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"headline":"PALEO VS. KETO: WHICH DIET IS BETTER?",
"datePublished":"2019-01-21",
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"description":"Paleo vs. keto: which diet is best for health, weight loss, and overall well-being? Let's break down the debate here.",
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"text": "The paleo diet was originally coined by Dr. Loren Cordain, a professor and expert in ancestral diets from the University of Colorado. Since then, the diet has exploded on the health and wellness scene, especially with the connection it has with the popular workout called Crossfit.<br>The paleo diet is based on eating foods that were available to our ancestors.<br>The theory behind this way of eating is that our modern food, due to significant processing and production techniques, is what makes food damaging to our health.<br>Our food systems have changed significantly over the last century, but our DNA and bodies have not. <br>Eating real, whole foods instead of processed foods will support our overall health and reduce the risk of modern chronic diseases.<br>On the paleo diet you would not count calories or eat a specific amount of any specific macronutrient.<br>This is not necessarily a low carb diet, but it does eliminate a lot of high carbohydrate foods and sugar, which would naturally lower your carb intake. The main focus is on food quality, instead of macro or caloric quantity."
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"text": "The keto diet is a high fat, low carbohydrate diet. It focuses on eating between 5-10% of calories from carbs, 60-80% fat, and 15-25% of your calories from protein.<br>The keto diet might be “new” on the health and diet scene, but it was actually developed in the 1920s as a treatment for epilepsy. It lost favor over time as a treatment because medications were invented to control seizures. It had a resurgence in the 90s with a TV movie about the keto diet and epilepsy starring Meryl Streep.<br>With many celebrity endorsements, it has become a popular diet for weight loss over the last few years."
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"text": "You could lose weight on both diets since they eliminate many of the same foods. <br>There are several short-term studies showing that both diets could be effective for weight loss. But, it is important to note that there is no long-term research on either of these diets and how they impact body weight over time.<br>The short-term research on both paleo and keto is quite promising in terms of weight loss. A 2014 study in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that women following a paleo diet lost about 9% of their body weight after 6 months. <br>For the keto diet, a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine compared a low carb to a low fat diet for weight loss. After 24 weeks, subjects in the low carb group lost an average of 20 pounds of body fat versus subjects in the low fat group who only lost about 11 pounds.<br>At least in the short term, both diets seem to be effective for weight loss. But, you will likely lose weight faster on keto. <br>Keto quickly depletes glycogen stores. Each glycogen molecule is stored in the liver and muscles along with three molecules of water. When you deplete your stores, you also lose a lot of water, resulting in faster weight loss.<br>The ketogenic diet also suppresses appetite due to the high protein intake and shift in appetite regulating hormones caused by ketosis. This could give your weight loss an additional boost."
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"text": "The paleo and keto diets have a lot in common. <br>Both place an emphasis on eating whole foods rather than processed, high sugar foods. <br>Both eliminate grains and legumes. <br>The main difference is that paleo allows starchy vegetables and fruit, whereas keto does not. And keto allows more dairy products, like cheese.<br>Depending on the foods you choose to eat, both diets could be healthy and improve your blood sugar and cholesterol. <br>The paleo diet is a bit more flexible than the keto diet, as more foods are allowed. This may make it easier to maintain long-term and be healthier due to the increased variety of food.<br>But, if your goal is weight loss or you have metabolic conditions you are dealing with like high blood sugar, keto may be more effective. <br>The bottom line is there is no one diet that fits everyone’s goals or needs. At Warrior Made we recommend that people find a way of eating that makes them feel their best, not one that fits into a particular category."
