Studies on the traditional ketogenic diet show that the diet can have amazing weight loss effects. You won’t be hungry, and you’ll also experience sustained energy.
Some people also use the diet for epilepsy and controlling their blood sugars. Maybe you want those same benefits but are worried about whether the diet is healthy. Or, you want to try the diet but don’t want to harm animals in the process.
What Is The Vegan Keto Diet?
Related: How To Get Started On Vegan Keto Diet - The Ultimate Guide
The vegan keto diet could solve these concerns. I know what you’re thinking. How on earth can you make a diet that is predominantly animal protein and fat vegan friendly? Well, like most things – if there’s a will, there’s a way. You can get all of your protein and fat intake from plant-based foods.
Why you should try the vegan keto diet for healthy weight loss, energy, and longevity:
6 Benefits Of A Vegan Keto Diet
- Decreases the risk of chronic diseases
- Provides sustainable energy
- Reduces inflammation, blood sugar, and triglyceride levels
- Helps manage diabetes and epilepsy
- Promotes healthy weight loss
- Lose weight without harming yourself, animals, or the environment
What is the Keto Diet?
Today we use the ketogenic diet for weight loss primarily, but this phenomenon has only been happening for the past 3-5 years. Previously, this diet was used solely for the treatment of patients with epilepsy. In 1921, Dr. Russel Wilder offered the ketogenic diet as an alternative to fasting. This diet proved to be an excellent way for those with epilepsy to manage their seizures and still receive adequate nutrition.
When thinking of using this diet for weight loss, you might compare the diet to other low-carb fad diets for losing weight such as Paleo and Atkins. But, the ketogenic diet is different. Paleo and Atkins are higher in protein and lower in fats.
In contrast, to follow the ketogenic diet effectively, you need to designate 75% of your calories for fat, 20% for protein, and 5% for carbs.
You’ve probably heard for years about the dangers of consuming too much fat or the necessity of eating lean meats and low-fat dairy. The ketogenic diet sways away from these ideas about fat and instead promotes a seemingly paradoxical argument that eating fat will actually help you lose fat.
So, how does this diet work since it seems to go against what we have been told about the role of fat formerly?
Why Is It Called the Ketogenic Diet and How Does It Work?
The ketogenic diet switches your body’s normal way of generating energy from carbohydrates and sugar to running exclusively off of fat. When you replace your carbohydrate intake with fat, your liver begins to metabolize your fat stores and your dietary intake of fat into energy molecules called ketones. These ketones are then used to supply your brain with energy.
The repetitive state of using ketones for energy is called ketosis. That’s why we call the diet the ketogenic diet or keto for short.
What are the Issues with a Traditional Keto Diet?
The ketogenic can provide several benefits such as weight loss, increased memory and concentration, decreased inflammation, sustained energy, and stabilized blood sugar for those with diabetes. However, there is some debate on whether or not keto is healthy.
Related: Is The Keto Diet Healthy Or Dangerous
The Harvard School of Public Health currently believes that research on the diet is not complete and typically focuses on short-term benefits. They worry that higher risk individuals such as the elderly and those with chronic health problems will participate in the diet when more research needs to be done regarding the safety of the diet. Very few studies even question what the diet might do to your health long term.
A few of the negatives that have been associated with the traditional way of following the ketogenic diet include:
- Deficiencies in antioxidants, vitamins, electrolytes, and minerals
- Increased levels of cortisol, irritability, and mood swings
- Higher risks of kidney, heart, and other chronic diseases – even cancer
Eating a vegetarian or vegan diet has been around for thousands of years. This way of eating was practiced by many prominent people throughout history as a way to live more peacefully and to remain healthy.
The long-term effects of the plant-based diet have been shown to be beneficial. The China Study by Dr. Thomas Colin Campbell is a comprehensive study of nutrition that reviewed the effects of animal product consumption on humans for the course of twenty years.
65 countries in rural China were surveyed. Dr. Campbell concluded that people who ate a primarily plant-based diet lived longer, weighed less, and had low to no risk of diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.
The plant-based diet may be very healthy. But, if you want to lose weight faster or manage health concerns like diabetes or epilepsy with keto, the vegan keto diet could be a great option.
Related: Vital Keto Nutrition Bundle
What is a Plant-Based Diet?
By modifying the keto diet to be plant-based, you can take away many of the health concerns associated with the ketogenic diet. The vegan keto diet would consist of the same principles of increasing fat consumption and limiting carbs, but this way of eating would avoid all animal products.
Before you can understand how to properly combine these diets for maximum efficacy, let’s first briefly touch on what the plant-based diet is and how it’s beneficial.
Related: Benefits Of A Plant Based Diet
The plant-based diet is typically practiced by vegetarians and vegans for a variety of reasons. Some choose the diet for ethical reasons such as not wanting to participate in animal cruelty or even to reduce their carbon footprint and protect the environment.
