In the ever-evolving landscape of dietary trends, the Whole30, Paleo, and Keto diets have emerged as popular choices for individuals seeking weight loss, improved health, or a reset of their eating habits. 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. While all of these diets are strikingly similar, there are some differences between them. This article delves into a detailed comparison of these three diets, highlighting their similarities, differences, potential benefits, and drawbacks to help you make an informed decision about which one might be the best fit for your individual needs.
Understanding the Core Principles
Before diving into the specifics, let's establish a foundational understanding of each diet:
Paleo Diet: The paleo diet is patterned after what human hunter-gatherer ancestors may have eaten in the belief that these foods protect against modern diseases. It emphasizes whole, minimally processed foods, mirroring the eating habits of our Paleolithic ancestors. It focuses on eating foods people ate during the Paleolithic Era, food they got through hunting and gathering. The diet focuses on foods like lean meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. The paleo approach centers on the unprocessed, truly natural foods humans consumed through hunting and gathering in the Paleolithic era, which ended about 10,000 years ago.
Whole30 Diet: The Whole30 diet is a month-long program designed to reset your metabolism and reshape your relationship with food. It is a 30-day restrictive diet designed to reset your eating habits and boost your overall health. Like paleo, it promotes whole foods and aims to help you identify food intolerances, improve your relationship with food, lose weight, and achieve long-term wellness.
Keto Diet: The ketogenic or keto diet is one of the many low-carb diets around. It differs from the others by focusing on getting around 70 percent of your daily calories from fat. When following the keto diet, your body burns substances called ketones for energy rather than carbs. A "true" keto diet does not provide enough calories from sources of glucose and other forms of sugar and causes the body to burn fat to create energy. When fat is broken down, ketones are released by fat cells into the bloodstream. The increase in blood ketones lowers the normal acid-base balance in blood to make it more acidic, a state known as ketosis.
Read also: Whole30: Benefits and Risks
Food Lists: What's on the Menu?
A crucial aspect of any diet is the list of permitted and restricted foods. Here's a breakdown for each diet:
Paleo Diet
Foods to eat:
- Meat
- Fish
- Eggs
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Herbs
- Spices
- Certain vegetable oils, such as coconut or extra virgin olive oil - plus, wine and dark chocolate in small amounts
Foods to avoid:
- Processed foods
- Added sugar
- Artificial sweeteners
- Trans fats
- Grains
- Dairy
- Legumes
- Some vegetable oils, including soybean, sunflower, and safflower oil
Additionally, you’re encouraged to choose grass-fed and organic products whenever possible.
Whole30 Diet
Foods to eat:
- Meat
- Poultry
- Fish
- Seafood
- Eggs
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Some fats, such as plant oils, duck fat, clarified butter, and ghee
Foods to avoid:
- Added sugars
- Artificial sweeteners
- Processed additives
- Alcohol
- Grains
- Dairy
- Pulses and legumes, including soy
After the first 30 days, you’re allowed to slowly reintroduced restricted foods - one at a time - to test your tolerance to them. Those foods that you tolerate well may be added back into your routine.
Keto Diet
In a typical keto diet plan, approximately 70% to 75% of daily calories come from fat, 20% from protein, and no more than 10% from carbohydrates.
Foods to eat:
- High-fat foods
- Moderate protein sources
- Very limited carbohydrates
Foods to avoid:
- Fruits
- Grains
- Legumes
- Many vegetables
Similarities Between Paleo and Whole30
The Whole30 and paleo diets are very similar in their restrictions and health effects but diverge in their implementation. The Whole30 and paleo diets are similarly structured around whole foods and offer comparable benefits, including weight loss.
Read also: Paleo Granola Recipes
Shared Restrictions
Both cut out the same food groups, namely:
- Grains
- Dairy
- Legumes
These food groups boast an array of beneficial nutrients, such as fiber, carbs, protein, iron, magnesium, selenium, and several B vitamins. Cutting these foods from your diet tends to reduce your carb intake while boosting your protein consumption, as you start relying on more high-protein foods.
Potential Health Benefits
Paleo and Whole30 may provide similar health benefits. This may be because they’re rich in fruits and vegetables and discourage highly processed foods that are often laden with sugar, fat, or salt.
Weight Loss
Due to their restrictive nature, both diets may create the calorie deficit you need to lose weight without requiring you to measure portions or count calories. What’s more, paleo and Whole30 are rich in fibrous fruits and vegetables. Diets high in fiber can help reduce hunger and cravings while promoting feelings of fullness - all of which can help you lose weight. In addition, by cutting out grains, dairy, and legumes, these eating patterns are lower in carbs and higher in protein than the average diet. High-protein diets tend to naturally reduce your appetite and help you maintain muscle mass while losing fat, which are key factors in weight loss.
