In the past, there has been confusion about different diets and their overall benefit on health and weight loss. Two of the most popular diets in the past two years have been the keto diet and the plant-based diet. While both have substantial effects on weight loss and health, they are vastly different. The plant-based vs. keto debate is ongoing, so let’s look at the facts.
What is Keto?
Keto is a diet characterized by its focus on macronutrients: carbohydrates, fats, and protein. The goal of the keto diet is to put your body in a state of ketosis where it burns fats instead of carbs. This response happens through consuming a high amount of fats and low amounts of carbs.
What is Plant-based?
Plant-based is a diet that is less focused on macronutrients, and more focused on micronutrients–vitamins and minerals. Also, it is more centered around a healthy lifestyle than weight loss (although it’s been proven to promote weight loss). Finally, plant-based means a vegan diet with an emphasis on nutrient dense whole foods. The terms can be used interchangeably, but while vegan foods are free from animal products, plant-based takes a healthy spin on it.
What are Healthy Keto Food Options?
There are a lot of different snack options for keto. Still, with any diet, the best way to keep keto healthy is by finding quality whole foods. One problem with the keto diet is that it can eliminate some staple groups like certain fruits and vegetables. To keep some of that fiber that is essential to weight-loss and gut health, finding low carb vegetables is best.
Additionally, low sugar fruits can also be very beneficial. For main sources of protein, seafood, meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy are great options. Alternatively, since keto has an emphasis on high amounts of fat, nuts and oils are the recommended group. In the keto versus plant-based conversation, both have their benefits if done the correct way.
What are Healthy Plant-based Food Options?
Much like keto, plant-based requires quality whole-foods to be healthy. Although, unlike keto, the plant-based diet has an emphasis on more super-vegan food options. With the diet focused mainly on vegetables, grains, and fruits, it is much easier to eat fewer calories. A good plant-based diet is full of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, healthy oils, and healthy protein. To build a healthy diet, find vegan foods that fulfill all the necessities of the plant-based plate. For example, beans and nuts can be a great source of protein. Finally, a healthy animal-free diet avoids refined grains.
Plant-based versus Keto: Which is Better for Weight Loss?
Plant-based versus keto in weight loss can be vastly different, much like the components of each diet. keto has been proven to help people lose their extra pounds fast. However, it has also shown that the weight lost can easily be gained back after stopping the diet. It’s also harder to sustain the diet, making keto good for fast weight loss but not very sustainable without the upkeep. Plant-based on the other hand is promising for a more sustainable weight loss. It can be easier to follow than keto and offers an approach to weight loss that keeps the pounds off. Although fast fat burning may sound appealing, weight loss is unfortunately more complicated and oftentimes short-cuts can’t be taken. A good avenue for weight loss would be a plant-based diet that incorporates keto.
Which Foods are Both Keto and Plant-based?
Plant-based versus keto is often debated. Even so, a good choice to get both the benefits is a keto diet that is plant-based. Although a keto plant-based diet is a lot more restrictive, there is also a lot more that can be done. One way to do this is by eliminating sugars, high-starch veggies, and grains. These can be replaced by healthy nuts, low sugar fruits, low carb vegetables, seeds, and plant based oils.
For protein options, no sugar plant-based protein powders, nuts, seeds, and nutritional yeast can be good avenues to explore. Plant-based versus keto doesn’t necessarily have to be a debate. Although it’s more restrictive, it’s certainly possible to be plant-based on keto and a recommended option for keto.
Plant-based versus Keto: Which is Best for Long Term Health?
Although both have their benefits, plant-based versus keto has a winner over which is better for overall health. Since keto is relatively new, there isn’t much research on long-term health. However, it is suggested that the high amounts of fats in the keto diet may not be heart-healthy long term. Furthermore, carbohydrates are an essential macronutrient, and although lower carbs can reduce body fat, if the diet is practiced incorrectly, it may not be good for people. Likewise, if the plant-based diet is practiced incorrectly, it can also have inverse side effects. One of the largest side effects is vitamin B deficiency, which is an essential vitamin for brain health.
Plant-based has been proven to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and different types of cancer. Alternatively, keto has also been proven to help with blood pressure, cholesterol, and inflammation. Both have their health benefits, so it depends on what diet works best with certain health issues.
Keto and Plant-based Snacks
There are many different options on the shelves for both diets, but the best snacks are the minimally processed ones. For keto, non-starchy veggies are a good way to get fiber without as many carbs. Additionally, sugar-free nut and seed butters are good snacks too. Nuts and seeds are great on the go snacks, and full fat dairy products can also work well too. Low sugar fruits also make good snacks.
When comparing plant-based versus keto, plant-based usually provides a larger range of snacks since it is less restrictive. Some good plant-based snacks are fruits and veggies, nuts, seeds, and protein bars. Raw Rev has great protein bars for a fast and healthy snack. Avocado toast is also a tasty plant-based snack, along with popcorn and roasted chickpeas. There are also some good minimally processed snacks on the shelves at local stores for both diets.
Best Tasting Keto and Plant-based Protein Bars
While some protein bars are vegan, it can be difficult to find a protein bar that’s nutrient dense. That is why Raw Rev is a great source of healthy, plant-based protein to add to a diet. There are eight different delicious flavors to choose from that include a range of light, sweet flavors to richer flavors. Raw Rev also has a lower amount of carbs than some other protein bars, which satisfy the keto diet. Additionally, it offers a great deal of protein and fat, both essential to keto.
Finally, Raw Rev has options that are gluten free, which makes it a great option for those with additional dietary restrictions. With Raw Rev, you don’t necessarily need to ask if plant-based versus keto is better. With proper planning, you can incorporate it into your diet and get both.
