The Ketogenic and Carnivore Diets: What Are They and What Are the Advantages?

Bon Appétit

The ketogenic (keto) diet and the carnivore diet are two of the most popular diets today. Both diets involve drastically reducing carbohydrate intake and increasing fat intake. This can lead to a number of health benefits, including weight loss, improved blood sugar control, remission of type 2 diabetes, reduction of blood pressure, and reduced inflammation.

The Ketogenic Diet

The ketogenic diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet that forces the body to burn fat for energy. This is done by restricting carbohydrate intake to 20 grams or less per day. When carbohydrate intake is low, the body enters a state of ketosis, where it produces ketones from fat. Ketones are an alternative source of energy for the body, and they can help to improve weight loss, blood sugar control, and mental clarity.

The Carnivore Diet

The carnivore diet involves eating only meat, fish, eggs, and dairy products. This diet can also be very effective for weight loss and other health goals.

Advantages of the Ketogenic and Carnivore Diets

There are a number of potential advantages to the ketogenic and carnivore diets, including:

• Weight loss: Both diets can help you to lose weight. The keto diet is particularly effective for weight loss, as it can help you to burn fat more efficiently.
• Improved blood sugar control: Both diets can help to improve blood sugar control. This is especially beneficial for people with diabetes or prediabetes. There is good evidence that the ketogenic diet can lead to remission of type 2 diabetes. This means that people with type 2 diabetes who follow the ketogenic diet may be able to stop taking medication for their diabetes.
• Reduced inflammation: Both diets can help to reduce inflammation. This is beneficial for a number of health conditions, including heart disease, arthritis, and autoimmune diseases.
• Improved mental clarity: Both diets can help to improve mental clarity. This is thought to be due to the increase in ketones, which can provide the brain with a more stable source of energy.
• Reversal of hypertension: There is good evidence that the ketogenic diet can even lead to the reversal of hypertension. This means that people with hypertension who follow the ketogenic diet may be able to lower their blood pressure to a normal level without medication.
• Easy to maintain. Both diets are very easy to maintain as a way of life mainly due to the great satiety they provide as well as the major health benefits they provide.
• The ketogenic diet is the most comprehensively studied and documented way of eating in the world.

Both diets can have some disadvantages, including:

• Side effects: Both diets can cause some side effects, such as fatigue, nausea, and constipation. These side effects usually go away after a few weeks.
• Cost: Both diets can be expensive but you can easily live this lifestyle for a lower cost than your current one including having much less food waste if you are thrifty.
• Social limitations: Both diets can make it slightly awkward to eat out or socialize with friends who are not following the same diet due to their lack of acceptance and understanding. Social pressure will reduce over time.

Conclusion

The ketogenic and carnivore diets are two of the most popular and scientifically well documented healthy lifestyles. Both lifestyles have a number of potential advantages and few disadvantages. Easy and affordable to do and maintain forever and with major health benefits all around. If you are considering following either diet, it is important to talk to your doctor to make sure that it is right for you.