What once was associated strictly with trying to lose weight is now used often to describe the meal plan created to suit your nutritional and sensitive needs.
Different diets do different things for one's body, and more and more new diet trends are popping up as more research is done into the human body, and the food sensitivities and allergies it’s susceptible to.
Two common diets that people use are the gluten-free diet and the ketogenic diet, or “keto” diet for short. We are going to go over the key differences between the two diets in this article.
What Is a Keto Diet?
The ketogenic diet is one that is very low in carbs and high in fat. Your body drastically replaces carbohydrates with fat which can put your body into the state of ketosis.
Ketosis is a natural metabolic state that your body can enter into. During ketosis, the body produces ketone bodies out of fats and uses them for energy instead of carbohydrates
Benefits of Being on a Keto Diet
Going on a keto diet means that you might be able to lose weight quicker, and it also helps to reduce blood sugar and insulin levels.
Those who struggle with diabetes could benefit from a keto diet because it helps with insulin levels as well as helps you lose excess fat that can contribute to type 2 diabetes.
It can also benefit your heart because it helps maintain healthy blood sugar, blood pressure, and good cholesterol levels.
Foods To Avoid
If you are going to be starting a keto diet, it’s best to know what foods you should be avoiding as much as what you should be eating. Any food that is high in carbohydrates is probably going to have to be eliminated or limited from your diet.
Here are some foods to avoid:
- Grains and starches: This includes all wheat-based products like pasta and cereal
- Fruits: All fruits will want to be avoided, other than a few berries here and there
- Sugary foods: This includes cake, candy, soda, and smoothies
- Root vegetables: You’ll want to avoid potatoes, carrots, and parsnips, as well as other root vegetables
- Alcohol: Beer, wine, and mixed drinks should also be avoided on a keto diet due to the high amount of carbohydrates found in them
- Beans and legumes: Peas, lentils, chickpeas, and other legumes should also be avoided or limited when on a keto diet
Foods To Eat
It’s safe to say that the keto diet does not favor vegetarians, as many of the foods that you should be eating on a keto diet involve animal products.
Some foods you should be increasing your intake in on a keto diet are:
- Meat: Red meat, chicken, turkey, bacon, ham, etc., are all encouraged to be consumed in your daily intake when on a Keto diet.
- Eggs: These are a great source of protein and are encouraged to be eaten.
- Fish: Fatty fish like salmon and tuna are great to eat while on a Keto diet and can be used in many different dishes.
- Butter and cheese: The keto diet loves its dairy! Adding more butter and cheese in your diet can uptake the amount of fat you intake daily.
- Nuts and seeds: Nuts and seeds like almonds, walnuts, flax seeds, and chia seeds also have healthy fats that the keto diet favors.
- Low carb vegetables: Not all vegetables are frowned upon in a keto diet. Eating vegetables that are low-carb like tomatoes and green veggies is good for you.
What is Gluten?
Gluten is the name for the proteins found in wheat, rye, and barley. Gluten binds food together to help them maintain their shape. Gluten is found in a variety of different foods, so if you are someone with gluten sensitivity, you should consider learning more about what to avoid and what to eat more of.
Gluten aids in the manufacturing of many foods. When it’s heated up (like in the baking process), it forms an elastic network that is able to trap gas and create the optimal environment for maintaining moisture in the food.
Those with Celiac disease or gluten sensitivities should be wary of consuming gluten because it can have negative adverse effects on your body.
Benefits of Being Gluten-Free
Those with autoimmune diseases like Celiac disease and Crohn’s Disease should consider going on a gluten-free diet. People who become easily constipated and have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) should also consider going on a gluten-free diet to see if it has any effect on their symptoms.
There are so many things that can cause issues within the gastrointestinal tract, so learning more about how gluten affects you can be helpful in understanding a diagnosis.
When you become gluten-free, you give your small intestine a break. When gluten is detected in those with gluten sensitivities or Celiac disease, your body attacks the small intestine to prevent the gluten from being absorbed. This attack on the small intestine can really mess up how your body absorbs all nutrients, so if it’s gluten that is hurting you, avoiding it is the best way to feel better.
Foods with Gluten
Gluten exists in wheat, rye, and barley, so foods containing those three grains should be avoided. This is a list of foods that you should check for gluten before consuming:
- Breads
- Cakes
- Cookies
- Crackers
- Pasta
Learning to avoid gluten can help your body eliminate the pain that it can bring, so it’s important to know if you are someone who should be avoiding it or not.
What’s the Difference Between Them?
The main difference between a keto diet and a gluten-free diet is the reasoning behind needing to go on one.
You don’t necessarily need to go on a keto diet to help prevent pain or illness from flaring up. With a gluten-free diet, you are making the decision to avoid gluten so that you can feel healthier and avoid the pain that consuming gluten induces.
You’ll want to avoid grains in both a keto and a gluten-free diet, but slipping up when on a keto diet won’t necessarily cause intense pain or discomfort.
For this reason, those who choose to go on a gluten-free diet, are more likely to need it for comfortable survival, versus a majority of people who choose ket simply to help them lose weight.
Using Thistle
Thistle’s services promote a gluten-free lifestyle more so than a ketogenic lifestyle while making sure all nutrients are met. We are completely gluten-free in the meals that we offer, as well as mainly being plant-based on incorporating a wide variety of vegetables and fruits!
If you are looking to become more gluten-free, sign-up with our services and get your first glutenless meals delivered right to your door.
Sources:
What is Gluten? | Celiac Disease Foundation
Associated Autoimmune Diseases | Gluten Intolerance Group
What once was associated strictly with trying to lose weight is now used often to describe the meal plan created to suit your nutritional and sensitive needs.
