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Keto Diet VS Low FODMAP Diet
It seems like the keto diet is absolutely everywhere these days, and the hype often outpaces the real information. Below, we explain what the ketogenic diet actually entails and break down how keto vs. low FODMAP differ from each other.
What is the ketogenic diet?
The ketogenic diet (often shortened to just “keto diet”) is a high fat, low carbohydrate diet that is designed to put your body in a state of ketosis. In ketosis, your body doesn’t have enough carbohydrates to burn for energy, so it turns to burning fat instead.
The keto diet has been around for almost 100 years. It was developed in the 1920s and ’30s and intended as a way to manage children's epilepsy. However, in the past few years, it has become a weight-loss fad diet, as many people claim that ketosis is perfect for losing those extra pounds.
While it’s very hard to achieve a true state of full ketosis, many diets that require you to cut out significant food groups do result in weight loss due to overall calorie reduction. This doesn't mean that the weight loss is healthy though as you may be losing out on nutrients that your body needs to stay healthy and energized.
Another diet that is better for weight loss is the Mediterranean diet. The Mediterranean diet has been voted best overall diet for the past 5 years and is backed by scientific studies that prove it has weight loss, heart health, and life longevity benefits. If you are interested in learning more, then click the link: Mediterranean Diet
What foods do you eat on the keto diet?
The keto diet combines high fat foods with small to moderate amounts of proteins and low carbohydrate vegetables. Eggs and avocados are popular foods on the keto diet, as are dairy items such as cheese and plain yogurt. Moderate portions of red meat, fish, seafood and poultry are all acceptable. Low carb vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, bell peppers, zucchini and spinach, are also permissible.
Under the keto diet, you cannot eat grains of any kind or high sugar, starchy fruits, and vegetables. You should avoid honey, sugar, syrup and products that contain these sweeteners while on the keto diet. On the flip side, many cooking techniques that are forbidden in other diets, such as slathering items in butter and frying food in oil, are encouraged during the keto diet. This high fat diet should not be considered a balanced diet or a diet that you stick with for a long time.
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What’s the difference between keto vs. low FODMAP?
The keto diet and low FODMAP diets do eliminate some of the same foods, but they were not designed with the same purpose in mind. The low FODMAP diet plan is a temporary elimination diet designed to help identify potential trigger foods that could be causing symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome and other gastrointestinal problems. Meanwhile, the keto diet was designed to reduce epilepsy seizures and has now been used by some people for weight loss.
Many of the foods that are allowed on the keto diet can and do make IBS symptoms worse, including dairy products and cauliflower. Likewise, keto also gets rid of many foods that are generally fine on an IBS diet plan, including gluten-free grains and certain fruits. These dietary plans are not equivalent and should not be used interchangeably.
Which diet should I do?
If you are hoping to lose weight, then a keto diet might be able to help you with that. Keep in mind that there are many different diets that have been shown to help people lose weight, and that keto is only one option if that is your main goal. Cutting carbohydrates significantly and suddenly can cause your body to crash, so the keto diet may be difficult for many people to sustain over the longer period of time necessary for weight loss.
Also, the Keto diet places a huge emphasis on consuming fats over carbs, but the Keto diet doesn't discriminate against any fats. Eating too many saturated fats can clog arteries and lead to worse health conditions.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome IBS
The low FODMAP approach is more appropriate if you are experiencing gastrointestinal problems related to eating and want an irritable bowel syndrome diet plan to help you pinpoint the exact causes. If you know or suspect that you have irritable bowel syndrome, eliminating and then slowly reintroducing foods via a low FODMAP diet can help you reduce many of your IBS symptoms over the long-term.
The Low FODMAP diet is proven by scientific studies to improve negative digestive symptoms in as little as 2 weeks for 80% of people who try it. The Low FODMAP diet isn't made just for irritable bowel syndrome though.
It can also help alleviate symptoms caused by an inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, such as Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis. Switching to a Low FODMAP diet won't cure an inflammatory bowel disease, but it can ease the negative symptoms that come along with the inflammatory bowel disease.
How do I start a Low FODMAP Diet?
Planning out meals for any diet that eliminates a lot of foods, either low FODMAP or keto, can be a real pain. That’s why we created an IBS meal plan that will deliver low FODMAP friendly dishes right to your door. ModifyHealth will ship you FODMAP friendly meals that won’t aggravate your IBS symptoms. Choose the number of meals you want per week, or opt into our Low FODMAP diet programs, which will help you eliminate IBS symptoms and then reintroduce common trigger foods.
Want to see our menu of 30+ ModifyHealth meals? Click the link: Low FODMAP Menu
