Keto For Vegans
The Keto For Vegans Experience
The ketogenic diet is all the rage these days, and it seems to really work for some people. However, the diet can be hard to adapt to or accept for people who have taken up certain types of lifestyles. One of those lifestyle choices is veganism. For vegans, the keto diet can be particularly hard to do since most guides and menus for the diet advocate heavy amounts of meat and animal products which just doesn’t work if you’re a vegan. However, with some creativity and precautions, there are ways to do the keto diet and still stay true to your vegan lifestyle.
While you might already know how the keto diet works, since some folks may only have ever heard of the diet via advertising and talkshows, it’s probably a good idea to review how it works before we move on to specifics for vegans. Ketosis is a state that your body enters where it begins to turn fats into a chemical called a ketone. These ketones are then used as an energy source replacing glucose, which is produced when the body breaks down and converts carbohydrates into energy.
Ketosis can be triggered by reducing your carbohydrate intake below 50 grams of carbs per day. Because of this, fats will make up around 50-75% of your diet per day. Most non-vegans usually achieve that number by eating large amounts of animal fat products like meat, dairy, and eggs. Luckily, vegans have a lot of plant based fats to choose from.
It’s important to know what you can’t eat on a vegan keto diet. We should start with the vegan based restrictions. Obviously, all animal meat is out. This includes beef, pork, game, poultry, fish, and insects. Likewise, all animal by-products are not allowed, including milk, cheese, butter, animal collagen based gelatin, eggs, whey, and honey. Since there are a ton of other animal based products out there that I haven’t listed, it’s up to you to practice due diligence in researching any new food you want to incorporate into your diet.
The other set of restrictions we need to go over are in regards to the keto diet itself. While being a vegan means no meat or animal by-products at all, we aren’t completely cutting off carbohydrates. However, you have to greatly reduce your intake of specific products. These products include most sweeteners, grains, candies, starchy vegetables, fruits, beans and legumes, alcohol, processed foods and condiments. You should also be sure to watch out for foods that are sold as low-fat or sugar-free. Low-fat branded food tends to have added sugar to make up for the reduced fat, while sugar-free foods tend to use either sugar alcohol or other sweeteners that can still trip you up when trying to activate ketosis.
High fat vegan products and keto for vegans protein sources will make up the majority of your daily diet plan. The foods that you can incorporate into your diet are actually not that hard to find and can easily be worked into quite a few different dishes.
For fats, there are plenty of sources that you may already be using in a vegan diet. Oils such as olive, nut, and avocado oils can be cooked with, used as garnishes, and used to make sauces. Likewise, most coconut products will provide you with fat and some protein. Coconut oil is an extremely versatile product that can be used to lube pans when cooking, replace oils in various recipes, and flavor things like coffee. Unsweetened shredded coconut can be toasted and used as a topping for salads or Thai inspired tempeh dishes. Coconut milk, yogurt, and cream can be used to make tons of savory soups, sauces, curries, and porridge among many other things. Avocados are also a great source of fat and can be used in some pretty versatile ways. Soups, creams, deserts, and much more can be made with avocado, while still fitting into the keto regiment.
While fat sources are easy enough to find, getting protein is going to be one of your main goals for the diet. Tofu and tempeh (along with any other soybean products) will be easy sources of protein, along with versatile ingredients that can be made into any number of dishes. Soft tofu can be made into breakfast smoothies using coconut or almond milk, and firm tofu can be used as a meat substitute for savory meals. Tempeh meanwhile shares similarities with tofu being a soy based product, but tempeh is much more healthy in certain ways and also acts as a meat substitute. Other soy based products that will become your best friends while doing the vegan keto diet are products like the Boca burger, and other soy bean based meat look-alikes. Seitan, a soy and wheat gluten product, is very low carb and packed with protein. Unfortunately, it is very much out of bounds for anyone with a gluten allergy.
Nuts and seeds will be a huge source of both fats and proteins, as well as being a staple food source for the diet. Nuts and seeds combined into a trail mix is a very efficient way to have a snack throughout the day. Using them as filler or garnishes for breakfast and supper dishes is also a fun and tasty way to incorporate these nutritional nuggets into your diet. In addition to eating them by the handful, there are tons of products made with nuts and seeds that will come in very handy over the course of your diet.
There are a few companies that have begun using cashews to produce vegan friendly cheese substitutes. These cashew cheese products come in a variety of flavors and range from soft to creamy in texture. The cream cheese substitutes are great for creating desert substitutes, dips, and fillings for a wide array of dishes. Almond milk is a great alternative to coconut milk in the case that you can’t eat coconut or have difficulty finding it. Likewise, most nuts can be turned into butter. While peanuts aren’t truly nuts and are actually legumes, peanut butter is a great source of protein and fat. In terms of seed products, one of the most useful is flax seed. While many vegan friendly egg substitutes exist, flax is great for getting extra fats and proteins. Ground flax seed has similar binding properties to eggs, meaning that you can use it to make keto for vegans friendly deserts and treats.
Granted, some nut products will have to be analyzed on a brand by brand basis due to the fact that some brands may have more carbs or sugars added in than is tolerable on the keto diet plan. Always read the nutrition facts label to be sure about the food you plan on incorporating into your diet plan.
The popular notion about veganism is that vegans have very poor choices when it comes to the types of cuisine that they can eat. Most vegans know that this couldn’t be further from the truth. Thanks to modern food processing technology and more interest in veganism among chefs and foodies, many new types of food substitutes like we discussed above are available. There is also more scientific research identifying how these items can help replicate non-vegan dishes, such as the binding properties of flax seed as mentioned above.