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<article>
<div>
<ul>
<li><a href="#section1">What is the Paleo Diet?</a></li>
<li><a href="#section2">Paleo Diet Pros and Cons</a></li>
<li><a href="#section3">What is the Keto Diet?</a></li>
<li><a href="#section4">Keto Diet Pros and Cons</a></li>
<li><a href="#section5">Do You Lose Weight Faster on Paleo or Keto?</a></li>
<li><a href="#section6">Which is Better? Paleo or Keto?</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<section>
<p>Over the last few years, two diets seem to have dominated the health and wellness scene: paleo and keto. </p>
<p>“Paleo” stands for paleolithic and “keto” is short for ketogenic. Paleo is also sometimes referred to as the caveman diet. </p>
<p>Both diets have some similarities, but are slightly different in their purpose, foods they include, and overall methodology.</p>
<p>If you are looking for a diet to help you lose weight and be healthier, who wins in the battle of paleo vs keto?</p>
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<section id="section1">
<h2>What is the Paleo Diet?</h2>
<p>The paleo diet was originally coined by <a target="_blank" href="https://thepaleodiet.com/dr-loren-cordain/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Dr. Loren Cordain</a>, a professor and expert in ancestral diets from the University of Colorado. Since then, the diet has exploded on the health and wellness scene, especially with the connection it has with the popular workout called Crossfit.</p>
<p>The paleo diet is based on eating foods that were available to our ancestors<sup><a target="_blank" href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/proceedings-of-the-nutrition-society/article/ancestral-human-diet-what-was-it-and-should-it-be-a-paradigm-for-contemporary-nutrition/36E3866D0207692F8CA1CCA3BD947055" rel="nofollow noreferrer">1</a></sup>. </p>
<p>The theory behind this way of eating is that our modern food, due to significant processing and production techniques, is what makes food damaging to our health.</p>
<p>Our food systems have changed significantly over the last century, but our DNA and bodies have not. </p>
<p>Eating real, whole foods instead of processed foods will support our overall health and reduce the risk of modern chronic diseases <sup><a target="_blank" href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ejcn20094" rel="nofollow noreferrer">2</a></sup>. </p>
<p>On the paleo diet you would not count calories or eat a specific amount of any specific macronutrient. </p>
<p>This is not necessarily a low carb diet, but it does eliminate a lot of high carbohydrate foods and sugar, which would naturally lower your carb intake. The main focus is on food quality, instead of macro or caloric quantity. </p>
<p>Foods on the paleo diet include:</p>
<ul>
<li>Meat, poultry, fish- high quality, grass fed, organic.</li>
<li>Organic eggs</li>
<li>All fruits and vegetables</li>
<li>Roots and tubers</li>
<li>Nuts and seeds</li>
<li>Fats: olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, ghee, grass-fed butter</li>
</ul>
<p>Foods to avoid on the paleo diet include:</p>
<ul>
<li>Legumes and beans</li>
<li>All grains</li>
<li>Dairy products</li>
<li>Processed sugar</li>
</ul>
<p>Those who follow the paleo diet tend to see it as a way of life to promote optimal health. In the paleo diet community, there is also an emphasis placed on other healthy lifestyle habits, such as adequate sleep, stress management, and regular exercise.</p>
</section>
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<section id="section2">
<h2>Paleo Diet Pros and Cons</h2>
<p>The whole-foods focus of the paleo diet make it a nutrient-dense and healthy way of eating, full of vitamins and minerals from all the fruits and vegetables<sup><a target="_blank" href="https://par.nsf.gov/servlets/purl/10108015" rel="nofollow noreferrer">2</a></sup>. </p>
<p>Due to the elimination of dairy, there is some risk of inadequate calcium intake<sup><a target="_blank" href="https://ourarchive.otago.ac.nz/handle/10523/6309" rel="nofollow noreferrer">3</a></sup>. But overall, it is fairly easy to meet your nutritional needs while following a paleo diet.</p>
<p>The paleo diet has been found to be beneficial for helping improve metabolic symptoms, such as high cholesterol, blood pressure, and elevated blood sugar<sup><a target="_blank" href="https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/102/4/922/4564680" rel="nofollow noreferrer">4</a></sup>. The focus on other lifestyle factors, in addition to diet, makes it a healthy way of life. </p>
<p>The main downside of the paleo diet is that it is not specifically a weight loss diet.</p>
