The Ketogenic Diet Vs. The Carnivore Diet: What's The Difference?

What you choose to eat each day will affect your overall health and how you feel today, tomorrow, and in the future. Proper nutrition is essential when it comes to leading a healthy lifestyle. Combing a healthy diet with physical activity will help you reach and maintain weight goals, and reduce your risk of chronic diseases. Unhealthy eating habits are one of the factors primarily responsible for the obesity epidemic in the United States. Even for individuals who are at a healthy weight, a poor diet can still lead to high blood pressure, osteoporosis, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and many types of cancer. Diets such as the carnivore diet and the ketogenic diet are both excellent options to protect yourself from these health problems. Let us get into the differences between the two and how they are beneficial.

The Carnivore Diet Focuses More On Protein

The carnivore diet requires individuals to only eat animal products and avoid everything else. You are restricting all types of carbohydrates and any plant foods. Essentially, it can be considered the opposite of a vegan diet. One of the similarities to the ketogenic diet is it causes the body to rely on protein and fat for energy. However, the carnivore diet focuses more on protein, specifically from animal products, than the ketogenic diet. Individuals on the carnivore diet have reported faster weight loss, mental clarity, a healthier digestive system, and improved athletic performance. On the carnivore diet, you don't have to worry about intermittent fasting, timing your meals, or counting calories and macros. You are to avoid all carbohydrates, vegetables, and supplements. You are allowed to eat meat, fatty cuts of steak, dairy from animals, animal fats, and fish.

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The Ketogenic Diet Allows You To Eat Fresh Produce

The ketogenic diet is a carbohydrate deficient diet that only allows twenty grams of net carbohydrates per day. Vegetables are a vital part of any diet and are recognized on the keto diet in small amounts. A healthy meal plan should include a minimum of three to five servings of vegetables per day. The ketogenic diet allows you to eat fresh produce with no more than four net carbohydrates per serving. Vegetables that grow above ground including spinach, bell peppers, and lettuce contain a low carbohydrate count and are keto-friendly. Plant foods that grow below ground including potatoes, carrots, turnips, and sweet potatoes are high-starch vegetables that should be avoided. Choose organic options when possible.

Learn about how dairy is involved in both the carnivore and the ketogenic diet.

The Difference In Dairy Products

When it comes to both the ketogenic and carnivore diet, the difference in dairy products allowed is important. The ketogenic diet is ideal for individuals who can't live without cheese, and it encourages the consumption of organic full-fat dairy. However, some options are loaded with carbohydrates. Dairy products allowed on the ketogenic diet include ghee, organic grass-fed butter, heavy whipping cream, fermented yogurts, sour cream, as well as hard and soft cheeses. On the carnivore diet, only dairy that comes from animals is approved. You can consume eggs, goat or cow's milk, and some heavy cream, cheese, butter, and ghee.

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The Ketogenic Diet Focuses On Fats

The carnivore diet focuses on protein, and the ketogenic diet focuses on fats. There are four main types of fats we see in everyday life. To be healthy, you need varying amounts of fats in your diet. A high-fat low-carb diet provides several health benefits. On the keto diet, when you drastically reduce your carbohydrate intake and replace it with fat, your body is put in a state of ketosis. While in ketosis, your body begins burning fat instead of carbohydrates for energy. Ketogenic diets are known to reduce insulin and blood sugar levels. To get into ketosis faster, the keto diet recommends eating fat bombs. Fat bombs are usually a combination of coconut oil, MCT oil, butter, nuts, and seeds.

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More Food Options On The Keto Diet

Compared to the carnivore diet, you have more food options on the ketogenic diet. As mentioned before, you are only allowed to eat meat and limited dairy on the carnivore diet, which can be challenging. On the ketogenic diet, you can eat unlimited amounts of saturated and monounsaturated fats found in butter, olive oil, and coconut oil. In moderation, you can also eat protein from organic, pasture-raised and grass-fed meat. Fresh and frozen vegetables are fine as long as they have a low-carbohydrate count. Full-fat dairy is ok as well, as are nuts and seeds in limited amounts. Zero calorie beverages are approved, though you should stick to mostly water.