A Closer Look at the Paleo and Keto Diets
Both paleo and keto diets emphasize whole food consumption, but each has their own specific set of rules: the paleo diet offers greater freedom with food selection while keto has more stringent regulations.
Both diets aim to avoid foods known to be unhealthy and exclude certain micronutrients that could potentially lead to deficiencies.
Carbohydrates
Both the paleo diet and keto diet are low-carb eating plans designed to facilitate weight loss and treat related health conditions associated with obesity. But closer inspection reveals some key distinctions that you should keep in mind before selecting which is right for you.
The keto diet emphasizes eating plenty of healthy fats and moderate amounts of protein to achieve ketosis – a state in which your liver converts dietary fat into ketones for energy production.
The paleo diet differs from keto in that it allows a wider selection of natural and grass-fed meats as well as starchy vegetables like potatoes and beets, in addition to encouraging the consumption of nutritive sweeteners such as dates and coconut sugar.
Fats
Both the paleo diet and keto emphasize an abundant consumption of fats; however, their respective advocates differ in how much and type of fat they focus on: paleo followers tend to avoid saturated and trans fats while keto followers emphasize monounsaturated and polyunsaturated varieties.
Both diets emphasize whole food consumption while discouraging added sugar intake. Furthermore, both diets ban grains, legumes, and most processed foods.
Both diets provide positive health benefits; which one best meets your individual needs and goals depends on you. For example, keto may help with metabolic health, weight loss and immune function while paleo may reduce inflammation while protecting against cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
Protein
Paleo and keto diets share similar goals of eating whole, unprocessed foods without ultra-processed items like refined sugars, grains, legumes or dairy; however they differ when it comes to encouraging protein consumption, fat consumption or other elements of their respective dietary plans.
The keto diet consists of very few carbs, moderate protein intake and high fat intake; this allows your body to enter ketosis (fat burning mode), leading to weight loss, increased energy and improved health benefits.
The Paleo Diet, similar to keto, emphasizes eating more meat and poultry while still including fish, nuts, seeds, and some fruit as part of its staple foods.
Dairy
Both the paleo diet and keto diet prioritize whole food sources over processed items like sweeteners, fats, and oils to maximize nutritional intake while decreasing potential health risks. Following such diets enables followers to consume close-to-natural ingredients which allow for maximum absorption of essential vitamins and minerals while simultaneously decreasing risks to their bodies.
Both diets prioritize filling foods, such as protein and fiber – two satiating nutrients in any diet plan.
The keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat eating plan designed to put your body into ketosis for weight loss by burning fat for energy instead of glucose, providing more sustained satiation while eating fewer calories overall.
Keto diet followers may consume dairy products such as heavy cream, butter and full-fat yogurt while Paleo dieters do not allow dairy as part of their ancestors’ diets.
Vegetables
Vegetables are an integral component of a healthy diet, and should comprise the bulk of daily consumption. Vegetables provide many essential vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients which contribute to overall wellness.
Vegetables contain significant quantities of potassium, an essential nutrient for maintaining healthy blood pressure levels and red blood cell production. Furthermore, vegetables provide ample amounts of folic acid which aids the body in the production of red blood cells.
Vegetables offer many nutritional benefits while remaining low in net carbs – which makes them essential components of the keto lifestyle. For instance, lettuce contains only 0.2 net carbs per 100-gram serving!
What is the Paleo Keto Diet?
Paleo keto is a health-focused approach to weight loss that combines the nutrient dense nature of paleo diets with fat burning macros from keto diets to help balance blood sugar, reduce inflammation and protect against neurodegenerative disease while simultaneously losing excess weight and improving metabolic health.
Both diets restrict certain food groups, such as grains, legumes, dairy, refined sugars and processed oils. Furthermore, both restrict antinutrient consumption; compounds found in plant-based foods that interfere with your body’s ability to absorb essential vitamins.
1. Limiting carbohydrate intake
If you wish to follow the paleo keto diet, limiting carbs is crucial – however, this can be tricky if your current diet includes plenty of grains and legumes.
As well, it is wise to avoid processed foods that contain high levels of sugar and carbohydrates since these substances can interfere with your ability to achieve ketosis.
Reducing carb intake can help you achieve weight loss and enhance overall health benefits. One effective method to do so is by decreasing carb intake while simultaneously increasing fat and protein consumption.
Limit your carbohydrate consumption by opting for vegetables and fruits with a lower glycemic index such as sweet potatoes or root vegetables such as carrots. This will lower your intake without compromising their nutritive value.
2. Increasing fat intake
The Paleo Keto Diet (PKD) is a low-carb, high-fat eating plan that encourages its followers to consume more meat, fish, eggs and oil-based fats as well as vegetables and fruit.
The Paleo diet prohibits all grains – wheat, corn, rye and barley – as well as most fruit, legumes and sweeteners.
A typical paleo diet comprises meat, fish, veggies and small amounts of dairy. Additionally, this type of diet provides ample sources of healthy fats like olive and coconut oils as sources of nutrition.
Long term, both paleo and keto diets are beneficial approaches that will help you shed unwanted weight while improving overall health.
Both diets aim to limit saturated and trans fats to prevent an increase in LDL (bad) cholesterol. Keto also encourages moderate-to-liberal amounts of unsaturated fats that may reduce heart disease risk and obesity risks.
3. Eliminating grains and legumes
The paleo keto diet emphasizes eating foods our ancestors enjoyed millions of years ago. It aims to replace modern processed foods with whole fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and healthy fats for maximum effectiveness.
Limiting refined sugars, salt and vegetable oils that have been processed for convenience is also key as these foods have been linked to obesity, high blood pressure and heart disease.
Paleo dieters discourage consumption of grains such as wheat, corn, barley, rye and rice because these may contain antinutrients which impede your body’s ability to absorb minerals and nutrients effectively.
Carb-rich foods such as bread can increase your blood sugar and lead to insulin resistance, potentially increasing risk.
Paleo dieters typically avoid legumes such as beans, peas and lentils due to their high protein content that could impede weight loss. Furthermore, Paleo dieters generally limit the consumption of grains like rice pasta bread as part of their weight-loss regimen.
4. Limiting added sugar
Reducing added sugars is an effective way to lose weight, and the paleo keto diet does just that. While refined sugars are restricted, unrefined sources like honey and maple syrup are allowed as sources of sweetener.
In addition to restricting added sugars, the paleo keto diet also recommends cutting back on high-sugar fruits and starchy vegetables such as potatoes and squash that contain high concentrations of fructose and starch, to maintain blood sugar balance and reduce metabolic disease risks.
Keto and paleo diets both advocate consuming moderate to high doses of healthy fats such as fish oil, olive oil, avocado and nuts as part of a balanced diet, along with unsophisticated oils such as unrefined or virgin olive oil.
However, dairy products can present challenges on a paleo keto diet. Milk contains carbohydrates in the form of lactose which makes it hard to accommodate.
