Over the years, the transformation has been the only constant thing in this world–from the rapid development of society, lifestyle, and ideas. However, it seems like even healthy diets are not exempted from this transformation. For one, it can be said that the Ketogenic diet has, in some ways, transformed the health world.
How so? Years ago, most individuals would’ve scoffed at the idea of you taking only around 50 grams of carbohydrates daily. Through the years, most individuals in the United States and throughout the world have become “metabolically wired” to consuming high amounts of carbs as part of their daily diet.
The ketogenic diet is science-backed and even recommended as it serves a wide range of health benefits. Among the help of the Ketogenic diet that has become increasingly popular through the years are its effect on weight loss, managing type 2 diabetes, insulin levels, and blood sugar.
Now, even famous artists like Tim Tebow and Halle Berry swear by the ketogenic diet’s significant results. Hence, there’s no doubt that the ketogenic diet will continue to reshape how people think and view the diet and transform the health world.
What is the Ketogenic Diet?
Even the ketogenic diet itself has transformed through the years. But what is the ketogenic diet at its core?
The Ketogenic Diet is low in carb, medium in protein, and high in a healthy fat type of diet. How does this work?
As we said, most individuals in the world are now “metabolically wired” because most of our diet includes consuming carb-rich foods. As a natural consequence, our bodies have too many glycogen stores, which glucose is then used to fuel our bodies.
However, in a Ketogenic diet, your body is reconfigured to source fuel from glucose to fats. What do I mean? Since a ketogenic diet is a low-carb type of diet, your glucose stores will not be enough to fuel your body. Since the ketogenic is high in healthy fats, that means that your body will have no other option but to source fuel from those healthy fats. Your fats are converted into ketones to be used to fuel your body. When you successfully do this, your body enters the metabolic state of ketosis, which is the goal in every ketogenic diet.
The standard type of ketogenic diet has the following macronutrient ratio:
70-75% of fats
20-25 % of protein
5-10% carbohydrates
As we said, even the ketogenic diet had transformed. Now, there have also been different subsets of the diet that have appeared over the years.
Throughout the years, modified low-carb methods have surfaced. These methods include “clean keto,” “lazy keto,” and “dirty keto,” which have ultimately become mainstream through the years.
This article will explore the different variations of the ketogenic diet, their various benefits, and the downsides and help you choose which type of keto works best for you.
What is Clean Keto?
Clean Keto is referred to as the standard ketogenic diet. This method of ketogenic diet involves consuming high amounts of low-carb vegetables, fatty and lean meats, and healthy fats. These include coconut oil, nuts, and olive oil, and other sources of healthy fats.
Why is it called “clean”? The Clean Keto is called “clean” primarily because most of your food is sourced from whole-food sources instead of processed food.
If you want to follow the clean keto, it is recommended for you to take in 20 to 50g net carbs daily. Yup, this may involve you saying goodbye to your favorite rich-carb food. Why 20-50 grams? Consuming 20-50 grams of net carbs per day is enough to induce your body ketosis. With this, your liver then releases ketones that help burn your stored body fat to be used as energy instead of glucose.
The primary benefit of following a clean keto involves the many essential vitamins, nutrients, and minerals like fiber you will get, which will help promote weight loss and improve overall health.
What is Lazy Keto?
Now, what is this lazy keto? Does this mean you can slack off the keto diet whenever you want to?
The lazy keto is a spin-off and somewhat a compromise of the standard ketogenic diet. When you are following a lazy keto, you provide for yourself a wider leeway in your calorie intake. With the lazy keto, dieters don’t worry about counting calories and the number of nutrients they get. Instead, these dieters focus on one thing: consuming less than 50 grams of carbs daily.
Because there is a lesser emphasis on clean food in a lazy keto, then that means you are relatively free to eat other low-carb foods that you might occasionally have on a “clean keto.” Does this mean that you’re excused from eating clean foods? Not. The lazy keto means that you don’t have to consume clean foods all the time, which means that you don’t have to say goodbye to your favorite carb-rich foods just because you’re following a keto diet.
What is Dirty Keto?
Now, what is this dirty keto? This type of keto is sometimes lumped in with the lazy keto. However, while these two occasionally go together, this doesn’t mean they are different. So how do you follow the dirty keto?
At its core, the lazy keto doesn’t have any other requirements other than restricting yourself of carbohydrates sufficient to induce ketosis.
Just like the lazy keto, with dirty keto, you don’t have to count your calorie intake strictly. And just like the lazy keto, you’re relatively free to eat anything you want. The only catch is that you have to stay under the 50 grams of carbs per day.
Theoretically speaking, you can eat Slim Jims, which have only 3 grams of net carbs per stick, or even your favorite fast food bunless cheeseburgers from McDonald’s all day long. You can eat anything you want under the sun so long as you stick with the sole requirement that you don’t go beyond the 50 grams allowable net carb per day.
The Pros and Cons of Each Type of Diet
If you have asked yourself, “What is the best ketogenic diet approach?” or “What type of ketogenic diet is best for me?” we got you covered. As you may have known, each type of ketogenic diet has its benefit. To help you choose and differentiate which is best or suits you, we have listed some of the pros and cons of each ketogenic diet type.
Clean Keto
Pros:
- You can reap and enjoy the benefits of ketosis. In this type of ketogenic diet approach, it can guarantee weight loss, lean body mass, improved mental health, and boosted energy.