For the vegan keto diet, it is imperative that you craft a strict meal plan with substitutes outlined that you can follow without having to calculate and juggle numbers everyday at meal time (sadly, diabetics will still have to do this as we explain below). Your enjoyment of the meals will also depend on how good you are at cooking or how much money you are willing to shell out for prepared meals. Being able to cook (or have someone do the cooking for you) means the difference between eating handfuls of nuts, boring veggies, and cashew butter straight from the jar, and a satisfying stir-fry or keto vegan friendly Salisbury steak.
For your diet plan, you should strive for 3 meals a day along with 3 snacks to tide you over. You should also have some ingredients pre-made in the case of things that need to be run through a food processor. For example, there are many breakfast recipes that call for a mixture of nuts and seeds to be ground for use in mock oatmeal recipes. Take a weekend to prepare these ingredients so that meals have less tedium. It may also be a good idea to familiarize yourself with Asian cuisine, since many traditional dishes from the east are influenced by Buddhist and proto-vegan diets that have existing recipes requiring little to no substitution.
The general ratio for reaching ketosis is 70% fats, 25% protein, and 5% carbs. Achieving ketosis is truly a balancing act and requires that you ensure that each meal is balanced in that ratio. If figuring out the right balance for a meal plan proves to hard, you may want to seek out consultation with an nutritionist or dietitian. While some professionals differ in opinion on the keto diet and veganism, most should be willing to help you balance your diet towards your goals.
While the vegan keto diet does have some benefits in terms of health and weight loss, there are some issues the diet can cause that you should be aware of.
For starters, if you are considering a vegan version of the keto diet, one might assume you were already a vegan. However, if you are planing on starting a vegan lifestyles at the same time as beginning the keto diet regiment you may be in for a rough ride. Vegan diets are already limited in some regards as to food choices and relies heavily on fruits and complex carbohydrates. The keto diet however restricts you to a diet of mostly protein and fats, which is not to hard to maintain on it’s own. The stress comes in when trying to combine to two diets.
As discussed above, you have a decent selection of vegan friendly protein and fat sources to choose from, but the diet’s success will hinge on you being able to eat these food items on a daily basis. Before you take the plunge on committing to the vegan keto diet, you should ensure that you can actually eat these products. On a normal vegan diet, you may have not ever eaten some of these foods. You should look into checking with a physician about having an allergy test. Some people have allergies to pretty much all of the staples of the vegan keto diet, so ending up in the hospital due to a reaction is a sad possibility.
Another concern is malnutrition. While some research shows healthy benefits for vegan diets and keto diets, there is also research that shows that vegans are often lacking in some necessary vitamins and minerals. Likewise, the keto diet can cause lethargy and muscle-mass loss, especially when improperly implemented. Combining the two haphazardly without proper planing and care can lead to the diet failing, let alone a trip to the hospital in the wort case scenario.
One group in particular that should be very careful about taking on the vegan keto diet are diabetics. While there is some evidence that the diet can be beneficial to a diabetic patient, it is a real balancing act and blood-sugar levels must be checked multiple times a day. The reason for this is because ketosis, when not properly managed, can change into ketoacidosis. If insulin levels are insufficient, the ketones produced by ketosis will build up in the bloodstream rather than get transported to the cells that need the ketones for energy. This means a dangerous and potentially life threatening build up of ketones.
Regardless of if you are or aren’t a diabetic, the best thing you can do is consult with a doctor before beginning the vegan keto diet. A doctor can help you plan out and manage the side effects that the diet can have on your body, and also help you understand what supplements or medication you may need to make it while doing the diet.
Planing and preparation are also key to the success of the diet. In addition to consulting with a doctor as mentioned above, you need to try some of the dishes you will be eating out before commuting to the diet. Ask yourself some questions about the dish:
- Is this dish or food item something you can eat on a routine basis without getting burnt-out?
- Is the dish a hassle to prepare?
- Can the dish/meal be prepared in advance or frozen if you have a hectic or fast-paced lifestyle?
- Are the ingredients reasonably easy to obtain?
With the first question, becoming burnt-out and bored can lead to the diets failure. You should be able to enjoy the meal, and not get bored. Some personality types prefer routine, while other personality types enjoy spontaneity. If you are a spontaneous type of person, try to make sure you have plenty of meal options that you can swap in and out of the plan easily. In addition to boredom, the complexity or tediousness of meal prep can also lead to demoralization with the diet. Before committing to the diet, try cooking and eating the meals to see what fixing it will be like. Can you imagine preparing/cooking this multiple times a week? If no, you should figure out something that will fit your needs.
You should consider implementing an advance preparation system to make this diet go a lot more smoothly. Consider meals that have sauces that can be refrigerated, or even entire meals that can be made on a weekend and frozen. Freezing food is another topic in and of itself, with some vegetables like peppers freezing poorly without the use of industrial equipment. Regardless, advance preparation can go a long way towards ensuring the success of the diet.
Lastly, before committing to a plan, make sure that all of the ingredients are easily obtainable. While modern conveniences like Amazon.com and other online distributors make acquiring some ingredients pretty easy in the case that a local option has discontinued the item or is out of stock, make sure you can substitute meal items or ingredients. Especially with foods that are crop based disease, weather, or other issues can cause crops to turn out poorly, meaning that prices go up and supply is very limited. It’s probably the least of your worries, but be sure that you aren’t using one particular food as a “crutch” on the diet.
None of the concerns above are intended to dissuade you from the vegan keto diet, nor is it meant as fear-mongering. However, it should be made clear that this diet requires a particular amount of resolve, planing, commitment, and vigilance. Actually doing this diet may require temporary lifestyle changes for the duration of the diet. However, if you are a vegan and need a diet that can produce results in regards to weight loss, this diet should be taken into consideration.
Are you over 40 and wondering if keto for vegans is for you? Then check out this article: Keto For Vegans Over 40
