Distinguishing Between Vegan and Keto Diets: Variances in Impact on Immune Health

Berfin Ceren Meray
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Nutrition is a perennially discussed topic, with individuals holding strong opinions on the best dietary plans for a healthy life. However, the scientific community has yet to reach a consensus on how different diets may impact the immune system. To gain more insights, researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States have delved into the effects of implementing two of today's most popular diets - vegan and ketogenic (or keto) - on the body's ability to combat diseases.

WARNING: It is advisable to consult with your healthcare professional before embarking on any diet.

Vegan and keto diets are opposites in several aspects.

Vegan diets, which exclude any animal products, tend to be lower in fat and higher in carbohydrates. In contrast, the goal of the keto diet is to induce a state of ketosis, where the body uses stored fat as a fuel source instead of sugar. This is achieved by following a very low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet.

Questions about which of these two diets is "best" have sparked numerous debates, but this study specifically focuses on the potential effects on the immune system.

Researchers included 20 individuals with diverse ethnic backgrounds, genders, body mass indexes (BMIs), and ages in a study. All participants tried both diets during the study and adhered to each for two weeks before switching.

To ensure meticulous control over everything, the group stayed at the Metabolic Clinical Research Unit during the experiment.

Participants were allowed to eat as much as they wanted as long as they adhered to the vegan or keto diet rules, and appropriate snacks and meals were provided. Blood, urine, and stool samples were periodically collected for analysis, using a multi-omic analytical approach that combined various data types, including biochemical, metabolic, and microbiome changes.

Overall, participants consumed fewer calories while on the vegan diet compared to when they followed the keto diet.

As expected, the compositions of both diets varied significantly, with the vegan diet consisting of roughly 10% fat and 75% carbohydrates, while the keto diet included about 76% fat and 10% carbohydrates. NIH stated in a press release that both diets caused 'remarkable changes' in all participants.

Transitioning to a vegan diet led to rapid changes in pathways associated with the innate immune system, including those involved in the body's defense against viruses.

It also increased pathways associated with red blood cells, possibly due to higher iron content. Switching to the keto diet rapidly increased processes associated with the adaptive immune system, such as pathways linked to T and B cells.

The keto diet was also observed to have broader effects on the body, impacting a greater number of blood proteins and tissues.

The authors noted changes in amino acid metabolism that could be explained by the higher protein content in the keto diet. Both diets caused changes in the participants' microbiomes even after such a short duration, and adherence to the diets did not affect the results.

The authors of the study acknowledged that the effects were surprisingly uniform given the diversity of participants.

However, they emphasized the need for further research with larger samples to focus on specific components of the immune system. In their article, the authors stated, 'Uncovering the principles by which nutrition regulates immunity in humans could greatly enhance our ability to design personalized nutritional interventions that prevent and treat diseases.'