Paleo vs. Keto: The Great Debate
There are so many diets out there today, but I’m a firm believer that choosing a lifestyle change is the healthier, long-term path to take. Diets can come and go, much like the weight. But making a conscious choice to commit to a healthy lifestyle will bring you actual benefits and results. While there are still many choices to consider, I’m often asked this one question: Paleo or Keto?
What is Paleo?
Paleo may just be the answer to your weight and health issues. It's a lifestyle that can transform you inside and out. I'm talking healthy, glowing skin and wrinkles that will fade away as quickly as the pounds do! Paleo helps improve your muscle tone, boosts your mood, and heals your body.
Choosing to live the Paleo lifestyle is about simple eating. It’s about a healthy, long-term change. Living Paleo can take away your body’s aches and pains, while also combatting fatigue and chronic inflammation. And these are just a few of the amazing benefits. The Paleo lifestyle is:
- Nutrient-rich
- Anti-inflammatory
- Hormone modulating
It helps your body reset and rebuild a stronger cellular system. It’s a way of life that takes you back to nature and the simple foods that are genuinely beneficial to your body. Foods that are easily absorbed and digested most efficiently by your body, including:
- Vegetables
- Fruits
- Lean meats
- Seafood
- Naturally occurring healthy fats
If our ancestors from the Paleolithic era could thrive off the simplicity that Paleo foods offer, think of what it can do for your body today. By cutting out the processed foods, sugars, and starches we are so accustomed to, we would live much healthier lives and face fewer modern-day diseases. The nutritional value in Paleo foods can offer:
- A balance of protein, fat, and carbohydrates
- The ability to promote and maintain your acid-base balance
- Intestinal health due to enormous amounts of daily fiber
- A healthy fatty-acid balance (Omega-6 to Omega-3 balance)
- Balanced blood sugar levels
What is Keto?
The Keto lifestyle requires a daily diet high in fat, low in carbs, and a moderate amount of protein. It allows your body to burn and utilize fat for its energy instead of carbs. The burning of fat over glucose is known as ketosis. Keto can help you lose weight, balance your blood sugar levels, and regulate your insulin levels. Some find Keto ideal for their weight loss goals because your body can burn fat even when you're not physically active. Sounds too good to be true, right? This isn’t a pass to live a lazy lifestyle, but it’s nice to know your body is still hard at work for you even when you’re relaxing or sleeping.
Adopting a Keto lifestyle also offers its share of health benefits. Not only does it help to improve your mood and promote brain health, but it also provides:
- Enhanced endurance and performance
- A boost to your metabolism
- Assisted weight loss
- Healthy cholesterol levels
- Lowered risk for heart disease
You may also be asking yourself if Keto is a safe option. Think back to our ancestors again. There were many times the food was scarce, and the next meal was unknown. The body was thrown into natural ketosis to adapt and survive, and they did just fine. As long as you understand how to choose healthy fats, Keto can offer your body many health benefits. Among some of the beneficial Keto foods to choose from are:
- Wild fish
- Grass-fed dairy
- Avocados
- Non-starchy vegetables
- Low-carb fruits
- Pastured meats
- Bone broth, of course!
The Real Debate
While Paleo offers a healthy long-term lifestyle option, there are still on-going studies to determine if Keto is a healthy long-term choice. Although we see the remarkable benefits that it has to offer, questions of long-term outcomes remain unanswered.
Paleo can help you feel energized and refreshed from the start, while adjusting to Keto can often provide an adjustment period, causing symptoms of the “Keto flu.” Don’t forget, you are reducing your carb intake rather significantly. For many of you, this is forcing your body to adapt to a drastic change. You may experience cold-like symptoms, including:
- Vomiting
- Fatigue
- Dizziness
- Diarrhea
Wondering how to soothe these symptoms? Bone broth contains a minimal amount of carbs that are sure to help you get through this transition.
Similarities and Differences Worth Noting
Both Paleo and Keto allow you to consume carbs. Considering you are eliminating processed carbs, both Paleo and Keto end up being low-carb options. While Paleo allows you to consume natural sugars, Keto does not. In fact, Keto even eliminates certain vegetables, including potatoes. Since carbs raise your blood sugar levels, your body would no longer be in a state of ketosis.
Paleo living strongly discourages dairy while Keto encourages certain types. Grass-fed butter and Greek yogurt are among some of the dairy options that are high in fat and low in carbs; perfect for the Keto life.
How Do I Know Which One is Best for Me?
Although there are several similarities between Keto and Paleo, their philosophies are different. Keto is focused on metabolic change through science-based approaches. Paleo focuses on a holistic approach where your food choice is more important than macronutrients. While both offer wonderful benefits, choose the option that best suits your goals and needs.
Let’s say you’re an athlete focused on resistance training. Choosing the Paleo lifestyle would be most beneficial to your goals. It offers you the carbs your body needs to get through those high-intensity workouts. But what if you’re an endurance athlete? Keto would then make a better choice for you. The high fat intake of the Keto lifestyle promotes prolonged endurance by using stored fat as the energy source.
You will also want to consider any current health conditions when choosing between Paleo and Keto. If you have a health condition such as diabetes, the Keto path can offer you more benefits. Its restrictive carb intake increases insulin sensitivity, so it is a much healthier fit for people with diabetes. You know your body best, so choose the path that is better suited to meet your needs.
Ready to make a healthy lifestyle change? We’re here to help you succeed!
