Sugars and your diet: The lowdown on Keto, Paleo, and Vegan eating

Diets are a little like fashion, music, decor, or anything else that changes with the times. A diet that had everyone talking just a few years ago (remember Atkins?) might be largely forgotten today as new players step onto the stage. It can be a lot to keep straight. 

The one thing all diets have in common is that they shape your eating in some way. They might restrict what you eat — as is the case with the diets we’re delving here — or when you eat, like intermittent fasting. But, all told, they all have the goal of helping you be healthier. And that’s a pretty great goal, right?

If you’re thinking about trying a new diet, you’re definitely going to want to know what you’re getting yourself into. So we thought we’d look at three of the most popular diets/nutrition plans/lifestyles right now and how they relate to an ingredient a lot of us consume too much of: sugar. 

The keto diet and sugar

Ask someone following the ketogenic diet and they might tell you keto and sugar are like mortal enemies. We’re talking some real Harry Potter-Voldemort, Superman-Lex Luthor stuff. That’s because keto’s all about keeping track of your fat and carbohydrate consumption, and sugar is a carb. With keto, you’re usually trying to increase your fats consumed while decreasing your carbs, which means sugar isn’t really on the table. 

Keto isn’t a zero-sugar diet — plenty of people following this nutrition plan still eat berries, for example — but if you follow keto, you need to be ready to be wary about the sugar you consume. 

The paleo diet and sugar

Our diets have shifted a lot over the last century alone. The paleo diet invites us to return to our roots, eating closer to the way our ancestors of yore did. That means whole foods instead of processed ones which, in turn, means a whole lot less sugar.

See, sugar’s sneaky. It’s in a lot of packaged foods you probably wouldn’t expect, like pasta sauces and salad dressings. When you’re eating whole foods and steering clear of highly processed ones, you’re naturally going to intake less sugar. And when you do go sweet, you’re going to opt for things that use natural sugar instead of artificial sweeteners. 

The vegan diet and sugar

Veganism and sugar are pretty loosey-goosey. Following a vegan diet just means you’re not consuming any animals or animal products. There’s no strict rules around sugar. So, really, there are two areas where veganism is going to keep you away from sugar. 

The first is that you can’t have honey because it’s made by bees. The second is that you can’t have anything containing animal products, which means a lot of baked goods are off the table. Dairy-based ice cream is a no-go, too. In fact, as you follow a vegan diet, you might be surprised just how many sweet things contain animal products. Eating vegan will definitely force you to be mindful about your food choices and, usually, that will mean eating less sugar. 

That doesn’t mean you have to give up all things sweet on any of these diets, though. No matter which diet you’re following, we’ve got you covered. (Prefer to eat free form without following a specific diet? We’ve got you there, too.) 

All of our JOJO’s Chocolate flavors are low in sugar (plus they’re gluten-free, soy-free, and come with added protein from hyper-healthy, vegan-friendly hemp). Our Original flavor tops the charts with only 8G of sugar per serving, but if you’re really looking to steer clear of sugar, check out our Goes Hawaiian and Raspberry Dream bars or bites. They each have <1G of sugar per serving. Don’t worry, they still taste delicious. We promise.

Sugar cravings happen. But they don’t have to throw you off your healthy eating plan. At JOJO’s Chocolate, we’re here to give you something sweet without the sugar.