Everyone loves to hate carbs. They’ve gotten a bad reputation recently and are blamed for everything from causing diabetes to poor energy levels (not all carbs are bad for you FYI). But what is a low-carb diet anyways? And isn’t keto low-carb too? Read on to learn the differences between a low-carb diet and a ketogenic diet, plus find out which one is better for weight loss and overall health.
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What is a low-carb diet?
What is the keto diet?
The ketogenic (keto) diet falls under the definition of avery low-carbohydrate diet, which is a diet with less than 50 grams of carbohydrates per day. Five percent or less of calorie intake is from carbs on the keto diet, which is about 20-50 grams per day, depending on your total energy intake.
What’s the nutrient breakdown?
There are three macronutrients: carbohydrates, protein, and fat. When you cut back on carbs, you replace those carbohydrate calories with another macronutrient—usually fat. This leads to a low-carb, moderate protein, high-fat diet.
For example, if someone follows a low-carb diet with 30 percent of calories from carbs and the recommended 10-20 percent from protein, it means that about 50-60 percent of their calories will come from fat.
The breakdown of macros on the keto diet is about 80 percent calories from fat, 15-20 percent from protein and less than 5 percent from carbohydrates. Contrast that with the Dietary Guidelines recommendation of 25-35 percent calories from fat, 10-30 percent from protein and 45-65 percent from carbohydrates.
How does each diet work?
The body prefers to use glucose—a carbohydrate—as its energy source. When carbohydrate intake is very low (<50 grams) and glucose isn’t available for energy, the body makes glucose from other sources. This is called gluconeogenesis.
Key similarities between low-carb and keto
Both diets are low in carbohydrates, but the keto diet is lower in carbs (<5 percent calories from carbs) and higher in fat.
Neither diet technically restricts entire food groups, unless the food pushes you over the carb limit for the day. Grains, legumes, dairy, fruits, vegetables, processed foods, sugary foods, and some alcohol are restricted for this reason (here’s acomplete list of foods you can and cannot eat on the ketogenic diet).
Which one is better for weight loss?
Both a low-carb diet and keto diet can help you lose weight. When you eat carbohydrates, the hormone insulin is released to take glucose to your cells for energy. Extra glucose is stored as glycogen but if there’s glucose leftover after that, insulin stores the rest as fat. When you cut carbs, not as much insulin is released so the body can be in fat burning mode instead of fat storing mode. You will also likely end up cutting down your calorie intake, since the foods you can eat are limited.
But, a lot of things can help you lose weight quickly. The question is: Which pattern of eating can you keep up with for the long term? Although you may lose weight on a low-carb or keto diet, if you can’t eat that way forever, you won’t keep the weight off forever.
Research backs this too. Countlessstudieshave tried to figure out if low-carb or low-fat is better for weight loss. Most reach the sameconclusion: Low-carb diets can lead to faster weight loss in the short-term, but at one to two years follow-up, the weight loss outcomes are the same for low-carb and low-fat dieters.
A2017 studyin overweight adults with type 2 diabetes found that after one year, those that followed a ketogenic diet lost more weight and had lower A1Cs than those following a low-fat diet.
Few to no studies have compared the effects of low-carb diets to ketogenic diets on weight loss or other health outcomes.
Which is better for overall health?
The ketogenic diet is proven effective in children with epilepsy, and emergingresearchshows it may provide benefits for a number of neurological disorders.Researchshows keto might also help those with type 2 diabetes better control blood glucose levels and potentially reduce their A1C. More research is needed though. The effects of following keto long-term are unknown. It is difficult to study since most people have trouble complying to such low carbohydrate intake for years.
For non-keto, low-carb diets, a2015and2016study concluded that even though low-carb diets are safe in the short-term and effective, there were no differences on blood sugar response compared to a diet with more carbs for people with type 2 diabetes and that total calorie intake is still the best predictor of weight loss. Learn more abouthow to eat healthy when you have diabetes.
Downsides of eating low-carb or keto
You may have heard of the “keto flu,” a nasty side effect of the ketogenic diet that causes dizziness, nausea, and fatigue due to losing fluid and sodium quickly after cutting carbs.
Another downside is the difficulty of following the keto diet. Many people eating keto might not actually be in a state of ketosis. It’s recommended to follow keto under the supervision of a doctor or dietitian.
Both a low-carb diet and keto diet cut carbs, which means cutting fiber. Fiber suppresses appetite and slows digestion leading to weight loss and maintenance. Fiber also lowers risk for cardiovascular disease and helps stabilize blood sugars (try these10 foods with more fiber than an apple).
Fiber is food for the good bacteria in your gut. These bugs feed off of non-starchy vegetables, fruit, whole grains, beans, and legumes - all foods that are limited on low-carb diets. A healthy microbiome is linked to improved heart health, brain health, digestion, and immunity.
It is also welldocumentedthat eating whole grains is associated with a lower risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
Eating a high percentage of calories from fat could also raise LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels and triglycerides. If eating low-carb, be sure to choose healthy fats like salmon, albacore tuna, olive oil, avocado, nuts and seeds.
There are less restrictive diets such as theMediterranean dietthat are associated with a healthy weight, reduced risk for heart disease and diabetes, and living longer. The Mediterranean diet is also a whole-body, holistic approach that includes daily movement, eating with others, and being social. This eating pattern is more sustainable for people to keep up with for their entire lives.
Things to consider before deciding on low-carb vs. keto
Bottom Line
There’s no standard definition for a low-carb diet, but it generally refers to eating less than 45 percent of calories from carbs. The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, moderate protein, very low-carb diet with less than 5 percent of calories coming from carbohydrates. Both diets can help you lose weight, but studies show they don’t work any better than low-fat diets for losing weight long-term. You may find it easier to follow a low-fat diet or a healthy eating pattern like the Mediterranean diet than to drastically cut carbs for the rest of your life.
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