Both the ketogenic diet and prehistoric eating are espoused by influencers and experts alike. Below, Men's Health crunched the numbers on keto - "atkins on steroids" - and the paleo diet, another take on a low-carb, high-protein meal plan that are also rich in meat, fruits, and vegetables. With both diets, there are some significant differences between them. What is the Keto Diet? Short for 'the ketogenic diet', keto requires fat to make up to 80 per cent of your total daily calories, with protein making up the remaining 10 to 15 per cent and five per cent from carbohydrates - that's one slice of bread or an apple. High-fat proteins such as salmon, steak and pork are popular on keto, alongside avocados, nuts and cheese. With Keto, the goal is to force your body into 'ketosis', altering your energy source from carbohydrates to fat. What Is the Paleo Diet? Not unlike Keto, Paleo focuses on high-protein, low-carb foods that are rich with fibre. Meat, fruit and vegetables - foods eaten in the Paleolithic era - are popular, as are 'hunter-gatherer'-type foods that boost satiety. However, carbohydrates are 'allowed' in greater quantities. As opposed to Keto, Paleo encourages the individual to make more natural food choices - pizzas weren't available in Paleolithic times, after all - to encourage weight-loss. So, how do they stack up? Here, we crunch the numbers.
In addition, most people naturally eat less frequently on keto because of the high satiety level, so you’re likely already used to bigger windows without food. One of the foremost reasons people turn to intermittent fasting on the keto diet is to lose weight faster.10 Fasting can help you break through weight loss plateaus in a few different ways: Eating a high-fat keto diet and being in ketosis reduces appetite and increases satiety levels.11 It’s much easier to do intermittent fasting when this is the case, versus a diet of carb-filled foods that often increases cravings. Combining the keto diet with intermittent fasting can help decrease oxidative stress and inflammation in the body.12,13 Inflammation is part of the body’s complex biological immune response to illness, infections, injury, and other forms of stress.14 Up to a point, inflammation is normal and even desirable. But long-term, excessive inflammation can lead to joint pain, digestive issues, and other health problems. The combined efforts of intermittent fasting and the keto diet lead to enhanced cognitive performance and neuroplasticity.
Finally, using both these strategies together can help stabilize blood sugar levels as compared to intermittent fasting alone.4 Alternating between glucose and ketones for energy can cause spikes in blood sugar, leading to brain fog, mood swings, low energy, and other side effects. Someone eating the SAD might experience this with intermittent fasting; however, during keto-adaptation, liver and muscle glycogen deposits are maintained. With the absence of glucose to burn, you won’t experience the peaks and valleys of varying blood sugar levels. While intermittent fasting is not a necessary part of following a keto diet, I definitely recommend the approach if you want to double down on benefits, achieve previously unattainable results, and meet new health goals. Alone, each has its weight loss and healthy lifestyle benefits. Together, they can help you achieve your optimum health from the inside out. 1. Gibas MK et al. Induced and controlled dietary ketosis as a regulator of obesity and metabolic syndrome pathologies.
2. Stafstrom CE et al. The ketogenic diet as a treatment paradigm for diverse neurological disorders. 3. Hoyer S. Abnormalities of glucose metabolism in Alzheimer’s disease. Annals of the New York Academy of Science. 4. Volek JS et al. Comparison of energy-restricted very low-carbohydrate and low-fat diets on weight loss and body composition in overweight men and women. 5. Abbasi J. Interest in the ketogenic diet grows for weight loss and type 2 diabetes. 6. Klempel MC. Dietary and physical activity adaptations to alternate day modified fasting: implications for optimal weight loss. 7. Barnosky A. Intermittent fasting vs daily calorie restriction for type 2 diabetes prevention: a review of human findings. 9. McCarty M et al. Ketosis may promote brain macroautophagy by activating Sirt1 and hypoxia-inducible factor-1. 10. Johnstone A. Fasting for weight loss: an effective strategy or latest dieting trend? Int J Obes. 11. Van Wymelbeke V et al.
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