How to Follow a Vegetarian Ketogenic Diet in a Healthy Way

Going keto as a meat-free eater is doable, but it’s important to be aware of the risks and restrictions before you jump on the bandwagon.

Zoodles and chia seeds are two foods you might find on a keto vegetarian diet.

Meat is a cornerstone of the ketogenic diet, but that doesn’t mean the diet is off-limits for the vegetarian population. As the high-fat, low-carb approach has grown in popularity, many vegetarians have wanted in on the hype and have found a way to make it work for them, tweaking the typical keto diet menu and food list to fit within their meat-free lifestyles.

“In the past six months, keto is everywhere I look,” says Liz MacDowell, a certified holistic nutrition consultant behind the site Meat Free Keto. “I think when Kim Kardashian tried it out, it really got a nice boost.”

RELATED: 12 Celebrities Who Can’t Get Enough of the Ketogenic Diet

Given the high-fat, low-carb diet’s crazy popularity plus the fact that it’s so restrictive (followers take in only about 20 to 30 grams (g) of carbohydrates per day), different iterations have popped up. Vegetarian keto is one riff on it. According to a Mercola article, there’s also:

·         Cyclic ketogenic diet, which involves periods of carb loading (also called keto cycling)

·         Targeted ketogenic diet, where you take in a day’s worth of carbs in one preexercise meal

·         High-protein ketogenic diet, with an increased percentage of calories coming from protein

·         Restricted ketogenic diet, which lowers carb and calorie intake with the idea of fighting cancer (a claim that has not been proven by medical research)

Let’s take a closer look at how to follow the diet as a vegetarian and whether it’s a good idea.  

An Overview of How the Vegetarian Keto Diet Works

The keto diet puts the body into the fat-burning state of ketosis and requires followers to source 80 to 90 percent of their daily calories from fat, 5 to 15 percent from protein, and 5 to 10 percent from carbs. Most Americans get about half of their daily calories from carbs, so this is a major shift from the typical American diet.

And it could be especially startling for vegetarians. Fort Lauderdale, Florida–based Jaime Mass, RDN, founder of Jaime Mass Nutritionals, LLC, says vegetarians commonly become “pasta-tarians.” Instead of replacing meat with healthy plant-based foods and whole grains, many load up on pasta, crackers, and other carb-heavy items. Transitioning to keto could be difficult for these pasta-tarians, but it could also be beneficial in helping them cut back on processed carbs.

A Typical Day on the Vegetarian Keto Diet

MacDowell has been following the vegetarian keto diet for six years. She’d been a vegetarian for a long time before that but decided to try keto with weight loss in mind. Some research suggests the keto diet may be beneficial for that reason: A study published in May 2013 in the British Journal of Nutrition found the keto diet led to greater weight loss than a low-fat diet and could be useful in fighting obesity.

Even though MacDowell has stuck with it for so long, she admits this way of eating can be tough in social situations. “It’s not only the reaction of your family members who will tell you eating that much fat will kill you, but going out for appetizers and drinks with friends is challenging,” she says. “You learn to work around it, but there’s a learning curve for sure.”

That learning curve involves figuring out which foods fit within the vegetarian and keto limitations. Here’s what a typical day on the diet looks like, based on recommendations from Mass and MacDowell:

·         Breakfast Chia seed pudding with protein powder or protein pancakes made from eggs and protein powder

·         Snack Sliced cucumber with paprika cream cheese dip or cottage cheese with sunflower seeds

·         Lunch Large salad with avocado, vegetables, seeds, and nuts or an egg omelet with herbed goat cheese and pesto

·         Dinner Zucchini noodles (zoodles) with pesto and tofu; sautéed vegetables with tempeh; or spinach salad with cashew-crusted tofu, grilled zucchini, cubed feta, and olive oil

The Risks and Benefits of Following the Keto Diet as a Vegetarian

Even though it’s tricky, it’s safe to say following the keto diet as a vegetarian can be done. But is it healthy? And does it lead to weight loss?

That depends. Mass says if going keto motivates an unhealthy vegetarian to clean up his or her carb game, it could be beneficial and lead to better blood sugar control. Plus, transitioning from a pasta-heavy diet to one that’s rich in veggies and healthy fats should help someone drop unwanted pounds, she says. But for vegetarians who eat relatively clean already and rely on healthy carbs like quinoa and oats — which are limited on the keto diet — to help them feel full, adopting low-carb keto might be overly restrictive.

The research on vegetarian keto diets is limited, but anecdotally speaking, MacDowell says she noticed a handful of positive changes once she started following the diet. “I found that not only did I lose weight very quickly [though in a healthy amount of time], I also noticed things like joint pain was disappearing, my digestion was normalizing, little things that I didn’t at all expect,” MacDowell says.

Preliminary studies have also linked the keto diet to certain diseases, including diabetes. A study published in September 2016 in the Journal of Obesity and Eating Disorders, for instance, found the presence of ketones in the blood can lower HbA1c levels, potentially by way of ketone bodies decreasing glucose metabolism, and benefit people with type 2 diabetes. 

Still, Mass is hesitant to recommend this way of eating. “I don’t see many benefits to going keto vegetarian,” she says. The major concern is nutritional deficiencies. As Medline Plus notes, vegetarians already are at risk of being deficient in vitamin B12, vitamin D, zinc, iron, calcium, omega-3 fatty acids, and protein. Keto then puts more restrictions in place, further increasing the likelihood of being deficient in some of these nutrients. For example, breakfast cereals, which are usually rich in vitamin B12, are not allowed on keto.

Protein is also a big concern. “Since the keto diet is relying on protein and fat for your calorie intake, you are cutting out many of the complete proteins you would be attaining — say from legumes and grains — on a regular vegetarian diet,” Mass says. “On a keto diet, this source of complete proteins is now essentially eliminated.” Protein is important to help the body build bones, muscles, and skin, according to Medline Plus.

How to Follow a Vegetarian Keto Diet in a Healthy Way

By being aware of the things you might be deficient in, you could (and should) load up on foods that are rich in those nutrients, such as cheese for vitamin B12, eggs for vitamin D, and leafy greens like kale for calcium. If you are interested in trying keto without eating meat, Mass also recommends easing up on how strict of a vegetarian you are and eating fish if you don’t already since it’s a great source of omega-3s and protein.

RELATED: 15 Burning Questions About the Keto Diet, Answered

The bottom line? This way of eating is tough to stick with because it combines two restrictive diets. Mass believes the risks outweigh the benefits. But if you decide to try it, Mass cautions to approach the diet carefully, ideally under the guidance of a qualified registered dietitian who can help you pick your foods strategically and ensure you are supplementing the diet where needed. Mass also suggests reducing your carb intake gradually rather than going full-blown vegetarian keto overnight so you don’t completely shock your system.