One of the things a person with HS will try to work on as part of managing their symptoms is their weight. While being obese is not the cause of HS, it certainly aggravates it. A hidradenitis suppurativa diet might also include considering key areas of what are possible triggers, sugar, dairy, brewer’s yeast and processed and refined foods. Since there are a lot of different diet options out there, a lot of people with HS will take a look at an existing diet and see if it fits with what triggers their symptoms, and can help them maintain a healthier weight. Two popular options are the Keto diet and the Paleo Diet. Here is a closer look.
Carbohydrate sources
This is where the two differ a lot. With a Paleo diet you can eat carbs, they are going to come from the fruit and vegetables and you are easily going to eat more than 100grams of carbohydrates a day unless you are deliberately limiting them. With a Keto diet, carbohydrates are reduced to below 50g per day and sourced mainly from leafy greens.. Paleo is not be default a low carb diet, Keto certainly is. So on this, Paleo has a bit more flexibility especially if you are not looking to cut out carbs completely.
Counting calories
If you are losing weight as part of your hidradenitis suppurativa diet you are going to need to count calories in some way. You need to make sure that what you eat is less than what you expend. This is another area where the two diets are very different. If you are not deliberately trying to lose weight, there is no need to do any calorie counting with the Paleo diet. Eating a Keto diet there is a lot of macro-management and calorie counting. There are specific goals you are meant to hit daily such as 30% protein, 65% fat and just 5% carbohydrates. If you are not hitting them you are not in the state of ketosis, and that is the point of this diet.
How much fuel you have available
If you are looking to add some intense exercise into your new lifestyle plans then you need the fuel in your body to be able to do it. That means carbohydrates. This does not mean you cannot exercise on a Keto diet, it just means that intense sessions are more possible with a Paleo diet because it has some carbohydrates in it. The way people on a Keto diet get around this is by eating a cyclic or targeted ketogenic diet. This means you can eat the carbs you need before a workout or you can eat a larger amount of them at the weekend to get you through the week.
Conclusion
There is some confusion between Paleo and Keto sometimes just because there are so many diet options out there probably. They are quite different in approach and style and how flexible each one is. You can really lose weight with either, but with the focused tracking of Keto, you might find this a good one to achieve a healthy weight range. For a healthier lifestyle and a diet more focused on good choices which naturally leads to weight loss and improved health, a Paleo hidradenitis suppurativa diet could be best.
