You may have heard of the clean keto diet if you want to eat clean while reducing your carbs. Clean keto is a ketogenic diet strategy emphasizing obtaining nutrients from fresh, unprocessed, or little processed foods.

Avoiding excessively processed foods may appear to be a lot of work, but with a few helpful recommendations, eating healthier may be simple — and even enjoyable.

Here’s additional information on the clean keto diet, including how it differs from dirty keto, health advantages, a keto shopping list and meal plan, and correct implementation tactics.

What Is Clean Keto?

The clean keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet that promotes foods that are in their natural condition — or as near to it as possible. Non-starchy vegetables and fruits, meat, fish and shellfish, poultry, eggs, dairy, olive oil, and coconut oil are all good options.

On clean keto, your macronutrients remain the same:

• 5% or fewer calories from carbohydrates
• 70-80% of calories from healthy fats
• 20-30% of calories from protein

Eating healthier affects your overall health in several ways. It increases your intake of micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes) necessary for average body and brain function and illness prevention (1, 2). More and other reasons to select clean keto follow later in this post.

What Is Dirty Keto?

The filthy keto diet (“lazy keto“) is the polar opposite of the clean keto diet. It permits highly processed foods such as pig rinds, margarine, sugar-free soda, and fast food. In other words, filthy keto prioritizes macronutrients while ignoring meal quality.

While dirty keto is a quick way to get into ketosis (goodbye, meal prep), it’s not the best long-term health and weight loss strategy for the following reasons:

• Additives: Artificial sweeteners, food colors, monosodium glutamate (MSG), and industrial seed and vegetable oils are all found in dirty keto cuisine. These chemicals improve the look, taste, texture, and shelf life of foods; nevertheless, they can contribute to chronic illness if ingested in large quantities. They are associated with inflammation, obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, and heart disease (3, 4).
• Empty calories: Processing makes food more shelf-stable (it lasts longer and doesn’t expire as readily) but also eliminates some vitamins and minerals. Certain heating temperatures, for example, destroy vitamin C and vitamins B1, B2, and B5 (5). As a result, food has low nutritious value despite being high in calories.
• Added sugars: Some dirty keto foods contain added sugars, which raise blood sugar levels while decreasing ketones. Look for sugars like fructose, honey, maple syrup, corn syrup, agave, and sucralose on food labels. Small amounts of added sugars are unlikely to cause immediate weight gain, but regular consumption increases cravings, eventually increasing body fat (6).

A lack of nutrients and chemicals in unclean keto diets mainly causes adverse effects. If you want to understand more about the reasons to avoid filthy keto and additional repercussions to be aware of, you can read our guide on dirty keto.

This doesn’t mean you should avoid filthy keto foods at all costs, especially for total keto newbies who want to enter ketosis as quickly as possible.

However, it is best to gradually transition from dirty to clean keto to get the most out of this way of eating. It’s not enjoyable dealing with numerous health concerns (despite the initial weight reduction) and then blaming keto for them — when it’s the quality of your keto diet generating these difficulties.

Begin by filling your refrigerator with whole foods. Meal planning ahead of time is also beneficial! Perfect Keto includes everything you need to help you transition and support your wellbeing. We provide keto meals, supplements, and snacks with the fewest and cleanest ingredients.

Why Clean Keto Is the Best Choice for Keto

Clean keto is all about eating a wide variety of natural foods high in fat and low in carbohydrates. Here are a few key facts to illustrate why it’s the best method for anyone following the keto diet.

1. Optimizes Nutrient Intake for Overall Health and Performance

Generally, foods that have been processed minimally or do not contain more nutrients. As stated in this text, processing eliminates some micronutrients from food (7).

Vitamins and minerals perform a variety of tasks that are critical for you to not only live but also grow. Unprocessed beef, for example, which has almost no carbohydrates, is a good source of nutrients that are difficult to receive in enough levels from other dietary sources (8). Here are some of the nutrients it contains:

• B vitamins aid in the formation of red blood cells and DNA, as well as the protection of your nerves (9).
• Iron promotes general energy and hormones’ average generation and function (10).
• Zinc supports immune system health and wound healing (11).

You may understand how lacking nutrients from actual low-carb diet meals impacts your daily life. Because various foods contain variable quantities of nutrients, ensure you eat a diverse range of low-carb foods. This also keeps things interesting and exciting!

2. Promotes Gut Health

The gut microbiome refers to your digestive system’s bacteria, viruses, fungi, and archaea. Many aspects of your health and wellness are influenced by your microbiome (12). According to research, it affects your metabolism (probability of gaining weight), immunity, cognitive function, and behavior (13, 14, 15).

