Both the Mediterranean diet and the keto diet claim health benefits and weight lossbut which is better for you?
Can two vastly different diets both be healthy?
What Is the Mediterranean Diet?
The Mediterranean diet is more of a lifestyle than a diet.
Its name is a reference to the traditional eating pattern of people living in countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea.
So what does the Mediterranean diet look like?
The currentDietary Guidelines for Americansinclude a Healthy Mediterranean-Style Eating Pattern that provides serving sizes and calorie count estimates.
There are no restrictions and no calorie counting.
It’s simply about eating more of some foods and less of others.
That’s pretty tough to beat, if you ask us.
What Is the Keto Diet?
The ketogenic (“keto”) diet was developed in the 1920s asa treatment for epilepsy.
The liver turns fat into ketones, which are used for energy until you start eating carbs again.
Also, no one knows the long-term effects of consuming a very high-fat, low-carb diet.
Keto Diet Benefits
The keto diet may help you lose weight quickly.
A 2019Nutrientsreview found that the keto diet can also help control blood sugar and improve insulin sensitivity.
And you don’t have to count calories to follow it.
Eating a high-fat diet increases feelings of satiety.
(By the way, “giving up” on dieting can be a very good thing sometimes.)
What Can You Eat on the Keto Diet and the Mediterranean Diet?
So Which Diet Is Healthier?
A controlled trial published in the May 2022American Journal of Clinical Nutritionwas actually conducted to answer this very question.
“I tried to give each diet the best chance.
(This may be part of the reason the diet is linked tobetter cognitive functionas one ages.)
Insufficient intake of calcium, vitamin D and other nutrients may also harm bone health in the long run.
For all of these reasons, we really wouldn’t recommend the keto diet.
