Keto for Women 40+: Vegetarian & Celiac-Friendly Guide

During your 40s, stepping into a new nutrition plan while managing your existing dietary preferences adds a layer of complexity and even more questions.

During a time where nutrition is vital for hormonal balance, metabolic stability, and weight management, making it can be a daunting task.

Thankfully, here at Reverse Health we can easily combine your dietary requirements and nutrition plan!

In this article, we explore how keto works with Reverse Health. We cover what it means, compatible diets, and safety considerations to ensure you hit your goals.

Understanding Keto in Reverse Health

Reverse Health’s mission is to provide effective keto tips for all nutritional requirements. In this section, we explore what keto means with Reverse Health, and how it is adapted for women over 40.

What Keto Means Within the Reverse Health Program

Reverse Health utilizes evidence-based keto principles which help address the hormonal changes that come with 40s.

After downloading the app, each user will be taken through a questionnaire to identify goals, and dietary requirements to formulate a keto plan for women to thrive in their 40s.

How Reverse Health Adapts Keto for Women 40+

Women approaching and over 40 experience a decrease in the sex hormones estrogen and progesterone. Studies show that this results in symptoms including hot flashes, night sweats, disturbed sleep, fatigue, depressed mood, brain fog.

Alongside this, bone and muscle mass decrease, abdominal storage increases, and with that comes an increased risk of chronic illness including cardiovascular disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and cancer.

The keto diet is capable of providing hormone and metabolic support for women over 40. Research indicates the keto diets support weight loss, while improving blood sugar control, and insulin sensitivity.

Reverse Health keto plans take advantage of these benefits and combine them with nutrient-dense whole foods which not only address the balance hormone, but also many of the symptoms associated with menopause.

The Goal: Balance Hormones, not Strict Carb Elimination

The keto diet is known for being an extreme low-carb diet, with an association to rapid weight loss. However, while this is true, it is not the purpose during the midlife. It's about hormonal balance and improving metabolic health.

Decreasing carbohydrate intake is shown to lower insulin, which lowers fat-storing, improving cardiometabolic function.

This is incredible for women over 40, allowing them to address many of the changes that occur with the decline of estrogen such as weight gain, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity.

Is Keto Suitable for All Diet Types?

The questions many people have when it comes to keto is — is it suitable with all diets? Below, we discuss how Reverse Health uses a modified keto approach, how to adjust meal preferences, and its focus on support and sustainability.

Why Reverse Health Uses a Flexible, Modified Keto Approach

The keto diet is an extreme reduction in carbohydrates, requiring you to consume less than 10% (20–50 g/day) of your calories intake from carbohydrates for the body to enter ketosis.

Reverse Health understands this can be jarring and that is why they have created modified keto to make it more sustainable. This is done by offering the following options:

• Plans which gradually lower carbs in the lead up to ketosis.
• Allows for higher protein intake
• Allows more carbs 15–20% (100 g/day)

While these modifications will likely mean you won’t enter keto, you will still get many of the benefits from the low-carb diet, while getting a little more energy.

How Meal Plans Adjust to Your Preferences and Sensitivities

Reverse Health’s nutrition plans are all about flexibility, accommodating your dietary preferences for a sustainable lifestyle change.

Stacking upon keto diet plans, you can change your diet preferences to avoid your intolerances including dairy, eggs, nuts, fish, and more. This can be done with the following steps:

1. Open Reverse Health.
2. Tap the “My Profile” icon (top right corner).
3. Go to “Food Preferences”.
4. Tap “Edit”, then “Continue”.
5. Select your preferences.

Focus on Metabolic Support, Energy, and Sustainability

Reverse Health is made for women over 40 which means every meal plan, dish, and ingredient is chosen to provide metabolic support, hormonal balance, and energy.

Keto diets, while carb restrictive, still contain all the vital nutrients required to support metabolic and hormonal health, including protein, iron, vitamin B12, and omega-3 fatty acids.

Combined with the variety of a large recipe database, there are hundreds of delicious dishes to make this sustainable long-term.

Doing Keto as a Vegetarian or Vegan

Doing keto as vegetarian or egan requires planning as keto already means the limitation of carbohydrates, while removing animal food products removes protein and other vital nutrients.

Below, we explore how to do keto for vegetarians and vegans to help you safely achieve results.

Plant-Based Sources of Healthy Fats and Proteins

When undertaking a vegetarian or vegan diet, your plant-based foods must contain healthy fats and protein. The key is to find sources that not only contain these nutrients, but are also low-carb.

During the 40s, protein is essential for maintaining muscle mass, improving fullness and serves as the building block of the body. Sources recommend 1.2–2.0 g/kg of protein per day. Meanwhile, foods containing healthy fats can support hormonal health, reduce inflammation, and support heart health.

