Admin If you’re interested in clean eating while also limiting your carbohydrates, you may have heard of the clean keto diet. The clean keto diet is a keto approach that focuses on getting nutrients from fresh, unprocessed or minimally processed foods.
The thought of avoiding heavily processed foods may seem like a lot of work, but it’s also easy – and even better – to eat cleaner, and there are some helpful guidelines for you to use.
Here’s more on the clean keto diet, how it differs from the dirty keto diet, what to eat and avoid, how to start the clean keto, the health benefits and side effects.
What is Clean Keto?
In general, clean keto adds the principles of clean eating to keto. This means cutting out all processed, artificial and junk foods.
You also need to pay attention to the sources and production methods of natural foods – for example, choosing free-range, grass-fed meat over industrially produced ones.
In contrast, “Dirty Keto” followers don’t really worry about the types of foods they eat. They are happy to eat artificial foods such as sweeteners, take-out and low-quality processed meats. As long as the carbohydrate content is low enough to maintain a state of ketosis, that’s all “dirty keto” needs.
What Foods are Considered “Clean”?
A clean keto diet includes meat, fish, seafood, poultry, eggs, non-starchy vegetables, non-starchy fruits, nuts, seeds, animal fats (butter, lard, ghee), and some herbs and spices.
When baking, choose almond flour and coconut flour, as these are low-carb, as well as other sugar-free ingredients such as cocoa powder and stevia.
Finding snacks that fit into a clean keto diet can be a challenge, as many packaged options are highly processed and contain refined oils and non-keto sweeteners.
By checking the ingredient list before you buy, you can make sure you’re only eating the good stuff. Otherwise, make your own snacks from scratch.
Foods to Avoid on Clean Keto
Dirty keto foods contain additives, including preservatives, that can increase your risk of disease. Try to avoid these:
- Pork rinds (fried in vegetable oils and with added sugars)
- Processed cheese
- Margarine
- Deli meat (cured bacon, hotdogs, luncheon meats)
- Sugar-free soda and bottled or boxed juices
- Bunless cheeseburger from fast food restaurants
- Mayonnaise
- Vegetable oils
- Low-carb packaged snacks with artificial sweeteners, vegetable oils, and other harmful additives
How to Make the Switch from Dirty to Clean
Clean up your keto diet by starting with small swaps.
- Replace any added sugars with sugar-free alternatives
- Switch to keto-friendly coffee syrups and other foods to avoid exceeding the carbohydrate limits
- Read the labels on the foods that you buy, making sure to choose options without unnecessary additives, sugars, or other carbs
- Over time, choose more nutrient-dense whole foods, which will allow you to reach the recommended daily intake of essential nutrients.
By choosing a clean keto diet and prioritizing your health, you can let go of the foods that are bad for you and become the best version of yourself.
Benefits of Clean Keto
Faster weight loss. If you have a sensitive metabolism, sweeteners and other processed foods may stall your weight loss. Cleaner foods can help you break through the weight loss bottleneck and increase your rate of slimming.
More energy. Cutting junk helps reduce fatigue and boosts your energy levels.
Fewer sugar cravings. Sweeteners feed your addiction to sugar. Eliminating them will help to banish cravings once and for all.
Better long-term health. Chemical food additives, artificial ingredients and food processing by-products can have serious adverse effects on your long-term health. If you are concerned about this issue, clean eating will have a big impact on your long-term health.
Downsides of Clean Keto
More expensive. High-quality fresh foods are more expensive than processed foods. Organic free-range meat, poultry and eggs are also more expensive than industrially produced ones.
More time and effort. It takes more time and effort to cook from scratch with fresh ingredients than it does to use processed foods, pre-prepared meals or junk take-out.
Limited food choices. Standard Keto is already pretty strict for our carbohydrate-saturated world. Clean keto takes it a step further by cutting out some of the last of the treats and guilty pleasures.
Conclusion
The clean keto diet is a very low-carb diet that focuses on unprocessed or minimally processed foods. It’s not as difficult as it sounds, as long as you know what to eat and what to avoid, as well as tips to improve your success rate. We’ve also listed the health benefits and side effects of clean keto for your reference. Last but now least, remember to consult your healthcare provider before you take any diet.
