Keto? Paleo? Vegan? Carnivore? Celiac? Low carb?

Have you heard of all the diet trends going on and you’re just not really sure which one you should be on or where to start? Well my friend, We are here to help!

A few years ago, The plant based diet was the talk of the town. Eat a plant-based diet, and life is good. You’re healthy, you’ll feel great, your chances of disease will decrease. Lots of data and research to validate the premise.
Now we’re reading about the Paleo Diet and the Keto Diet. Protein and vegetables [Paleo] and consuming fats to burn fat [Keto], each, again, with plenty of data and research to validate the premise.
Vegan, Paleo, and Keto Diets often seem confusing and contradictory!
There’s controversy and tension as people take strong positions about which nutritional and health-affirming model is ‘RIGHT.’


Food is our Fuel
Who’s right about what’s right for our bodies? I know you know this, but you are the one who’s right. Your body responds to what you eat. Food is fuel. It’s your body’s energy source.
What you feed your body matters, just like what you think matters.
Now, having validated that you and your body are fully capable of deciding which health-affirming, rational nutritional approach works for you, let’s move to another topic.

First thing is first,
No one should be eating processed foods or refined sugar. it’s ok to have a cheat day of course, but honestly once you start eating healthy and healing your gut. You will no longer crave these fatty foods you once used to love and think you couldn’t live without.

Secondly,
you’ll need to try the diet you choose for at least 3 months to see if it works for you. The biggest thing we tell our clients is what is realistic in your life.
You MUST go with the diet that will be maintained. If you pick a diet your never going to be able to stick to well then of course your either going to fail or your going to binge once you’ve decided you can have break off your diet. Which ALWAYS results in extreme weight gain.
Also, if you’re interested in different diet types more so because of allergy concerns or certain beliefs.. well than that is different. We can get you in to get an allergy/dna test done and go from there.

So what fits your lifestyle? What you can stick with will be the one to give you results.
Most realistic for people is the Paleo diet.. because most of us should be limiting our intake of carbs, dairy and sugar anyways and eating whole foods.

The Keto diet is considered an “extreme diet”. If you eat out a lot or you enjoy carbs you might struggle with this diet. That being said Keto is an amazing diet. Especially if you have really been struggling with weight loss.

Each of us is a sovereign being, right? So we all have our own minds – conscious and unconscious – operating within us, within the unique cauldron of self. We are also informed by the energy of the collective. Whatever we believe as truth is something we hold in individuated awareness, as well as through the collective energy of everyone else who also believes what we believe. This is also applicable when we’re talking about Vegan, Paleo, Keto Diets and so on.

Can you accept that another’s way of eating is his or her way? That it’s not yours to judge, condemn, or praise? In reality, when we jump on the right/wrong bandwagon, we skew our energy out of neutrality and flow and into judgment and rigidity.

If you choose a plant based diet ,choose for yourself. If it works for you and your body, that’s awesome. You’ll be entering the plant-based eating collective belief system, and it will inform your awareness. There will be ‘rules’ you follow, and perhaps some rigidity in how you think about food and what you eat.

If you choose an animal protein based approach, such as the Paleo diet, and it works for you – equally fabulous! You’ll be entering the animal protein-based eating collective belief system with its rules and rigidity.

And thus it goes to reason, choosing the Keto diet will house your awareness in that belief system, and whatever rigidity and rules occur in that way of eating. Vegan, Paleo, Keto Diets and so on all have their differences, but we all need to respect others’ choices when it comes to food.
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We all simply need to remember that we are what we eat, and then rest comfortably in our choices.

VEGAN In a Nutshell:
Plant based foods only (if it comes from an animal, don’t eat it)

Permitted Foods: Fruits, Vegetables, Nuts & Seeds, Beans, Legumes, Grains, Lentils, Plant Based Fats, Alcohol, Vegan Sugar & Sweeteners

Forbidden Foods: Meat, Fish/Seafood, Dairy, Eggs, Honey – and ALL animal products

• Protein can easily be found in many plant based sources, including nuts, grains, and some vegetables; some vegans supplement their diets with protein powders, made from soy, pea, or rice
• Fats can be found from natural plant foods such as avocados, olives, coconuts, and nuts; natural plant fat is welcomed in a vegan diet, and doesn’t affect your cholesterol and heart health as badly as animal fats do
• Carbs make up a big portion of the vegan diet in the form of grains, rice, lentils, and beans; vegetables also naturally have carbs (but most of it comes from fiber), and fruits are full of natural sugar/carbs, meaning vegans tend to take in more carbs than any other diets do

People go vegan for many reasons. Some people do it for ethical reasons, as meat production and factory farming practices are cruel. Some people do it for environmental reasons as meat farming causes deforestation and pollution. Some people go vegan due to the global impact, as meat consumption is an improper use of resources. And some people go vegan for health reasons & benefits, as vegan diets are believed to lower your cholesterol and risk of heart disease.
Whatever the reason may be, veganism has become an increasing popular lifestyle change, and vegan products are becoming more available by the day. Of course, this doesn’t mean that being vegan alone is inherently healthy. There are still plenty of vegan junk foods, and some vegans rely heavily on carbs to become full; like any diet, you can be healthy by eating things in moderation and making good choices.

