Metabolic and Mental Health
How to Benefit from Ketosis in a Keto-Vegan Diet
Vegans can introduce ketosis to their lifestyles by customizing their diets without compromising their preferred eating regimen.
Diet as a Matter of Health
Ketogenic diets are not exclusive to meat-eaters. Plant eaters can also reap the remarkable benefits of keto diets. Keto-vegan is an established dietary regimen used by sole plant-eaters for many years.
Being part of a ketogenic lifestyle community, including plant- and animal-based diets, I gained valuable insights.
Observing people who practice keto diets using vegetables, meats, or both helped me understand the requirements. Thus, I provide my findings and the practical ways to customize them.
Ketogenic communities use the principles of ketosis to customize their diets based on their needs, whether herbivores, omnivores, or carnivores. So it is possible to enter and maintain ketosis in both plant and animal-based diets.
I see diets as a health matter; therefore, I don’t discriminate against them. I neither condemn nor favor any specific diet. Diets are simply tools to improve our health and well-being. Thus, as a follower of keto-carnivore, I also support herbivores and omnivores.
Even though I enjoy a diet that suits my body type, health goals, and lifestyle choices, I do not favor my diet and do not recommend it to others.
This neutrality enables me to explore various diets and share their benefits with people who need to explore the opportunities.
This story might be perceived as controversial by some readers. For example, new readers who don’t know my background and principles might wonder why a keto-carnivore person writes about plant-based diets.
The answer is simple and transparent.
As a health advocate, I don’t see diets as a competition. I don’t discriminate or favor diets. No diet is better than another.
Some diets are better for some people. There are many factors for choosing them and making their lifestyle choices.
Besides, my loved ones are vegan. I support them, and they support me.
Thus, I aim to inspire my readers to customize their diets based on their needs and goals, whether herbivore, omnivore, or carnivore style.
Different body types respond to various diets for better or worse. In my case, my body needed animal products even though I loved plant products for various reasons in my younger years.
For example, the body of another family member has responded to plant-based diets better even though we come from similar gene pools. Genetic variances might make a difference, but we don’t have enough data yet. There might be other factors that science has yet to discover.
Purpose of the Article
The inspiration for this article came to me from the requests of some subscribers who wanted to learn more about the keto-vegan diet after I posted an article titled After I Defeated a Teenage Rock Climber, His Vegan Mum Asserted I Was on Steroids.
In that article, I articulated how a vegan dieter achieved to enter ketosis without compromising her diet with minor tweaks by adding or removing some food groups.
The common concerns of vegan friends were not introducing any animal products, preventing nutritional deficiencies, and reducing the effects of cholesterol.
Upfront, the first and second points are valid, and the third point is invalid because plant-based fats do not include cholesterol. Unfortunately, the public was misinformed due to biased studies of the past.
I provided my reviews and perspectives on dietary cholesterol in an article titled Cholesterol Paradox and How It Impacted My Health Positively.
Based on my observations and close interactions with over 100 people in my circles (friends, family members, and community members) practicing keto-vegan diets, I summarize the key points to make this piece practical and valuable for readers without going into scientific details.
Differences and Similarities between Keto-Vegan and Keto-Carnivore
Even though keto-vegan and keto-carnivore look opposite, they have a common denominator in terms of entering ketosis.
The human body can create ketones in both plant-based and animal-based diets.
The common denominator is healthy fats. However, both diets use different fat types. While saturated fats are more abundant in carnivore diets, a vegan diet includes more monosaturated fats.
Both fat types are acceptable for the body to induce ketosis as fats have a negligible impact on insulin secretion.
The risk factor for carnivores is excessive protein, and for vegans, excessive sugar from refined carbs.
However, for both groups, adjusting these macronutrients can increase the chance of entering ketosis as long as they increase healthy fat intake tolerable by their bodies.
The Importance of Ketosis for Metabolic and Mental Health
I keep highlighting the importance of ketosis in my health and well-being stories based on my experience, reviews, and observations.
New readers might wonder why ketosis matters for metabolic and mental health. Let me briefly explain.
People have used Ketogenic diets for centuries. Practitioners have used it to treat epilepsy since the 1920s. Nowadays, health clinics use it to treat type II diabetes and reduce the risks of metabolic disorders.
Metabolic diseases especially type II diabetes, cause millions of deaths, suffering to individuals, and increasing healthcare costs, as I documented in this story titled Why 442 Million People Live Diabetic and What We Can Do About it.
