Food TALK Everything in a Nutshell

Today’s society has shifted gears when it comes to diets, lifestyle adjustments and fitness components needed to reach optimal health. There are a variety of elements to explore when deciding which plan to incorporate into your life. For example: the benefits/risks; your needs; your goals; and the potential challenges you will face. Is this a lifestyle that will be conducive to your family, schedule and mindset? Defining potential roadblocks ahead of the game can better assist you on what program or programs may work best to be successful in obtaining your goals. Let’s break down each style of eating from vegetarian, vegan, keto and paleo in terms that are easy to understand. Each of these nutritional programs has gained a huge media presence in the last couple of years due to their health benefits, different movements, and perceptions about consuming animal and plant-based foods and weight loss. Every program will have its pros and cons depending on the consumer’s needs. The key, however, is to choose a program that works best for you, your lifestyle and family. Some programs require a very strict regimen, so if you struggle with drastic changes, focus on choosing a program where you can gradually make the adjustments needed.

Vegan

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Vegetarian

Vegetarians eliminate meat from their daily intake, however may still consume dairy products and eggs. You may have also heard of subtitles or subcategories of vegetarians such as lacto-ovo vegetarian or lacto-vegetarian. Lacto-ovo vegetarians consume milk products and eggs, whereas lacto vegetarians will consume dairy products and eliminate eggs along with all meats to stay within the vegetarian diet.

Vegans choose to eliminate any food sources that may derive from an animal. Their nutrition is strictly plant-based sources. Listed are a few items that are not part of a vegan’s nutritional plan: milk products, honey, eggs and gelatin. Neither vegetarians nor vegans eat meat.

Keto

The keto diet is a nutritional plan that incorporates high fat, adequate protein, and low carbohydrate intake. The goal of ketosis is to utilize your fat as fuel, instead of using carbohydrates as your main source of energy production. Key foods consumed on the keto diet are avocado, fatty fish, eggs, nuts, vegetables, heavy cream, salted butter, bacon, full-fat cheese and beef, to name a few.