KETO In a Nutshell:
High Fat/Low Carb, designed to send your body into ketosis to burn fat
Permitted Foods: Red Meat, Poultry, Fish, Seafood, Vegetables, Nuts & Seeds, Fats & Oils
Forbidden Foods: Wheat/Flour, Most Fruits, Sugar & Sweeteners, Grains, Starches
Nutritional Goals

• Completely eliminate carbohydrates (no more than 5-10% of your daily calorie intake), to block the body from producing glucose which prevents the metabolization of fat and signals the production of insulin (which makes you store more fat)
• Provide 60-75% of calories from fat, giving the body the proper energy it needs to metabolize and stay in a fat burning zone
• Eat a high amount of protein (between 20-25% of daily calorie intake) so that the body can maintain muscle, but not so much protein where the body will be pushed out of ketosis

The Keto diet is a high-fat/low-carb diet, which runs on the principle that you need to eat fat to burn fat. On a broad level, it’s based on the fact that the body breaks carbs down into glucose and uses said glucose as a primary energy source over the fat that’s already stored in your body.
So you want to limit the amount of carbs you put into your body so that you can force the body to enter into a state of ketosis. Ketosis is a natural process where the body starts dipping into its fat stores for energy; it’s almost like the body says “Hey, where’d all of the glucose go?? Oh well, I guess I’ll just burn the fat in these thighs and belly instead!”
The ultimate goal is to stay in a state of ketosis and to train your body to metabolize fats for energy, while using proteins to build your body and complete necessary functions. This can all be achieved by eliminating carbohydrates and the body’s option to use glucose with it.

What Foods Are Avoided
It doesn’t matter if you’re eating complex carbs or simple sugars, both of these carbs turn into glucose in the body (even fruit sugars). People following a keto diet should avoid the following foods:

• Sugar, in all forms including Cane Sugar, Agave, Maple Syrup, Molasses, Honey, etc.
• Grains, Cereals, Wheat, Rice (so no Breads, Crackers, Oats, Flour)
• Starchy Vegetables and Tubers, such as Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes
• Lentils, Beans, Legumes (includes Peanuts and Soy)
• Most Fruits, with the exception of low glycemic fruits (such as berries)
• Some Vegetables high in sugar, such as Carrots, Peas, Tomatoes

What Foods Are Allowed
High fat and high protein options are abundant, and foods that are permitted include:

• Animal Fats such as Butter, Ghee, Lard, Beef Tallow, Duck Fat, Mayonnaise
• Natural plant fats, including Avocado Oil, Coconut Oil, Olive Oil, MCT Oil
• Red Meat & Poultry, especially those high in fat
• Seafoods, Fish, and Shellfish, especially oily fish
• Nuts and Seeds
• Nut Flowers such as Almond or Coconut Flour
• Natural Sweeteners such as Stevia and Monk Fruit Sugar
• Alcohol Sugars such as Xylitol and Erythritol
• Low Sugar Vegetables, especially greens

PALEO In a Nutshell: ‘
Ancestral Diet.’ If our prehistoric ancestors didn’t eat it, neither do we
Permitted Foods: Grass Fed Meats, Wild Caught Fish/Seafood, Eggs, Natural Fat, Nuts, Most Vegetables
Forbidden Foods: Processed Foods, Grains, Legumes, Dairy, Sugar, Most Fruits, Alcohol

Nutritional Goals

• Proteins is essential for muscle growth and repair, and makes up the bulk of the Paleo diet; animal proteins should come from pasture raised, grass-fed, or wild caught animals (so that you’re eating foods that are healthy and natural themselves)
• Fats (especially saturated fats from plants and animals) are highly encouraged; like the Keto diet, Paleo encourages you to become fat-adaptive and allow your body to metabolise fats over carbohydrates
• Carbs are heavily restricted, especially those from grains, sugar, and other non-primitive food sources (remember, what did the hunter-gatherers eat?)

the Paleo diet is a complete lifestyle change. Diet, exercise, sleep, and even nutrient absorption is modeled after what our early human ancestors did. Basically, if a caveman didn’t eat it/do it, we shouldn’t either.
Think about it, our brains, muscles, and organs, all evolved to perform specific functions for hunting and survival. Before we discovered agriculture, nutrient rich foods (from hunting and gathering), explosive movement (such as running, chasing, leaping, crouching), and the very way we perceive the quality of life (the importance of play, sex, sleep, etc.) all literally shaped us as the humans we are today.