In addition, they lead to cardiovascular diseases (like heart attacks and stroke), causing more problems for society. Lower the Risks of Heart Disease and Strokes in Five Steps.
In addition, since cancers love sugar and hate fats, ketogenic diets might also contribute to reducing the risks of some cancers.
I documented my findings on the benefits of ketogenic diets for cancers in an article titled Intermittent Fasting and Keto Diet for Cancer Prevention and Treatment.
I also see the benefits of ketogenic diets in reducing the risks of neurodegenerative diseases like dementia, particularly Alzheimer’s.
In addition, longevity clinics use it as a supplementary improvement regimen for people aspiring to live longer.
From my experience, ketosis brings eight significant benefits that I summarise.
1 — Reduces the risks of metabolic (e,g, type II diabetes) and mental health disorders (e.g., Alzheimer’s Disease).
2 — Lowers inflammation.
3 — Makes the body insulin and leptin sensitive.
4 — Increases energy and improves performance.
5 — Contributes to healthy weight management, reducing visceral fat, and increasing lean muscles.
6 — Provides alternative energy to the brain reducing the risks of neurodegenerative diseases.
7 — Reduces glucose can contribute to lowering the risks of some cancers.
8 — Practitioners use it as a treatment method for some diseases.
In my experience, reviews, and observations, Keto Diets + Intermittent Fasting Lifestyle Tick the Boxes of Health Goals.
I provided a detailed article on Why and How to Enter Ketosis via Lifestyle Choices.
For me, the most prominent aspect of ketosis is to increase BDNF, as I explained in an article titled Increase BDNF with Five Lifestyle Habits.
Caution and Risks of Ketosis for Some People
Ketosis is a valuable metabolic intervention, bringing many health benefits. However, all good things come with risks and exceptions.
The risks of ketosis for healthy individuals are relatively lower. However, ketosis might create significant risks for some people, especially with type I and some type II diabetes. The medical term for this risk is ketoacidosis.
Ketoacidosis is excessive production of ketones (in order of magnitude) which becomes toxic to the body.
Ketoacidosis does not happen in nutritional ketosis in healthy individuals as the body controls the production of ketones tightly.
Practical Ways to Enter Ketosis in Vegan Diets
The proven formula for ketosis is lower carbs, moderate protein, and higher fat.
1 — Reduce refined carbs
Refined carbs can prevent entering ketosis as they quickly turn into glucose in the bloodstream causing the body to generate significant insulin.
The good news for vegans is most vegetables have minimal carbs. Only starchy plants like potatoes have high carbs. Also, leafy green vegetables are keto-friendly.
The best way of reducing refined carbs for vegans is to reduce the added sugar, such as in desserts. Refraining from added sugar can make a substantial impact on entering ketosis.
Another risk factor for vegans is plant extracts such as fruit and vegetable juices. Exceptionally concentrated fruit juices include excessive sugar (fructose), which has a very high glycemic index.
So cutting added sugar from beverages like coffee and tea and refraining from excessive amounts of fruit and vegetable juices can significantly increase the chance of entering and maintaining ketosis.
2 — Increase healthy fats.
After reducing refined carbs, increasing healthy fats is crucial in entering ketosis.
Fats are the best macronutrient contributing to ketosis. Fats are digested much slower than carbs. Thus, fats have minimal impact on increasing insulin.
An insulin-sensitive body can create ketones much easier than an insulin-resistant body.
More importantly, unlike misperceptions, nutritional cholesterol is not an issue in a vegan diet.
The best foods contributing to ketosis in keto-vegan diets are avocados, Macadamia nuts, walnuts, seeds, vegan butter, olive oil, and coconut oil.
3 — Consume adequate protein.
The protein requirements vary from person to person based on numerous factors such as body type, sex, and amount of activity.
Like carbohydrates, too much protein can make it difficult to enter ketosis, as protein can cause significant insulin release.
Unlike carbs, protein is essential for the body. The body can survive without ingesting carbs as it can create them from amino acids, even fat molecules, but it cannot create protein (essential amino acids), so we need to ingest protein.
However, too much protein, similar to carbs, can delay entering ketosis due to its effect on insulin. The body can turn excessive protein into glucose to use as an energy source.
Nevertheless, the central role of protein is to be a building block for cell growth and maintenance. Energy is the second goal of protein.
If we feed the body with complex carbs and healthy fats, we can reduce the protein amount. So we don’t need to overeat protein.
Therefore, the secret formula to ketosis is lower carbs, moderate protein, and higher fat.
