and Paleo diets will suit each of us differently. The essential lesson of both diets is that you need to make long-term, sustainable change and set a higher standard for the food you eat. That's the real message underlying effective nutrition – not just “diets” – and it makes you a better, happier, healthier person!