What Foods Are Avoided
Eating ancestrally seems pretty straight forward, but it’s important to consider these foods that DO NOT fall within the Paleo diet:

• Processed Meats (such as Bologna, Hot Dogs, Salami, Pepperoni, etc.)
• Grains, Cereals, Wheat, Rice (so no Breads, Crackers, Oats, Flour)
• Sugar, in most forms, especially Cane Sugar
• Dairy in most forms (some people make an exception for Grass Fed Butter or Ghee )
• Lentils, Beans, Legumes (includes Peanuts and Soy)
• Most Fruits, with the exception of low glycemic fruits (such as berries)
• Artificial/Processed Fats such as Margarine or Canola, Cottonseed, Grapeseed, and Safflower oil

What Foods Are Allowed
Eat foods that are whole and natural, something a caveman would find or hunt (and not process with technologies and tools that didn’t exist 10,000 years ago):

• Grass Fed, Pasture Raised, or Wild/Game Meat and Poultry
• Wild Caught Seafoods, Fish, and Shellfish
• Organic Cage Free & Free Range Eggs
• Organic and Non-GMO Vegetables
• Animal Fats such as Butter, Ghee, Lard, Beef Tallow, Duck Fat, Mayonnaise
• Natural plant fats, including Avocado Oil, Coconut Oil, and Olive Oil
• Nuts and Seeds (you can also use Nut flours)
• Organic Low Sugar Fruits, such as berries and some melons

WHOLE30 In a Nutshell: Eat only whole foods for 30 days to reset your relationship with food
Permitted Foods: Meat, Poultry, Seafood, Eggs, Vegetables (except for corn and peas), Fruits, Nuts & Seeds, Plant & Animal Fats/Oils, Salt
Forbidden Foods: Grains, Dairy, Sugar, Alcohol, Legumes, Soy, Packaged Foods (specifically those that contain MSG, Carrageenan, or Sulfites)
Whole30 is not about losing weight but more about feeling good and resetting your relationship with food. Because of this, weighing yourself and calorie counting is forbidden; dieters following this eating plan are asked to practice clean eating instead.
Because Whole30 focuses on training your body (and mind) to eat real food, substitutions are also not allowed. This means no Paleo Pancakes or Vegan Cookies. Since sugar is prohibited, other sweeteners or sugar substitutes (i.e. Splenda, Stevia, Maple Syrup, Honey, etc.) are also not allowed.
Preservatives, MSG, carrageenan, and sulfites are also banned, virtually making all packaged foods off limits. The focus is to get people to cook real meals with whole foods, resetting their relationship and attitude towards eating and cooking food.
Many people enjoy this diet because of its attainable 30 day window, and some people report the end of sugar cravings, mental clarity, better sleep, and increased energy by cutting out grains, alcohol, sugar, and processed food.

GLUTEN-FREE In a Nutshell: Avoid grain foods that contain the Gluten protein, such as Wheat, Barley, and Rye
Permitted Foods: Meat, Seafood, Fruits, Vegetables, Dairy, Eggs, Nuts, Beans, Legumes, Non Gluten Grains (Rice, Corn, Buckwheat, Quinoa, Teff, Millet, and more)
Forbidden Foods: Grains w/ the Gluten Protein, such as Wheat, Barley, Rye and Foods that are Processed with Gluten (Beer, Soy Sauce, some Processed Meats, some Condiments, and more)
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CELIACS DISEASE is very serious and if you have it, a gluten free diet is to be taken very seriously.
But what exactly is gluten?
Gluten is a combination of two proteins (gliadin + glutenin) that are found in some grains like wheat and barley. Gluten can be activated when wheat is broken down or kneaded (like when making bread) and gives food its chewy, stretchy, and bread like texture.
Those who’ve been medically diagnosed with celiac disease suffer a condition in which gluten triggers an autoimmune response where the body attacks the incoming gluten, in turn damaging the lining of the small intestine in the process. This reaction causes a range of issues, including the inability to absorb nutrients from other non-gluten foods and other allergic reactions.

Gluten intolerance is an issue that some have no control over. However, many diet experts claim that if an average (non-celiac) person eats a gluten free diet, they too can benefit from better nutrient absorption, more energy, mental clarity, and better skin.

There is no true scientific backing that can validate this claim, at the moment.
Another thing to be careful about is the fact that gluten free foods that are trying to emulate regular wheat based foods
(ie. gluten free waffles or muffins) have more fat and sugar to compensate for the lack of gluten. This is something to consider, given your particular diet goals.
In any case, plenty of people do experience weight loss and feel better by cutting out gluten, and eliminating gluten for sometime may help you get an idea if you have a wheat intolerance.
If you’re looking for more information about celiac disease on the effect gluten has on our body, you can contact or have a consultation with our holistic nutritionist.