4 — Perform cortisol-controlled workouts.
Exercise is excellent for making the body insulin sensitive as muscles love burning sugar and responding to the insulin signals when the bloodstream has excessive sugar.
However, the problem with exercise is the stress hormone cortisol. This hormone uses sugar to provide energy from sugar quickly. Therefore, it has a significant effect on insulin.
When cortisol levels are too high, the body cannot use fat molecules as energy. It mainly uses sugar. In addition, it is impossible for the body to tap into visceral fat stores during excessive cortisol secretion in the body.
Exercise, like proteins, is essential for the body to survive and thrive. However, too much exercise can be harmful to the body.
The amount of physical activity also varies from person to person based on various factors such as fitness level, energy intake, and sex.
Too much or too little exercise might reduce the chance of entering ketosis. Therefore moderate exercise based on our needs is the optimal choice.
The key point of exercise is to prevent the excessive production of cortisol as far as ketosis is concerned.
Lucy’s Story on How She Successfully Used Keto-Vegan Diet
In this section, I briefly introduce a case study I have documented in a story format.
As a lifetime vegan, Lucy never ate meat and had no intention of adding it to her diet. However, she was convinced of the value of ketosis for her metabolic and mental health.
By getting support from qualified medical professionals like her family doctor and dietician and help from the keto-vegan community, Lucy reaped the benefits of ketosis to improve her health.
In addition, she practiced a time-restricted eating regimen in her keto-vegan diet and gained extra benefits.
You might check the story to understand Lucy’s approach.
Sample Keto-Vegan Recipes
There appear to be no dull moments for keto-vegan eaters. I came across many keto-vegan recipes on the Internet and in online communities. My friends and family members also use them.
There are also books, videos, and other resources. Vegan community members enjoy sharing their delicious and creative recipes.
Here are a few links that might give you ideas on great keto-vegan recipes.
9 Vegan Recipes for Anyone Thinking About Trying the Keto Diet
I hope you enjoy these delicious and creative recipes. Please share if you have your keto-vegan recipes in the comments section so that more people can benefit from them.
Conclusions and Takeaways
Ketogenic diets accompanied by time-restricted eating might bring many health and well-being benefits if customized with the help of qualified healthcare professionals.
Ketosis can be achieved in plant and animal-based diets by reducing refined carbs and increasing healthy fats available in plants and meats.
Protein might increase glucose levels, so it must be factored into ketogenic diets. Adequate protein is essential for various reasons; however, too much protein might create health risks and delay ketosis.
Creative and delicious recipes are available for the keto-vegan lifestyle.
The critical point in any restrictive diet is to prevent nutritional deficiencies. When I was vegan, Vitamin B12, Vitamin D, and Vitamin K2, deficiencies caused me serious health issues.
Vegans might also consider fast-mimicking diets to benefit from ketosis for healthy weight management. It is a scientifically proven method documented by Dr. Longo, an advocate of plant-based diets.
I hope this story can spark inspiration to try and customize diets to introduce ketosis to the health improvement toolbox.
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
As a new reader, please check my holistic health and well-being stories reflecting my reviews, observations, and decades of experiments optimizing my hormones and neurotransmitters. I write about health as it matters. I believe health is all about homeostasis.
Petechiae, ALS, Metabolic Syndrome, Type II Diabetes, Fatty Liver Disease, Heart Disease, Strokes, Obesity, Liver Cancer, Autoimmune Disorders, Homocysteine, Lungs Health, Pancreas Health, Kidneys Health, NCDs, Infectious Diseases, Brain Health, Dementia, Depression, Brain Atrophy, Neonatal Disorders, Skin Health, Dental Health, Bone Health, Leaky Gut, Leaky Brain, Brain Fog, Chronic Inflammation, Insulin Resistance, Elevated Cortisol, Leptin Resistance, Anabolic Resistance, Cholesterol, High Triglycerides, Metabolic Disorders, Gastrointestinal Disorders, Thyroid Disorders, Anemia, Dysautonomia, cardiac output, and urinary track disorders.
I also wrote about valuable nutrients. Here are the links for easy access:
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Disclaimer: My posts do not include professional or health advice. I only document my reviews, observations, experiences, and perspectives to provide information and create awareness.
As part of my creative non-fiction writing goals, I’d like to share a few stories that might warm our hearts with a bit of humor into weighty topics.
Sample Humorous Stories
Finally, After Burning Her House, Georgia Found Enlightenment
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