<p>You can lose weight while following the diet, as a side effect of healthier eating overall. It does also eliminate two entire food groups, dairy and grains, which may make it challenging to stick with long-term, although it is more flexible than keto.</p>
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<section id="section3">
<h2>What is the Keto Diet?</h2>
<p>The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.warriormade.com/content/diet/keto-101/" rel="noreferrer">keto diet</a> is a high fat, low carbohydrate diet. It focuses on eating between 5-10% of calories from carbs, 60-80% fat, and 15-25% of your calories from protein <sup><a target="_blank" href="https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/119/3/535?sso=1&sso_redirect_count=1&nfstatus=401&nftoken=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000&nfstatusdescription=ERROR%3A%20No%20local%20token&utm_source=TrendMD&utm_medium=TrendMD&utm_campaign=Pediatrics_TrendMD_0" rel="nofollow noreferrer">5</a></sup>. </p>
<p>The keto diet might be “new” on the health and diet scene, but it was actually developed in the 1920s as a treatment for epilepsy<sup><a target="_blank" href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-59259-808-3_2" rel="nofollow noreferrer">6</a></sup>. It lost favor over time as a treatment because medications were invented to control seizures. It had a resurgence in the 90s with a TV movie about the keto diet and epilepsy starring Meryl Streep<sup><a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/06/health/research/06epil.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">7</a></sup>. </p>
<p>With many celebrity endorsements, it has become a popular diet for weight loss over the last few years.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.warriormade.com/content/diet/what-is-the-keto-food-pyramid/" rel="noreferrer">Foods allowed on the keto diet</a> include:</p>
<ul>
<li>Protein: meat, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese</li>
<li>Non-starchy vegetables</li>
<li>Fats and oils</li>
<li>Nuts and seeds</li>
<li>Small amounts of berries</li>
</ul>
<p>Foods to avoid on keto include:</p>
<ul>
<li>All grains</li>
<li>Legumes and beans</li>
<li>Most fruit</li>
<li>Processed sugar</li>
</ul>
<p>The goal of the keto diet is to shift the body’s energy metabolism from sugar burning to fat burning.</p>
<p>The state where the body relies primarily on metabolites from fat (called 'ketones') is called 'ketosis' <sup><a target="_blank" href="https://www.advancesinpediatrics.com/article/S0065-3101(10)00004-6/abstract" rel="nofollow noreferrer">8</a></sup>. The main purpose of getting into ketosis and becoming a fat burner is to induce weight loss and promote natural appetite suppression, although there are other health benefits as well.</p>
</section>
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<section id="section4">
<h2>Keto Diet Pros and Cons</h2>
<p>Many people first discover the keto diet when they are trying to find the best diet to lose weight. Although keto is effective for weight loss, it has many other potential benefits <sup><a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12430970" rel="nofollow noreferrer">9</a></sup>. Here are a few of the highlights:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Appetite reduction</strong>. Due to the impact that keto has on appetite regulating hormones and the increased protein intake of the diet, it seems to naturally suppress appetite and calorie intake with little effort<sup><a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17228046" rel="nofollow noreferrer">10</a></sup>.</li>
<li><strong>Improved cholesterol and triglycerides</strong>. The keto diet lowers blood fats called triglycerides, increases levels of “good” HDL cholesterol, and decreases bad cholesterol(<sup><a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16424116" rel="nofollow noreferrer">11</a>,<a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19439458" rel="nofollow noreferrer">12</a></sup>).</li>
<li><strong>Decreased abdominal fat</strong>. Fat in the stomach area may be a sign of insulin resistance and increased inflammation. The keto diet helps people lose excess abdominal fat more than other diets(<sup><a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15533250" rel="nofollow noreferrer">13</a>,<a target="_blank" href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1038/oby.2006.277" rel="nofollow noreferrer">14</a></sup>).</li>
<li><strong>Reduces blood sugar and insulin</strong>. Cutting back on carbs significantly improves blood sugar and insulin needs(<sup><a target="_blank" href="https://nutritionandmetabolism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1743-7075-2-34" rel="nofollow noreferrer">15</a></sup>). </li>