Improved Metabolic Health
Accordingly, studies link the paleo diet to improved insulin sensitivity and reduced inflammation and blood sugar levels - all factors which may reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes. This diet may also lower risk factors for heart disease, including blood pressure, triglycerides, and LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. Although the Whole30 diet hasn’t been as extensively researched, it may offer very similar health benefits due to its resemblance to paleo.
Read also: Paleo Diet Delivered: What You Need to Know
Differences Between Paleo and Whole30
May vary in focus and sustainability. Although both diets aim to help you lose weight and improve your health, they differ in their focus.
Focus and Duration
For instance, Whole30 claims to help you identify possible food intolerances, requiring you to cut out slightly more foods than the paleo diet - at least initially. Plus, Whole30’s initial stage lasts just 1 month. Afterward, it becomes considerably less strict, allowing you to gradually reintroduce limited foods if your body tolerates them.
Strictness and Sustainability
On the other hand, the paleo diet first appears more lenient. For instance, it permits small amounts of wine and dark chocolate from the onset. However, its list of restricted foods remains the same whether you follow it for 1 month or 1 year. As such, some people find the Whole30 diet more difficult to follow initially but easier to stick to over the long term. Nonetheless, the risk of abandoning the diet may be much higher on Whole30 because it’s so strict upfront.
Keto Diet: A Different Approach
The keto diet stands apart from Paleo and Whole30 due to its macronutrient focus.
Macronutrient Ratio
The Keto diet is a low-carb, moderately-low protein, and a higher fat diet. When followed correctly, it causes the body to use dietary fats and its own stored fat to produce energy instead of using glucose from a carbohydrate-rich diet. In a typical keto diet plan, approximately 70% to 75% of daily calories come from fat, 20% from protein, and no more than 10% from carbohydrates.
Ketosis
The ketogenic diet got its name from the ketone bodies (also known as ketones) it produces. Ketone bodies are a natural byproduct of the digestion of fat in the body. They are a more efficient fuel source than glucose and can power the brain and other organs in the body.
Potential Health Benefits
The keto diet’s health benefits are weight loss, healthy aging, increased energy levels, improved brain health (neuroprotective), and increased lifespan. In addition to helping treat seizures, the keto diet can be beneficial for other medical conditions, such as Type 2 diabetes. Weight loss is one of the biggest advantages of the keto diet. Many people who follow this diet boast dramatic weight loss.
Comparing the Diets: A Head-to-Head Look
To further clarify the distinctions, let's compare specific aspects of each diet:
Restrictions
- Paleo: Excludes grains, dairy, legumes, processed foods, added sugars.
- Whole30: Excludes grains, dairy, legumes, added sugars, artificial sweeteners, alcohol, processed additives.
- Keto: Severely restricts carbohydrates, including fruits, grains, legumes, and many vegetables.
Focus
- Paleo: Emphasizes whole, unprocessed foods based on ancestral eating patterns.
- Whole30: Aims to reset metabolism, identify food intolerances, and improve the relationship with food.
- Keto: Focuses on achieving ketosis through high-fat, low-carbohydrate intake.
Sustainability
- Paleo: Can be sustainable long-term with careful planning and attention to nutrient needs.
- Whole30: Designed as a short-term reset, followed by gradual reintroduction of foods.
- Keto: Can be challenging to maintain long-term due to its restrictive nature.
Potential Drawbacks and Considerations
It's essential to acknowledge the potential drawbacks and considerations associated with each diet:
Nutrient Deficiencies
Unnecessarily restricting your intake of grains, dairy, and legumes may make it more difficult to meet all of your daily nutrient needs.
Sustainability
Paleo and Whole30 may be difficult to maintain because of these restrictions. Unless your food choices on these diets become a habit, you’ll likely regain the weight you lost as soon as you go off the diet.
Individual Suitability
Low-carb, high-protein diets may not suit everyone, including athletes who need a higher carb intake. A high protein intake may also worsen conditions for people who are susceptible to kidney stones or have kidney disease.
Keto-Specific Concerns
Criticism of the keto diet include that it can cause severe nutritional imbalances, requires medical supervision, is too rigid, and is too difficult to sustain.
Risk of Disordered Eating
As with all types of restrictive diets, people who have a history of eating disorders should proceed very cautiously when thinking about doing an ultra-restrictive diet such as keto. Additionally, there are groups of people including children and pregnant women who are not advised to do a keto diet.
Making the Right Choice
Choosing the right diet depends on your individual goals, health status, and preferences.
Consult a Healthcare Professional
Only you and your healthcare provider can really answer that question. As always, it’s best if you discuss this with your healthcare provider, as he or she can help figure out exactly which diet will work best for your specific situation.
Consider Your Goals
Each of the dietary paradigms has its advantages, depending on your goals. Are you confused about which healthy diet to choose?
Assess Your Lifestyle
Paleo is less restrictive and may be easier to maintain, especially for those who do not want to feel deprived. The keto diet is very restrictive, which may be useful for people who thrive on the “all or nothing” mentality.