We’ve come across a few health professionals who are not fans of keto. Fair enough, there isn’t as much long-term research on keto as some other ways of eating. It must drive them nuts though when our blood work comes back time after time with perfect numbers. What drives me nuts is when health professionals say keto isn’t healthy. I always ask, it isn’t healthy compared to what? So, I thought I should do a series of blogs that compare keto to some of the top ways we eat as North Americans. This week we look at what’s healthier – keto or vegan diets?
The Keto Diet
Keto uses fat to create energy rather than carbs. A basic keto diet takes in 75% of its calories from fat, 5% from carbs, and 20% from protein. The carbs you do take in, when you do strict keto, are from vegetables and low-carb fruit (like berries). On a strict keto diet, you eat very little in the way of processed foods – it’s mostly fresh foods.
The Vegan Diet
A vegan diet excludes any animal products, including meat, eggs, and dairy. They also avoid bee products and any animal-based materials, like leather. People turn to this diet for many reasons, but usually for ethical, health, and environmental concerns. It has become much more popular over the last few years, and there is often at least one vegan in a group of people.
Keto or Vegan – The Similarities
A keto and vegan diet actually have a lot of things in common. Firstly, health experts criticize both as being unsustainable long-term. Nutritional experts have little faith in our abilities to keep to these “restrictive” diets. Sometimes, we prove them right, and sometimes we prove them wrong.
Health professionals also criticize both diets for leading to nutritional deficiencies. Of course, with the vegan diet, that means a lack of protein. People usually turn to meat for their protein. As a vegetarian, I turned to dairy and eggs for my protein sources. Those are both off limits for a vegan. With keto, health professionals worry that we will lack in our vitamins as we don’t take in variety of fruit and vegetables.
Finally, those who follow these diets tend to be very passionate. There is a joke that goes, “How do you know if someone is on keto? They’ll tell you.” The same rings true for a vegan. We do tend to feel a little superior, and pass that information on to others – whether you want to know it or not!
Keto or Vegan – The Differences
Obviously, the biggest difference is what we eat. On keto, we eat meat and dairy products as well as a lot of eggs. We eat the least amount of carbs – fruits and vegetables. Vegans base their diet around carbs. The base of the entire diet is what can be grown – in a garden or on trees. And, vegans will not eat protein in the form of meat or animal by-products.
The keto diet is usually based on a desire to lose weight and/or be healthier. Many people turn to keto because they want to lose weight and stick to it because of the health benefits it brings. Vegans tend to turn to this way of eating due to ethical concerns and their passion for the environment and animal rights.
My Thoughts on Keto or Vegan Eating Habits
I have a lot of respect for vegans. I was a vegetarian for most of my 20’s because of my passionate views on animal rights. Bill and I still try to buy meat from smaller farms who I know care for their animals. I grew up in a farming area, and the dairy cows I saw were always treated very well, so I’ve never minded turning to dairy. And, of course, I prefer free-range (but pasteurized) eggs as well. So, I get it.
Here’s the thing. Both the keto and vegan diet require research. You have to find out what you should be eating to remain healthy. In our society, we usually just put convenient food in our mouths and hope for the best. If you research alternate protein sources that are acceptable to you, as a vegan you will be fine. If you research ways to get the vitamins and nutrients you need on a keto diet, you will be fine. It’s all about making informed choices.
Wendy
