Many of my clients come into my office believing they have a really good grasp on nutrition based on what they’re seeing publicized on Facebook, Instagram, or a magazine cover — but in reality, these are just trends. We have to dial it down and understand that there is no one-size-fits-all diet, and unfortunately, diets like the keto diet, paleo diet, and low-carb diet can cause more harm than good.
In fact, the keto community is exploring this concept by looking at the potential downsides to eating a ‘dirty’ versus eating a ‘clean’ ketogenic diet. The overall goal of the keto diet is to push your body into a state of ketosis– essentially, you’re getting your body to use fat for fuel instead of using glucose. The thing is, fat comes in many different shapes and sizes. For example, you could increase your fat intake by eating a variety of fatty nuts and seeds, lots of avocados and olive oil, by eating low-carb veggies, a little bit of animal protein, and a little bit of animal fat. Or, you could just eat ten pounds of bacon every day. So the question here becomes: Can a keto diet do more harm than good depending on what fats you eat?
I’ll start by saying that, generally speaking, it’s important to understand the value of nutritional diversity before you get into the ‘clean’ versus ‘dirty’ discussion. One of the first dangers I see with strict nutrition plans like the keto diet is that, if done incorrectly, you’re potentially robbing your body of the key nutrients it needs to stay balanced and support all of its functions. That being said, I have plenty of clients who have tried going keto. Those who have are usually not on the extreme side of ‘dirty’ keto eating where ten pounds of bacon a day or an abundance of cheeseburgers are the norm. However, they disclose that most of their diet is heavily centered on animal fats, eggs, and meat.
What I believe, and what I try to get my clients to understand, is that when you leave out entire food groups in your diet, you risk developing micronutrient deficiencies. Beyond that, we don’t have very many long-term studies that explore what heavy animal-based and fat-based diets do to the microbiome. The issue here is that the microbiome runs the show; it conducts the orchestra of our bodily functions, and so I don’t think we can ignore the historical evidence that points to how, for thousands of years, plant-based diets (or diets that include a high variety of plants) are–generally speaking–the healthiest diets. Studies throughout the years that have focused on the human diet are clear: We need the fiber, we need the water, we need the phytonutrients, we need all those antioxidants.
So when you keep that in mind when discussing ‘clean’ versus ‘dirty’ keto eating, it would make sense that, if you’re going to utilize a keto diet, going ‘clean’ might be the way to go. But there’s more to it than that because once you decide that ‘clean’ keto eating is best, you run into the issue of ketogenic foods that seem healthy but are actually heavily processed or include high-carb fillers in the ingredients. I think the hard part about this debate is that there’s so much conflicting information and so many misleading “keto” labels now that there’s a business model surrounding the whole diet.
The best way, I believe, to navigate these discussions is by adding experts into the mix who can take your personal needs into account. Functional nutritionists or functional medicine practitioners, for example, are often dedicated to identifying your specific imbalances and targeting them with lifestyle factors such as nutrition. So whether you’re trying to decide if you should go keto, or if you’re utilizing the keto diet but can’t seem to pinpoint what’s “clean,” the takeaway here is to go back to the purest form of nutrition.
When we go back to real and whole foods and include a variety of plants in our diets, we’re probably using the healthiest strategy in terms of nutrition. This does not mean that a keto diet can’t be helpful or that you can’t reach your optimal health while pushing your body into ketosis. What it does mean is that you should partner with a functional health nutritionist like myself who can help you discover what it means to eat ‘cleanly’ in the most authentic sense of the word.