Keto, Paleo and Whole 30 Diets – Is One Right for You?

By: Jamie Kaun

It’s very likely that even if you’re not quite sure what it involves or you’re not already following one of these diets yourself, you’ve heard of them. But what is the difference between them? And is one “better” for you than another? As someone who would like to lose weight to improve my health, I wondered if one of them would be right for me, so I researched the basics.

Keto
This seems to be the newest diet craze that I’ve heard many talking about. It is a strict low-carb, high-fat approach and is the most restrictive. When you significantly restrict your carb intake and increase fat, your body adjusts by using fat (ketones) as fuel. For keto, you have to track your macros (daily intake of carbs, fat and protein) closely, keeping your carbs in the 20-50 grams per day range. To know if you’re truly in ketosis, you can test the level of ketones in your blood, urine or breath with tests you can easily buy online.

Paleo
The paleo diet focuses on eating whole, healthy, natural foods that are nutritionally dense while avoiding inflammatory and processed foods which can leave you feeling tired or sluggish.

Whole 30
The Whole 30 Diet is touted as a nutrition reset that allows people to determine if they are intolerant, or possibly allergic, to a particular food. During the restrictive 30-day plan, you eliminate all processed foods, gluten, dairy, alcohol, sugars (including natural ones) and more.
After the initial 30 days, you can slowly reintroduce some foods. The idea is that if you have an intolerance to some foods, such as wheat, soy or dairy, you’ll know which of them to avoid because you will feel tired and sluggish after eating them.

Here’s how the diets compare with foods you can and cannot eat.

Foods Allowed
• Vegetables (only non-starchy for keto)
• Fruits (only fow-glycemic fruits on keto, mostly berries)
• Nuts & seeds
• Meats (poultry, beef, etc.)
• Seafood & fish
• Eggs
• Healthy fats (like avocado) & oils
• Herbs & spices
• Keto – low-carb sweeteners (stevia, monk fruit), full-fat dairy (yogurt, heavy cream, cheese)

Foods Not Allowed
• Processed food
• Gluten (no pasta, no rice, etc.)
• Grains (including wheat, flour)
• Legumes (beans, soy, peanuts)
• Keto – all sugars (including natural ones like those found in fruit), most fruits, starchy vegetables
• Whole 30 – all sugars and sweetners (honey, maple syrup), all treats, snacks, etc. with “approved” ingredients, all alcohol
• Paleo – refined sugars

The big question is – are these diets healthy? Well, that seems to depend on who you ask. Individuals who closely follow them claim they are effective.

Jessica Rigas, a Dayton YMCA member and nurse practitioner, followed Whole 30 last year with her husband to determine if there were any particular foods affecting their health. After following Whole 30 and eliminating foods and then reintroducing them, Jessica found gluten and dairy triggered constipation and bloating issues and sugar seemed to affect her menstrual cycles. Her husband’s severe allergies and sinus issues were also greatly affected by sugar. In addition, their 10-year-old daughter became more hyper and felt lightheaded when she ate artificial dyes and wheat. They found the Whole 30 was a great tool to determining their trigger foods but have been following a mostly paleo diet for the past year and a half because it is less restrictive.

“I felt amazing on the Whole 30 and would be on it all the time it was more feasible,” says Jessica. “But meal prep and eating out occasionally can be super difficult.”

Jessica’s family has a history of autoimmune disorders and she believes listening to your body is important. “I think diets high in sugar, wheat and dairy can increase inflammation in most people. I believe the gut is the foundation of our health and the food we put in it drives many processes for disease. My advice would simply to be read labels and know what you’re feeding yourself and your family for optimal health. And of course, consult your healthcare provider before beginning any lifestyle change.”

Others, including nutritionist and Dayton Y member Anastasia Zimmerman, are not fans of elimination diets. “I feel that all these diets are too structured and difficult to maintain long-term,” says Anastasia. “A balanced diet full of fruit, veggies, lean meats, low-fat dairy products, whole grains and a very small amount of healthy fats is what people should consume for optimal health.”

So, is one of these diets right for you?

Only you and your healthcare provider can really answer that question. The keto diet is very restrictive, which may be useful for people who thrive on the “all or nothing” mentality. Paleo is less restrictive and may be easier to maintain, especially for those who do not want to feel deprived. Whole 30 is also fairly restrictive but could be useful to those interested in determining if there are trigger foods that affect them.

There is a plethora of information available online for each of these diets. A few I found interesting include this Washington Post article on food tribes, an ABC article on best diets of 2018, and several blog posts on paleo vs. keto.