When it comes to the paleo diet vs keto, which one is best? It’s an understatement to say that the popularity of these diets has skyrocketed in recent years. Many people are enticed by their claims of impressive health benefits and want to try them out. But, it may be rather difficult to decide which one of these approaches may be more beneficial for your health.
At a glance, both the paleo diet and the keto diet seem fairly similar. Both diets claim to be more in tune with the human body’s needs than the classic Western diet. Both promise a quick and easy weight loss and better health outcomes. However, a closer look reveals several important differences that you may need to take into account before reaching a decision. Paleo and keto diets are not comparable when it comes to their nutritional value, flexibility or potential side effects.
In this article, we will explain their key principles as well as similarities and differences between paleo and keto to help you decide if either of these diets could be best for you.
What is a paleo diet?
The ‘paleo diet’ term was first used in 2002 by Dr Loren Cordain to describe a dietary pattern that reflects the habits and culinary practices of hunter-gatherers from the preagricultural Paleolithic era. It is also referred to as the ‘Stone Age diet’, ‘caveman diet’, or ‘primal diet’.
Although we don’t know much about what our ancestors actually ate on a daily basis, it’s assumed that their diet was largely based on lean meat, fish, seafood, fruits, vegetables, seeds and nuts. Foods such as cereals, grains, dairy products and refined oils were introduced much later and as such, they are not typically included in paleo diets.
According to a study published in the Science of The Total Environment, paleo diets tend to be low in carbohydrates (approx. 25% of total energy intake) and high in protein (approx. 30% of total energy intake), cholesterol and polyunsaturated fatty acids (approx. 15% of total energy intake). The diet quality score comes down to 260, which places the paleo diet well above the recommended value.
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What is a keto diet?
It’s been shown that the…