The Difference Between Clean & Dirty Keto

The Ketogenic Diet was developed in the 1920s to help people prevent diseases such as cancer, diabetes and severe epilepsy. Keto Diet has become a trendy way to lose weight. People all over the world are driving towards this technique for weight loss. Everyone needs a short route to cut down the fat and have a slim and fit body. Ketosis forces the body to use fats as the source of energy which indirectly helps in losing weight. Ketosis includes eating a low carbs diet, moderate proteins and high fat diet, commonly known as Keto Diet.

Keto has always been about avoiding food high in carbs and  taking food high in fats. Then the trend and popularity changed and people started to have a keto diet to maintain a healthy body and to get rid of extra weight. 

90% fats, 6% protein and 4% carbohydrates was the best proportion to stay fit.Then from where did this clean and dirty keto come from? It was always clear that you can have anything and everything which contains the right set of micronutrients. But the truth is not all low carbohydrate and high fat foods are considered to be the same. There lies a thin line between organic and inorganic keto or what we call clean and dirty keto. 

Difference between Clean and Dirty Keto 

There are two ways to follow the Keto Diet: Clean Keto and Dirty Keto. Clean Keto is about organic, wholesome food and natural food. Dirty Keto is about packaged and processed or factory farmed keto friendly food.

What is “Clean Keto” ?

Clean Keto Diet consists of wholesome, fresh, organic,high quality and sustainably raised ingredients. Clean Keto strictly prohibits packed and processed foods.Clean Keto requires more effort in cooking and preparation. This way, whole nutrients from the scratch comes out of the food and makes it healthy and nutrient rich. 

Clean Keto consists of less than 50 grams of carbohydrates, moderate protein intake of 15–20% of daily calories, and a high fat intake of at least 75% of daily calories.The reduction in carbohydrates puts the body into a metabolic state called - “Nutritional Ketosis”. 

During nutritional ketosis, the liver starts converting fats into ketosis which provides fuel to the body as well as brain. It enhances the neuron and synapse growth in the body, hence increases the brain-derived neurotrophic factor. 

Clean Keto includes food items such as organic eggs, organic vegetables, organic fruits, organic dairy products and grass meat. Reasons why wholesome food is better than any other food is, it is better for health, less expensive and tastes delicious. Have food items like avocados, grass-fed butter,olive oil, coconut oil, nuts, and seeds. 

You can also choose food high in fats and low carb diets such as brazil nuts, almonds, walnuts, chia seeds and flaxseed. You can also eat non starchy, leafy vegetables like spinach and other vegetables like  broccoli, peppers, cauliflower, green beans, asparagus, cucumber, and zucchini. Try to have protein in the form of grass-fed meat and fish.If you want to have something sweet, dark chocolate is your best option. 

Avoid having grains or starches such as rice, pasta, beans, legumes, root vegetables, and any low-fat diet products. All of these foods and ingredients provide a lot of health benefits such as weight loss, reduces blood sugar level and prevents cancer.  

While you are having Clean keto also take care of the intake of water. The body should not gain water weight. All the vegetables and fruits which we take already contain some content of water. Although it’s always good to drink water at different intervals, make sure it does not put too much pressure or weight on your stomach. 

Ingredients Under Clean Keto 

• Grass-fed beef 
• Wild fish
• Poultry Eggs
• Coconut oil,butter, ghee, olive oil, avocado oil
• Non- starch veggies
• Berries such as blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries
• Nuts (walnuts) and Seeds (pumpkin seeds)
• Coconut butter
• Organic free meats and cheeses
• Avocados
• Dark chocolate
• Homemade fat bombs

 What is “Dirty Keto” ?

We live in a fast world full of convenience and comfort.Where we want to satisfy our cravings without much efforts. We are also addicted to starchy and sugary products. With all of our demands of tasty and quick food we also want to keep Keto fit which has indeed got possible because of a lot of companies nowadays. 

Working on the psychology aspect of this generation companies have come up with food which tastes food, looks tempting, contains healthy ingredients and is considered as a Keto Diet. Dirty Keto consists of packaged food such as snack bars, cookies, cold drinks, chips, chocolates, meats, snacks, low carbs flour,Artificial sweeteners, Processed oils, Processed proteins, etc. Dirty Keto is also known as “Lazy Keto”. 