Others choose a plant-based lifestyle for the variety of health benefits that come from eating a primarily whole-foods plant-based diet such as:
- Long-term sustained weight loss
- Clearer skin and less acne
- Lower blood sugar levels and risk for diabetes
- Dramatically lower risks of heart disease and even the reversal of heart disease
- Prevention of certain cancers
Eating a vegetarian or vegan diet has been around for thousands of years. This way of eating was practiced by many prominent people throughout history as a way to live more peacefully and to remain healthy.
Related: Influential Vegetarians in History
The long-term effects of the plant-based diet have been shown to be beneficial. The China Study by Dr. Thomas Colin Campbell is a comprehensive study of nutrition that reviewed the effects of animal product consumption on humans for the course of twenty years.
65 countries in rural China were surveyed. Dr. Campbell concluded that people who ate a primarily plant-based diet lived longer, weighed less, and had low to no risk of diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.
The plant-based diet may be very healthy. But, if you want to lose weight faster or manage your diabetes with keto, the vegan keto diet could be a great option.
Benefits of a Vegan Keto Diet
Decreases the Risk of Chronic Disease and Reduces inflammation
Following a plant-based diet has been found to decrease the risk of several chronic diseases such as diabetes and certain cancers. Studies show that those following a plant-based diet have a 75% lower risk of developing high blood pressure. Maintaining good blood pressure is a key part of building a strong and healthy heart.
Provides Sustainable Energy
On the keto diet, you get most of your energy from fats and protein. By eating whole plant foods, healthy fats, and lean protein, you can develop sustainable energy levels from real foods. Research shows that going vegan can actually increase your energy levels.
Promotes Healthy Weight Loss
The keto diet is known for its effectiveness in weight loss. By choosing a vegan keto diet, you benefit from eating foods that are kinder to animals and the environment, while edging closer to your weight loss goals. Both a vegan and keto diet are good for weight loss. Research shows that participants following a ketogenic diet lost more weight compared to a calorie-restricted diet.
Combining the Ketogenic and Plant-Based Diet
Related: 6 Benefits of Combining Clean Protein With Healthy Fats
The best way to implement the vegan ketogenic diet is to use the diet short-term. Though the diet can be used long-term if done correctly, the diet may begin to feel restrictive. There is no way around this issue because the keto diet is restrictive, and the plant-based diet is restrictive.
Put them together, and you have quite the combination. That doesn’t make the diet impossible though. So, if you want the benefits of keto without restricting food groups for a long period of time, you can use the diet for a period of 3-6 months as a way to kick-start weight loss and then go back to a less restrictive way of eating.
After this period of 3-6 months when you’ve reached your desired weight, you can add a few more delicious, healthy carbs into your daily meals. Complex carbs are not evil. If you eat the right kind of carbs, they can be beneficial. Sure, a bowl of highly processed white flour pasta won’t do your health any favors.
But, quinoa, brown rice, and sweet potatoes are excellent sources of fiber and vitamins. Carbs are also excellent fuel for exercise. You will still stay fit and even build more muscle.
If you want to know the easiest way to build muscle while staying plant-based, Sunwarrior guides you through the steps. You don’t need to eat massive amounts of animal products to fulfill your protein intake needs.
Vegan Keto Shopping List
This diet is possible with a little knowledge about what foods to eat and which foods to avoid. You can still have delicious and nutritious meals from the vegan keto diet.
Related: How To Get Started On Vegan Keto Diet - The Ultimate Guide
Use this list when you go to the grocery store to keep you in ketosis and to keep you healthy.
The Best Protein Sources
One of the greatest challenges of the vegan keto diet is finding protein sources that contain a small number of carbs. Traditional staple sources of protein from a plant-based diet such as beans, lentils, and legumes contain too many carbs, so you’ll have to find alternatives.
Here’s a list of good protein sources for the vegan keto diet that will help you reach your protein intake without maxing out your carbs and taking you out of ketosis:
- Tempeh
- Tofu
- Seitan
- Other Vegan Meats
- Nuts and Seeds
- Vegan Protein Powders
Vegan protein powders can be an excellent way to boost your protein. They usually contain around 20 grams of protein and very few carbs. You can blend these powders into a smoothie, or mix a flavorless one into food.
Sunwarrior’s protein powders are raw and undamaged by heat, perfect for those with allergies or sensitivities, taste great, and provide the right amount of protein for your daily serving. Sunwarrior offers many keto-friendly protein powders to choose from:
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Clean Keto: Specifically designed for a healthy, keto lifestyle. The Clean Keto protein peptides are composed of clean fat from Coconut MCT Oil combined with fava bean protein, fermented pea protein, and protein peptides from brown rice to provide fast energy and help curb cravings. We've included essential vitamins (no synthetics), and minerals our bodies require.
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