Clean keto vs dirty keto: what is the difference?

Keto diet has health and weight loss benefits. And now there are two types of it: clean keto and dirty keto. What is the difference between these two diets?

The keto diet

The keto diet stands for the ketogenic diet. In this, the foods eaten are such that they induce ketosis in the body. This supposedly helps in overcoming some diseases, promoting health and inducing weight loss. In this diet, carbs are severely restricted. Moreover, there are high fats intake and low protein intake in this diet.

If we look at the percentages of the macronutrients in this diet in a day, fats constitute 90%, proteins 6% and carbs are a mere 4%. Due to such low carbs, the body relies on body fats for glucose production and energy. And this leads to ketosis. This means that there is a high ketone production in the body.

The diet is an old one. It was in 1920s that the diet was created in order to control severe epilepsy in children. Gradually, its use extended to include weight loss, control of chronic diseases including cancer. And now come the terms: clean keto and dirty keto. What do these terms mean?

Clean keto vs dirty keto

The term clean keto implies that to produce ketosis in the body, the foods you eat are healthy and not processed. These are foods rich in healthy fats but low in carbs and proteins. On the other hand, in dirty keto, the dieter eats more of unhealthy and ultra processed foods to attain ketosis. Matthew Black, who is a certified dietitian working with the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center opines:

“Dirty keto is a variation of the traditional keto diet and is sometimes referred to as ‘lazy keto,'”

In dirty keto, the dieter eats bacon, hamburgers, and such highly processed foods. These are laced with saturated fats. Whereas, this person consumes less of healthy fats such as those found in nuts, seeds, and avocados. Matthew adds:

“There aren’t clear guidelines for this variant, and it really depends on individual preference. The main difference with dirty keto (versus clean keto) is that users believe they can have more freedom to eat what they want, providing they maintain a low-enough carbohydrate intake,”

Problems with dirty keto diet

In dirty keto, the dieter can easily eat outside in restaurants and also have takeaways. The New York City-based dietitian Jamie Feit, of Jamie Feit Nutrition LLC states that these foods are, no doubt, rich in fats. But they also have very high sodium and calories. These can lead to weight gain, chronic inflammation, and chronic diseases.

Some keto dieters do dirty keto only on cheat days. And some do it often. The latter also use dirty keto along with high carb foods such as pretzels, chips, and baked foods. Matthew adds:

“Additionally, dirty keto has less of an emphasis on the perceived quality of foods.”

Read here: Keto diet and its role in therapy of major mental disorders!

Further, Matthew states:

“clean keto is typically regarded as the original version of the ketogenic diet,”