Different diets do different things for one's body, and more and more new diet trends are popping up as more research is done into the human body, and the food sensitivities and allergies it’s susceptible to.
Two common diets that people use are the gluten-free diet and the ketogenic diet, or “keto” diet for short. We are going to go over the key differences between the two diets in this article.
What Is a Keto Diet?
The ketogenic diet is one that is very low in carbs and high in fat. Your body drastically replaces carbohydrates with fat which can put your body into the state of ketosis.
Ketosis is a natural metabolic state that your body can enter into. During ketosis, the body produces ketone bodies out of fats and uses them for energy instead of carbohydrates
Benefits of Being on a Keto Diet
Going on a keto diet means that you might be able to lose weight quicker, and it also helps to reduce blood sugar and insulin levels.
Those who struggle with diabetes could benefit from a keto diet because it helps with insulin levels as well as helps you lose excess fat that can contribute to type 2 diabetes.
It can also benefit your heart because it helps maintain healthy blood sugar, blood pressure, and good cholesterol levels.
Foods To Avoid
If you are going to be starting a keto diet, it’s best to know what foods you should be avoiding as much as what you should be eating. Any food that is high in carbohydrates is probably going to have to be eliminated or limited from your diet.
Here are some foods to avoid:
- Grains and starches: This includes all wheat-based products like pasta and cereal
- Fruits: All fruits will want to be avoided, other than a few berries here and there
- Sugary foods: This includes cake, candy, soda, and smoothies
- Root vegetables: You’ll want to avoid potatoes, carrots, and parsnips, as well as other root vegetables
- Alcohol: Beer, wine, and mixed drinks should also be avoided on a keto diet due to the high amount of carbohydrates found in them
- Beans and legumes: Peas, lentils, chickpeas, and other legumes should also be avoided or limited when on a keto diet
Foods To Eat
It’s safe to say that the keto diet does not favor vegetarians, as many of the foods that you should be eating on a keto diet involve animal products.
Some foods you should be increasing your intake in on a keto diet are:
- Meat: Red meat, chicken, turkey, bacon, ham, etc., are all encouraged to be consumed in your daily intake when on a Keto diet.
- Eggs: These are a great source of protein and are encouraged to be eaten.
- Fish: Fatty fish like salmon and tuna are great to eat while on a Keto diet and can be used in many different dishes.
- Butter and cheese: The keto diet loves its dairy! Adding more butter and cheese in your diet can uptake the amount of fat you intake daily.
- Nuts and seeds: Nuts and seeds like almonds, walnuts, flax seeds, and chia seeds also have healthy fats that the keto diet favors.
- Low carb vegetables: Not all vegetables are frowned upon in a keto diet. Eating vegetables that are low-carb like tomatoes and green veggies is good for you.
What is Gluten?
Gluten is the name for the proteins found in wheat, rye, and barley. Gluten binds food together to help them maintain their shape. Gluten is found in a variety of different foods, so if you are someone with gluten sensitivity, you should consider learning more about what to avoid and what to eat more of.
Gluten aids in the manufacturing of many foods. When it’s heated up (like in the baking process), it forms an elastic network that is able to trap gas and create the optimal environment for maintaining moisture in the food.
Those with Celiac disease or gluten sensitivities should be wary of consuming gluten because it can have negative adverse effects on your body.
Benefits of Being Gluten-Free
Those with autoimmune diseases like Celiac disease and Crohn’s Disease should consider going on a gluten-free diet. People who become easily constipated and have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) should also consider going on a gluten-free diet to see if it has any effect on their symptoms.
There are so many things that can cause issues within the gastrointestinal tract, so learning more about how gluten affects you can be helpful in understanding a diagnosis.
When you become gluten-free, you give your small intestine a break. When gluten is detected in those with gluten sensitivities or Celiac disease, your body attacks the small intestine to prevent the gluten from being absorbed. This attack on the small intestine can really mess up how your body absorbs all nutrients, so if it’s gluten that is hurting you, avoiding it is the best way to feel better.
Foods with Gluten
Gluten exists in wheat, rye, and barley, so foods containing those three grains should be avoided. This is a list of foods that you should check for gluten before consuming:
- Breads
- Cakes
- Cookies
- Crackers
- Pasta
Learning to avoid gluten can help your body eliminate the pain that it can bring, so it’s important to know if you are someone who should be avoiding it or not.
What’s the Difference Between Them?
The main difference between a keto diet and a gluten-free diet is the reasoning behind needing to go on one.
You don’t necessarily need to go on a keto diet to help prevent pain or illness from flaring up. With a gluten-free diet, you are making the decision to avoid gluten so that you can feel healthier and avoid the pain that consuming gluten induces.
You’ll want to avoid grains in both a keto and a gluten-free diet, but slipping up when on a keto diet won’t necessarily cause intense pain or discomfort.
For this reason, those who choose to go on a gluten-free diet, are more likely to need it for comfortable survival, versus a majority of people who choose ket simply to help them lose weight.
Using Thistle
Thistle’s services promote a gluten-free lifestyle more so than a ketogenic lifestyle while making sure all nutrients are met. We are completely gluten-free in the meals that we offer, as well as mainly being plant-based on incorporating a wide variety of vegetables and fruits!
If you are looking to become more gluten-free, sign-up with our services and get your first glutenless meals delivered right to your door.
Sources:
What is Gluten? | Celiac Disease Foundation
Associated Autoimmune Diseases | Gluten Intolerance Group