Processed meals damage the gut, increasing your risk of health problems.

For example, according to a 2019 study published in the journal Nutrients, long-term intake of food additives such as emulsifiers, artificial sweeteners, and food colorants may lead to low-grade intestinal inflammation, colitis, colon cancer, and metabolic syndrome (16).

Another study in male and female mice revealed that emulsifiers directly affected the gut microbiota. Consuming the emulsifiers CMC and P80 raised fat mass and induced anxiety-like behaviors in the subjects (17).

Because your gut microbiome can influence many aspects of your body, nourishing it with a keto diet high in whole foods is critical.

3. Promotes Sustainable Fat Loss

Losing body fat, whether visceral (fat surrounding your internal organs) or subcutaneous fat (fat beneath your skin), requires much effort and patience.

While the dirty keto diet promises quick weight loss, changing the quality of your diet is the most effective way to see long-term results. Here are some of the reasons why clean eating works for long-term fat loss:

• Whole foods help you control your calorie consumption since they contain fewer calories. For example, a cup of fresh blueberries provides just 84 calories (18). On the other hand, a cup of dried blueberries has 394 calories (19). (Regarding calories, remember that a calorie deficit isn’t the only factor that matters for weight reduction. The source of your calories is also important. And our example shows that authentic meals limit your calorie intake and are also excellent suppliers of calories.)
• Unprocessed or lightly processed meals are more filling than highly processed foods. Additionally, highly processed foods have a higher glycemic index, making them more likely to raise blood glucose levels (20).
• Whole foods are less tasty (fragrant, delicious, and aesthetically appealing) than ultra-processed meals, so you’re less likely to overindulge (21).

4. Costs Less In the Long Run

Some people believe that eating healthily is costly. However, as it turns out, diets high in processed foods cost more because they increase your chances of getting sick and being hospitalized.

For example, a meta-analysis of 27 existing research from ten high-income nations showed that healthier eating habits cost around $1.50 more per day than the least healthy diets (22).

This gap, however, pales in comparison to the financial consequences of illness.

Thus, focusing on eating healthier is better for long-term savings, especially with the help of a few money-saving tips.

You may look for offers and discounts on meats and fresh fruit at grocery shops and stock up. Then, by planning your meals correctly, you can avoid wasting (and throwing away) food.

Foods to Avoid on Clean Keto

Dirty keto meals include preservatives and other substances that raise your risk of sickness. Try to avoid the following:

• Pork rinds (fried in vegetable oils and with added sugars)
• Sugar-free soda and bottled or boxed juices
• Bunless cheeseburgers from fast food restaurants
• Mayonnaise
• Vegetable oils
• Low-carb packaged snacks with artificial sweeteners, vegetable oils, and other harmful additives
• Processed cheese
• Margarine
• Deli meat (cured bacon, luncheon meats, hotdogs)

Clean Keto Shopping List: A List of Clean Keto Foods to Eat

Here’s a list of must-have goods for your next supermarket run.

SEAFOOD

• Various fresh and saltwater
• Fishes
• Crab
• Lobster
• Trout
• Tuna Fish

Vegetables

• Cauliflower
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Zucchini
• Asparagus
• Kale

Eggs

• Chicken
• Quail
• Cluck
• Caviar
• Goose
• Turkey

Poultry

• Chicken
• Quail
• Duck
• Wild Game
• Turkey

Dairy

• Raw Grass-fed butter
• Ghee
• Unprocessed Cheese (Cheddar, Blue, Mozzarella)

Fruits

• Avocados
• Strawberries
• Blueberries
• Cranberries
• Lemon
• Coconut Meat

Grass-fed Meat

• Beef
• Pork
• Goat
• Lamb
• Venison
• Bison
• Organ meats

Nuts & Seeds

• Macadamia
• Almonds
• Pecans
• Walnuts
• Pumpkin seeds
• Chia seeds
• Sunflower seed

Beverages

• Water
• Unsweetened Coffee and Tea
• Keto-friendly Homemade Smoothies
• Homemade Bone Broth

7-Day Clean Keto Meal Plan

What does a typical day of clean keto eating look like? Here’s a sample strategy to keep healthy throughout the week.