Although the diet being prepared by the companies are of low carbohydrates and more fat but they still contain less nutrients than the organic keto diet.Thus, it is not necessary that the fast keto diet which you are taking is totally good for health or not. 

Dirty Keto Diet often contains high amounts of Sodium which leads to high risk of blood pressure and diseases related to heart. Due to lack of micronutrients in package food they may also lead to obesity, diabetes and over morality. It may also cause deficiency of vitamins and minerals like calcium, magnesium, zinc, folic acid, and vitamins C, D, and K.

Dirty Keto Diet may help you lose weight in the longer run but it will cause a huge damage in the digestive system. Processed food damages the gut lining and makes it more permeable. This disturbed balance will give invitation to a lot of bacterias, toxins, undigested food particles and blood circulation which are harmful for the body.It will not only hit the stomach but also the brain. 

Dirty Keto also wastes your efforts of exercise and work out as it delays the process of weight loss and causes chronic pain, inflamed joints, metabolic issues and depression. Thus, dirty keto is not good for health as it contains less micronutrients and unknown food additives. 

Dirty Keto can be a saviour though when you are travelling or have less time or sometimes just for convenience. At Least the proportion of your macros will remain intact. You need to pick the right brand which contains as much nutrients as possible. 

Ingredients Under Dirty Keto 

• Processed Oils: Canola oil, vegetable oil, hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils, and trans fats: These are mostly found in fast food and packaged food items. If you are purchasing keto food from some company,read the label and check for partially hydrogenated oils and trans fats. Make sure it is made from coconut oil only. 

• Processed Meat: Meats, bacon, and hot dogs. 

• Fast food: Food items which contains bad oils, factory farmed meats, unknown ingredients, and void  nutrition
• Diet soft drinks: Such drinks contain artificial sweeteners, food dye, and other unknown ingredients. 
• Excessive factory-farmed dairy: Grass-fed, cultured, full-fat cottage cheese is a cleaner option than traditional full-fat cottage cheese, due to antibiotics, and the diet of the cow. The cultured variety provides probiotics, which are good for your gut health. 
• Keto Chips & Cookies: Such items are cooked in poor-quality oils and loaded with sodium
• Roasted or salted nuts:Roasted in poor-quality oils and loaded with sodium and other unknown ingredients. 

Whenever you buy such kind of food items make sure you check the label, kind of cooking oil which has been used, the  amount of sodium and other ingredients present in it.

What are the major differences?

Now that we have already talked in detail about the clean and dirty keto, let's find out the major differences which are to be kept in mind. The dirty keto differs vastly in the quality of food. Different brands have their own benchmarks of the quality they are maintaining. Clean keto diet emphasizes high fat nutrition and wholesome foods with an occasional incoming of packaged food. 

People who follow clean Keto fill their stomach using non starchy vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, asparagus etc. While the people following dirty keto eat very less amount of veggies. Dirty keto consists of high sodium content as compared to people having clean keto. 

Dirty keto has a lot of negative long-term health effects whereas a clean keto is risk free and nutrient rich. 

Cost Effective Keto

Following Keto Diet can be an expensive deal as it includes a lot of nutritional supplements like high amounts of animal protein and fats, beans, nuts, seeds, fish and meat. Because of high consumption of such expensive sources, clean Keto can be considered more costlier than Dirty Keto. Dirty Keto consists of processed food which causes somewhere less bill than that of the clean version.  

Does it really matter?

You must be thinking that be it Clean Keto or Dirty Keto, you are anyway going to shed weight. But it’s not just about shedding weight it is also about keeping the body fit. It is about maintaining a balanced, nutrient rich diet, which is long lasting and does not create any harm to the body. 

Being healthy is more important than being slim anyday. Thus, watch out the nutrients and macros you are intaking, check out the side effects of it as well.Your diet should not cause harm to your blood sugar, cholesterol, brain health and digestive system. 

Bottom Line 

Keto diet  is a low carbs diet that is associated with a lot of health benefits. Both clean and dirty keto can help in losing weight, although they have different compositions. The best option will be to go for clean keto and avoid processed food items. Try to have as much as micronutrients in your food to make it more wholesome 

Stay healthy, Be fit !