Having a good health free from illnesses is everyone’s goal. Good exercise, healthy lifestyle, and strictly following a nutritious diet will help you achieve this.
Two of the major health trends today are the ketogenic and vegan diets. Though these two might not look like they fit perfectly with each other, since vegan diet relies mainly on a high amount of carbohydrates as the key source of energy, vegans can still follow a ketogenic lifestyle, thus, helping them achieve the health benefits of both.
The vegan keto diet offers a wide array of health benefits. The ketogenic diet includes a low-carb and high-fat diet. Combining it with a vegan diet helps limit carbohydrate and sugar intakes and boosts nutrient absorption, which eventually leads to having long-term excellent health. Vegans can reach ketosis by consuming plant-based products which are rich in good fats like avocados, nuts, olives, and seeds.
But what exactly are the health benefits of a vegetarian keto diet? How will your overall health improve by following it?
1. Prevents and Fights Diabetes and Obesity
Based on studies, the ketogenic diet is an effective way of reducing medications in patients with diabetes. Since the keto-vegan diet limits carbohydrate intake and ensures a sugar-free diet, it lowers blood sugar levels which significantly decreases the risk of developing diabetes in the future. For those who already have diabetes, this diet helps them lower insulin dosages or completely eliminates medications in as short as a few weeks.
Moreover, having a low-carb and sugar-free plant-based diet is an effective way to lose and maintain your desired weight. One study conducted with 164 adults showed that having a low-carb diet helped them lose weight significantly faster compared to other conventional weight loss programs. It also boosts metabolism that helps in burning more calories and fats per day.
2. Lowers the Risk of Having a Heart Disease
Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. It can be triggered by several health conditions, but is mainly due to lack of exercise, obesity, and unhealthy diet.
Most people think that having a high fat diet is not good for the heart. Recent studies show that an intake of good fats is not only safe, but also provides long-term health benefits. A continuous keto-vegan diet does not show any significant increase in cardiac events but it even lowers the amount of triglycerides, fat molecules, circulating in your bloodstream that are linked to heart disease.
When you consume excess carbohydrates, triglycerides increase, which can eventually lead to a heart disease. When following a strict keto-vegan diet, carbohydrate intake is limited to a maximum of 50 grams per day. Through this, blood triglycerides are drastically reduced.
3. Improves Over-All Mental Health
Studies show that keto-vegan diet improves mental cognition which makes you more focused and improves your critical thinking skills. This lifestyle keeps your brain young and sharp. By having a balanced diet – low-carb, rich in good fats and moderate in proteins – protects your neurovascular functions which help in maintaining good cognitive skills.
In addition, the keto-vegan diet also helps in clearing up beta-amyloid protein, which may stick together preventing fast and efficient flow of signals in the brain. Prevention of this build-up means lessening the risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.
As the keto diet was originally developed for epileptics on 1920s, it’s no wonder that studies also show that a vegan ketogenic diet can also cure drug-resistant epilepsy. Compared to other treatments, this is safer and successfully cures certain kinds of epilepsy without complications, risks, and side effects.
4. Battles Certain Types of Cancer
Despite advancements in the medical field, cancer is still hard to beat. Most cancer treatments today have a lot of side effects and health drawbacks. The best way to battle cancer is not through radiation or medication. It can be achieved by maintaining proper metabolic functions and having a healthy lifestyle.
Some studies reveal that sugar feeds cancer cells. Keto-vegan diet eliminates sugar from your system. Ketone bodies are used in making energy instead of glucose derived from carbs. Reducing glucose and carbohydrates from your system starves cancer cells. For an instance, a very low-carb diet can reduce the recurrence of certain types of breast cancer and can also slow down the growth of brain tumors.
The keto-vegan diet offers both protection from and prevention of cancer by minimizing carbohydrates and replacing them with healthy fats. Reduction of the consumption of starchy vegetables and sugary fruits will actively starve cancer cells. A lot of keto-vegan staples help prevent cancer cells from growing.
5. Helps in Improving Vision and Eyesight
Cataracts and glaucoma, progressive diseases that cause poor vision or even blindness, can be prevented through keto-vegan diet. Having a diet which is low in carbs but rich in good fats can help the retinal cells become healthy and also prevents cell degeneration.
Since the keto-vegan diet prevents diabetes, potential connections between it and glaucoma are reduced. Even people who already have glaucoma can have their vision improved and can slow down, or even stop, the progression of the disease.
6. Provides Good Stomach and Gut Health
The keto-vegan diet maintains a diverse and healthy gut microbiome. A healthy gut with plenty of good bacteria helps your body absorb fats and nutrients faster and more effectively. These good bacteria help you to have a healthy intestinal lining which aids in breaking down food and stimulates nutrient absorption. Certain bacteria in your gut also help in providing vitamin B12 and K to your body which are essential in regulating your body’s minerals like calcium.
Furthermore, this diet ensures that your metabolism is healthy. Your metabolic rate can be affected by an unbalanced gut microbiome. Having an unhealthy gut can lead to diseases and even weight gain.
7. Stabilizes Hormones
Hormones are chemical messengers in the body. Hormonal imbalances can be chaotic. Ketosis affects your hormones in a good way. Through this, your body lowers the levels of insulin through the elimination of sugar in your diet. Aside from that, levels of leptin, a type of hormone that suppresses hunger, are reduced, which will help you regulate your eating habits.
For women, this diet helps the pituitary gland to function better, regulates progesterone and the thyroid which aid in preventing infertility and progesterone deficiency.
8. Provides Higher Energy Levels to Help You Get Through the Day
High intake of carbohydrates can make you feel tired. When you consume food high in carbs (pizza, for example), the starches present in the food are broken down to glucose. In this process, your body requires insulin to move the glucose from the bloodstream. Our bodily functions require this energy. After consuming excess carbohydrates, there will be a spike in energy but will be quickly followed by a big drop making you feel sluggish and tired after the meal.
In a vegan keto diet, you will experience none of these issues. Your body will now rely on fats instead of carbohydrates. It won’t require energy from carbs. Too much insulin production will be prevented because your body can now use stored fat at any time. Through this, you will enjoy a continuous stream of energy throughout the day.
9. Makes Skin Clearer and Healthier
Reducing carbohydrates in your system results in clearer skin. In addition to dairy products, also simple carbohydrates can cause inflammation which is one of the biggest reasons of acne.
A high-glycemic diet can worsen acne and often results in breakouts. While sugar and carbs are known to cause pimples, good fats, on the other hand, soothe dry skin and prevent you from having inflammatory acne. So, if you want a clearer, smoother and glowing skin, this diet is for you.
10. Improves Sleep
Last, but certainly not the least, the keto-vegan diet improves sleep. The great thing about adhering to this diet is that it helps you be alert and going during the day and provides you a sweet pleasant sleep at night.
Sleep patterns change due to the reduction of carbs and increase of good fats. Researchers suggest that the keto-vegan diet can affect the production of a brain chemical called adenosine which aids in the regulation of sleep.
Apart from losing weight, the keto-vegan diet provides a lot of health benefits. The list may go on and on if we were to enumerate all of them. Try the keto-vegan diet now and experience all the health benefits it has to offer!
Sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5452247/
https://www.self.com/story/vegan-diet-pros-cons
https://www.smartvisionoptometry.com.au/eyecare/eyesight-vs-vision/
https://wellseek.co/2018/08/13/keto-diet-mental-edge/
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.