- Its diet plan highlights healthy, nutritious whole foods that boost your health. In this type of approach, its foods consist of mainly whole foods obtained from quality sources such as grass-fed beef, free-range eggs, olive oil, vegetable oil, wild-caught seafood, nut butter, and non-starchy like broccoli, arugula, asparagus, bell peppers, and many more. High Carb foods which consist of grains, rice, pastries like donuts, potato (french fries), pasta, junk foods like potato chips, diet soda, even vegetable oils (like corn oil, canola oil, and soybean oil), and most fruits are not allowed to be part of your diet.
- Improved gut health. Aside from consuming whole foods, lots of fiber nutrient foods are part of this diet as well. This helps improve your gut health, and you are satisfied longer with your meal.
Cons:
- Routined meal plans. In this type of ketogenic diet, most of its meal plans are routined, and it may get boring for some time. This happens because some of the foods recommended for this diet are repetitive. However, you can still spice your meal plans by finding varying keto recipes.
- Expensive. Following a clean keto diet can really hurt your pocket. With clean keto’s emphasis on food quality obtained from the best sources possible, these ingredients come with a hefty price tag. Also, some ingredients can only be found in some specific high-end grocery stores.
- Restrictive. Among the three approaches, this ketogenic diet is the most restrictive. For some of you, this may be more challenging to follow through. It also requires more discipline and will power to stay on track.
Lazy Keto
Pros
- It fits the hectic lifestyle. This type of ketogenic diet is more convenient than the clean keto approach. It has fewer restrictions on food options, and you do not need to count your calories. Most especially, this diet is also more comfortable since it does not require much meal planning and cooking. This approach is convenient and still guarantees its weight loss benefit like any other keto diet approach.
- No rules about calorie restriction. Even without any calorie restriction requirement, this approach can still suppress appetite and food craving according to some studies. With this benefit, you can have the option to cut down with your calorie intake without feeling hungry (though not required).
- Improved blood sugar control and reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease. According to some studies, the lazy keto diet approach can improve your blood sugar control, especially for those with type 2 diabetes. This approach can also reduce your risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. However, these findings vary greatly. Also, these benefits are often attributed to those who are and have entered the state of ketosis.
Cons
- Difficulty in reaching ketosis. Many ketogenic diet followers find Lazy keto appealing because it is less restrictive. It is also easier to follow than the traditional ketogenic diet. One of the goals, when you follow any keto diet is you need to induce ketosis. Ketosis is a state where your body uses and burns fats instead of glucose for energy. However, this ketogenic diet does not have any calorie requirement, which is essential to reach ketosis. With this approach being a simplified version of the ketogenic diet, you may likely have a hard time achieving ketosis, or you may not enter ketosis at all.
- It ignores diet quality. When you follow a lazy ketogenic diet, you are only focusing on your carb intake and disregarding the importance of adequate calorie intake. Like any other ketogenic diet approach, lazy keto also restricts you from consuming specific food groups such as fruits, grains, starchy vegetables, and legumes. Not consuming these food groups mean that your body will have a hard time obtaining essential vitamins, fibers, and minerals. This will likely result in vitamin and nutrient deficiencies. That is why it is crucial to take note of whether you are following a well-balanced diet that can supply your body with the vitamins and nutrients it needs for your overall health. Focusing on your carb intake alone is sometimes not enough to have a sustainable and healthy diet.
- Lack of research. No studies, short-term or long-term, conducted that focus on Lazy Ketogenic Diet alone, unlike the traditional ketogenic diet and modified Atkins diet. Current investigations and analyses on low-carb, high-fat diets have varying and conflicting findings. Despite the lack of research on this field, many researchers are pursuing this field.
Dirty Keto
Pros
- Weight Loss Benefit. This approach still guarantees its weight loss benefit like any other ketogenic diet approach.
- No rules about calorie restriction. Similar to the lazy ketogenic diet approach, this approach does not require any calorie count. So long as you reduce your carb intake and increase your protein and fat intake, you do not need to worry about anything else.
- Convenient. Among the three approaches, this approach is the most affordable and the easiest to follow. Unlike the clean keto, it does not require you to obtain foods from quality sources, which means that processed foods and packed foods are allowed so long as they are keto-friendly. Also, this diet is time-saving since you do not need to spend time prepping your meals.
Cons
- The dirty ketogenic diet meals are often high in sodium. For individuals who have conditions sensitive to their sodium intake, this approach might not be for you since it may trigger high blood pressure and increase your risk of cardiovascular disease.
- It encourages the consumption of less nutritious and filling foods. With a dirty ketogenic diet’s tolerance in processed foods, you are subjected to more artificial food additives and fewer micronutrients. These substances are significantly associated with adverse health effects such as weight gain, increased cardiovascular risks, and even death. Also, specific food additives like monosodium glutamate (MSG) and trans fats pose a greater risk to adverse conditions like obesity, cancer, and type 2 diabetes.
- May not develop discipline in following through the diet. With the diet’s loose requirements for the food you need to eat, it may not motivate you to stick and follow the diet. With a lot of leeways, this approach may not cultivate a healthy eating habit and lifestyle.
What is the best Ketogenic Diet type?
The best ketogenic diet type is whatever works best for you! In examining the “best” type for you, you have to assess your current lifestyle and needs. Every one of you has varying health conditions and circumstances to consider. The best keto lifestyle that is sustainable for you is the best type.
The bottom line is, whatever type you choose, it should be able to help you reach your weight goal and nurture a healthy eating habit and lifestyle. If you are still unsure, do not hesitate to experiment. At the end of the day, all of these things boil down to one ultimate goal: being happy and healthy.
Disclaimer: This content provides general information only and not a substitute for a qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your registered dietitian doctor for more details.