In the realm of diet planning for health maintenance and weight reduction, one can find different ideologies which can help them to shed all the extra pounds. Over the ages, the different principles that have emerged, have caught the attention of the people around the world, and have become popular and largely followed. In recent times, the theory of a carbohydrate limited diet is doing its rounds amongst the health-conscious people of the world and has definitely seemed to give some great results. Within this category of a carbohydrate limited or even negligible diet falls two of the most popular dietary structures of the recent times.
They are the ketogenic diet and the low carb diet. There has been a lot of discussion regarding the essential difference between the two and which one happens to be the best path to follow. In order to understand the better affectivity between the two theories, we need to understand the essential difference between them.
What is the Difference Between a Keto Diet and Low Carb Diet?
The basic difference between a keto or ketogenic diet and low carb diet lies in the composition of the diet, or the measurements of the carbohydrates, proteins, and fats that are included in the dietary plans (1). In a ketogenic diet, the regimentations are much stricter as compared to a low carb diet. In a ketogenic diet, about 5 to 10% of carbohydrate is included in the whole meal planning. Nearly 15 to 25% of the diet comprises of proteins, about 65 to 80% of the diet consists of healthy fats and the amount of carbohydrates included in the diet is really low. People who are following this pattern of diet eat near about 50 gms of carbohydrates every day, including all the meals they have in a day. The idea of a keto diet is to strictly prohibit the supply of carbohydrates to the body. In the absence of carbohydrates, the body starts using up the stored fats we have in our bodies for energy. This is also known as ketosis or fat burning metabolism.
Now talking about a low carb diet, there is no strict definite or measurement of the amount of carbohydrate you can allow in your meal plans. Albeit, it must be a low portion of intake and yet again the substitute amount must be satiated with increased protein intake(1). However, in a low carb diet, you are allowed to eat about 75 to 150 grams of carbohydrates on a daily basis. Generally, such a diet plan does not allow you to enter into an active state of ketosis. At best your body can begin the process of ketosis in between meals. However, when you supply your body with a fresh source of carbohydrates the process of ketosis comes to a halt. A full-on process of ketosis is never allowed to begin and continue in a low carb diet plan. One can experience ketosis occasionally while observing a low carb diet such as when you are sleeping, fasting, soon after your workout sessions, etc. Another point of difference between the two diet plans is in a low carb diet the person consumes a bigger portion of proteins as compared to a keto diet(2).
Which One is Better – Keto Diet or Low Carb Diet?
Different people happen to feel differently when faced with this question. It is justifiable to state here that no two bodies are the same with the same rate of metabolism. What is suitable and beneficial for one body might not be so for another body. Hence you can get some people who happen to react better to keto diets and again there can be people who have been better benefitted with the help of a low carb diet plan(3, 4).
Simply put, keto diet is a much more stringent and a strict form of diet as compared to a low carb diet. People often find it much difficult to adhere to the strict rules of a keto diet. Although it gives better and faster results as compared to a low carb diet, many people find it difficult to continue on a long term basis(5). This is when people do turn to a low carb diet, which is though similar to a keto diet, is much more relaxed in its nature.
Conclusion
Eating habits and nutrition is a highly personalized thing. How your body reacts to a certain dietary plan might be very different from the ways others around you react to it. There are so many people who have been in no way benefited by the keto diet and have found it really difficult to continue this pattern of eating. Some get thoroughly fed up with a low carb diet plan as well. It is very important to feel mentally relaxed happy and content while you are following a certain dietary plan. This will help your body to react to the diet better. This is how you can benefit better from the entire effort. So whenever following a certain dietary plan try to concentrate on how you feel about the whole experience, so you know what to do for the future.
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