<li><strong>Helps improve brain function</strong>. The ketogenic diet may protect the brain against age-related decline(<sup><a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2367001/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">16</a></sup>). </li>
</ul>
<p>Although the keto diet has many benefits, there are also a few drawbacks. </p>
<p>The keto diet, due to a lower intake of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.warriormade.com/content/diet/keto-fiber-foods-5-fiber-rich-foods-to-add/" rel="noreferrer">high fiber foods</a>, may not meet the daily fiber requirement of 25-35 grams per day, unless your diet is well balanced. There is some concern that this may negatively impact gut bacteria, who love to eat fiber, in the long run <sup><a target="_blank" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0920121118301578" rel="nofollow noreferrer">17</a></sup>. </p>
<p>The first week or two on the keto diet you may also experience the “keto flu”. These are the symptoms of your body moving into ketosis which include headaches, fatigue, and nausea<sup><a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2633336/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">18</a></sup>. But, this usually resolves once you fully move into ketosis.</p>
<p>The ketogenic diet is quite restrictive. It can be difficult to sustain long-term, since it eliminates many different food groups.</p>
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<section id="section5">
<h2>Do You Lose Weight Faster on Paleo or Keto?</h2>
<p>You could lose weight on both diets since they eliminate many of the same foods. </p>
<p>There are several short-term studies showing that both diets could be effective for weight loss. But, it is important to note that there is no long-term research on either of these diets and how they impact body weight over time.</p>
<p>The short-term research on both paleo and keto is quite promising in terms of weight loss. A 2014 study in the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24473459/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">European Journal of Clinical Nutrition</a> found that women following a paleo diet lost about 9% of their body weight after 6 months. </p>
<p>For the keto diet, a study published in the <a target="_blank" href="https://annals.org/aim/fullarticle/717451" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Annals of Internal Medicine</a> compared a low carb to a low fat diet for weight loss. After 24 weeks, subjects in the low carb group lost an average of 20 pounds of body fat versus subjects in the low fat group who only lost about 11 pounds.</p>
<p>At least in the short term, both diets seem to be effective for weight loss. But, you will likely lose weight faster on keto. </p>
<p>Keto quickly depletes glycogen stores. Each glycogen molecule is stored in the liver and muscles along with three molecules of water. When you deplete your stores, you also lose a lot of water, resulting in faster weight loss.</p>
<p>The ketogenic diet also suppresses appetite due to the high protein intake and shift in appetite regulating hormones caused by ketosis<sup><a target="_blank" href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/obr.12230" rel="nofollow noreferrer">18</a></sup>. This could give your weight loss an additional boost.</p>
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</section>
<hr class="divider-50 divider-medium mx-auto">
<section id="section6">
<h2>Which is better? Paleo or Keto?</h2>
<p>The paleo and keto diets have a lot in common.</p>
<p>Both place an emphasis on eating whole foods rather than processed, high sugar foods.</p>
<p>Both eliminate grains and legumes. </p>
<p>The main difference is that paleo allows starchy vegetables and fruit, whereas keto does not. And keto allows more dairy products, like cheese.</p>
<p>Depending on the foods you choose to eat, both diets could be healthy and improve your blood sugar and cholesterol. </p>
<p>The paleo diet is a bit more flexible than the keto diet, as more foods are allowed. This may make it easier to maintain long-term and be healthier due to the increased variety of food.</p>
<p>But, if your goal is weight loss or you have metabolic conditions you are dealing with like high blood sugar, keto may be more effective. </p>
<p>The bottom line is there is no one diet that fits everyone’s goals or needs. At Warrior Made we recommend that people find a way of eating that makes them feel their best, not one that fits into a particular category.</p>
</section>
</article>
