The study found that the keto diet generates about 3 kg of carbon dioxide per 1,000 calories consumed, while the paleo diet produces 2.6 kg per 1,000 calories. Having a low carbon footprint is important as it helps to reduce the negative impact of human activities on the environment and mitigate climate change.
The keto and paleo diets were discovered to be the least sustainable and received the lowest diet quality scores among the six popular diets that were analyzed.
This may be difficult for those following the keto or paleo diets to swallow.
According to a recent study from Tulane University, which evaluated the nutritional quality and environmental impact of popular diets, the keto and paleo diets, as consumed by American adults, received the lowest scores for overall nutrition quality and had the highest carbon footprints.
The keto diet, which prioritizes high amounts of fat and low amounts of carbs, was estimated to generate almost 3 kg of carbon dioxide for every 1,000 calories consumed. The paleo diet, which eschews grains and beans in favor of meats, nuts, and vegetables, received the next lowest diet quality score and also had a high carbon footprint, at 2.6 kg of carbon dioxide per 1,000 calories.
The study, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, compiled diet quality scores using data from more than 16,000 adult diets collected by the CDC’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Individual diets were assigned point values based on the federal Healthy Eating Index and average scores were calculated for those eating each type of diet.
The study’s senior author Diego Rose, professor and nutrition program director at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, said that while researchers have examined the nutritional impact of keto and paleo diets, this is the first study to measure the carbon footprints of each diet, as consumed by U.S. adults and compare them to other common diets.
“We suspected the negative climate impacts because they’re meat-centric, but no one had really compared all these diets – as they are chosen by individuals, instead of prescribed by experts – to each other using…