Monday

• Breakfast tacos with melted cheese
• Lunch: “Zoodles” with zucchini noodles and meatballs
• Dinner: ribs in the Instant Pot

Tuesday

• Eggs and avocado slices for breakfast
• Pasta with garlic, lemon, and zucchini for lunch
• Chicken thighs with cauliflower rice for dinner

Wednesday

• Blueberry pancakes for breakfast
• Zesty chili lime keto tuna salad for lunch
• Soup with egg drops for dinner

Thursday

• Breakfast consists of scrambled eggs, uncured bacon, and cheddar cheese.
• Shrimp stacks for lunch
• Dinner: Pork Chops in the Instant Pot

Friday

• Keto mozzarella sticks for breakfast
• Spicy ginger salmon Buddha bowl for lunch
• Fried chicken with broccoli for dinner

Saturday

• Breakfast of eggs and spinach with cheese slices
• Spicy beef keto fajitas for lunch
• Seared fish with lemon sauce for dinner

Sunday

• Bulletproof keto coffee recipe for breakfast
• Tender keto pork chops for lunch
• Pulled pork with cauliflower rice for dinner

5 Helpful Tips to Follow a Clean Keto Diet

The good news is that some tactics make clean keto eating accessible for everyone, including novices. Even better, the beneficial changes in your health will motivate you to continue with this diet! Follow these instructions.

1. Keep Your Fridge Well-Stocked

Stocking your fridge with fresh items is critical to your success while starting a clean keto diet.

At the same time, eliminate unhealthy snacks such as cereals, bakery items, processed meats, and sugary desserts. That way, you won’t be tempted to indulge when your junk food cravings come.

Always strive to cycle your keto diet by keeping your refrigerator with various low-carb veggies, fruits, nuts, and seeds. Increase your nutritional intake even more by diversifying your food.

2. Do Advance Meal Prep

Meal preparation works if you stick to a routine. This includes deciding when and where you’ll go food shopping and what meals you’ll prepare for the week.

For example, you may shop for food on Saturday mornings at Walmart or the nearby grocery store (whatever is more accessible and economical for you), then begin meal planning for the entire week on Saturday evenings.

It will aid in batch cooking meals that can be readily frozen. Other batch-cook keto-friendly dishes, such as ground grass-fed beef, egg muffin cups, and bone broth, are available.

Finally, remember to make a well-organized grocery list. This saves you a lot of time by reducing your supermarket excursions so you only have to buy food once a week — or prevent last-minute grocery errands!

3. Keep Clean Keto Snacks on Hand

Hunger may strike at any moment and place, so it’s always good to keep healthful snacks on hand. Although one significant advantage of becoming fat-adapted on keto is less hunger — thus, you won’t always feel the need to snack (23).

However, if you need a snack, here are some clean keto options that require very little preparation:

• Hard-boiled eggs
• Nuts (macadamia, pecans, walnuts, almonds)
• Tuna and lettuce wraps
• Veggie sticks
• Slices of cheese

Perfect Keto’s snacks, such as keto bars, nut butter, and cookies, are great for on-the-go. We utilize clean products free of sweets and preservatives to support your health while making clean keto simple.

4. Try Some Healthy Food Swaps

Making substitutions for ordinary meals is simple after you’ve become acquainted with clean keto cuisine.

For example, instead of a bunless restaurant cheeseburger or preservative-laden hamburger patties, you may prepare your own at home by combining:

• Grass-fed ground beef
• Sea salt
• Your choice of spices

Then shape the mixture into patties and fry them. Finally, a cake should be topped with unprocessed cheese. This is one of many excellent options for planning a meal or snack.

5. Cook with the Right Fats

Coconut oil, olive oil, grass-fed butter, ghee, lard, and tallow are good fats for clean keto meals.

Coconut and olive oil are processed little, whereas animal fats may be produced by simply boiling fatty meat sections and filtering the drippings to remove debris.

If you’re curious about MCT oil, a fat source and keto-friendly supplement, you may cook with it and add it to coffee or tea.

However, MCT oil has a lower smoke point of 302 degrees Fahrenheit than coconut oil, which has a smoke point of 350 degrees Fahrenheit (24, 25). This means that MCT oil cannot be used for deep frying. Additionally, do not exceed its smoke point; otherwise, it will affect the flavor of your food.

Avoid vegetable oils such as sunflower oil, safflower oil, canola oil, corn oil, and soybean oil. Salad dressings, margarine, and other processed foods frequently include these oils. They should be avoided due to their high omega-6 content, which can cause inflammation and contribute to the development of heart disease, obesity, and inflammatory bowel disease (26).

The Bottom Line

The clean keto diet is a very low-carb eating plan that emphasizes whole, unprocessed foods. It’s easier than it seems, as long as you know what to eat and avoid and some helpful hints.

This post covers everything you need about clean keto, including a grocery list and a 7-day meal plan. We provide a choice of high-quality keto snacks that will help you achieve your weight reduction, wellness, and performance objectives.

Lastly, monitoring what you eat daily might help you hold yourself accountable. In that case, you might want to check out this ”Custom Keto Diet” program, which tracks your clean keto eating, mindfulness, and exercise as part of your total wellness.

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