Here is a list of low-carb, protein and healthy fat, plant-based foods:

How to Maintain Ketosis Without Meat or Fish

Maintaining ketosis without fish can be challenging, but not impossible as there are more high-protein plant-based food options than ever which contain nutrients found in animal-based products.

Plant-based high-fat foods such as avocado, nuts, seeds, and non-starchy vegetables, and high-protein foods listed above will provide energy, satiety, and support muscle mass.

This can also be supplemented with vegan protein powders, iron, vitamin B12, vitamin D, calcium, iron, and electrolytes. These will help fill nutritional gaps.

Example Vegetarian Keto Meals Inside Reverse Health

The idea of going vegetarian or vegan keto can be daunting. That is why Reverse Health has a large database of vegetarian keto meals containing all the vital nutrients to support your health over 40.

Here is a list of vegetarian keto meals inside Reverse Health

• Keto Chia Pudding
• Keto Berry Muffins
• Keto Avocado Chocolate Mousse
• Keto Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls
• Keto Cauliflower Fried Rice
• Keto Greek Salad

Doing Keto with Celiac Disease or Gluten Intolerance

Keto with celiac disease and gluten intolerance requires special consideration. Below, we highlight naturally gluten-free keto options in the program, how to identify hidden gluten, and tips for combining gluten-free and low-carb lifestyle.

Naturally Gluten-Free Keto Options in the Program

Reverse Health has several gluten-free keto options in the program including non-starchy vegetables, cruciferous vegetables, nuts, and seeds. Fortunately, many of these foods make up the standard keto diet.

Keto options in the Reverse Health program include:

• Breakfast Egg Muffins
• Chicken, Orange & Walnut Salad
• Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken with Lentils
• Tuna Salad Lettuce Wraps
• Roasted Tomato & White Bean Soup
• Roast Chicken with Red Pepper, Tomato, White Beans

How to Identify Hidden Gluten in Packaged Foods

Determining if a food contains gluten isn’t always easy as labels are often densely packed with names, labels, and product information.

Use these steps to find hidden gluten in packaged foods.

• Check the ingredients list and look for the allergens statement
• Check for ingredients such wheat, barley, rye, oats
• Check for malt extract, modified food starch, hydrolyzed vegetable protein and contain gluten

Tips for Combining Gluten-Free and Low-Carb Lifestyles

Combining a gluten-free and low-carb lifestyle can be easily achieved by following these tips, including things to do, substitutes, and things to avoid:

Things To Do

• Focus on meat, fish, poultry, eggs
• Non-starchy vegetables such as spinach kale, broccoli, peppers
• Low-carb fruit such as strawberries, avocado, watermelon, blueberries, kiwi, blackberries,
• Add nuts and seeds for protein and healthy fats
• General focus on wholefoods and hydration

Substitutes

• Bread → lettuce wraps
• Pasta → zucchini spaghetti
• Rice → cauliflower rice
• Grains → quinoa (moderation).

Avoid

• Avoid gluten-free foods that are high in sugar
• Hidden gluten and carbs which may be present in processed foods

Doing Keto with Other Intolerances or Allergies

Keto is compatible with other intolerance and allergies. Below we discuss how it can be adapted for dairy, soy, and nuts, including alternative ingredients, and how to modify your plan on the app.

How to Adapt Keto if You Avoid Dairy, Soy, or Nuts

The key to adapting keto to different intolerances is to find alternatives. This allows you to maintain variety which is essential for doing keto long-term.

For example, milk and cream can be swapped with unsweetened coconut milk or cream. While nuts can be substituted with seeds, which provide texture and a source of protein and healthy fats.

Alternative Ingredients for Sensitive Users

There are several alternatives that should be considered if you have intolerances to dairy, soy, and nuts. Here is a list of alternatives you should consider:

• Milk/cream → coconut milk/cream, soy milk, oat milk, almond milk
• Cheese → dairy free cheese, nutritional yeast (cheese flavor), tofu for texture
• Nuts → sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds
• Soy sauce → coconut aminos, fish sauce, tamari, concentrated broth (beef, chicken)

How to Modify Your Plan in the App

Reverse Health makes modifying your diet easier than beer, allowing you to set your preferences and foods to avoid. To set your preference, take the following steps:

1. Open Reverse Health.
2. Tap the “My Profile” tab (top right corner).
3. See “Food Preferences" and tap “Edit”.
4. Tap "Continue".
5. Choose your preferences and foods to avoid.

Medical and Safety Considerations

Keto can be a challenging diet to try, especially for beginners and those with intolerance. This is when advice from a doctor or healthcare profession is extremely helpful. Below, we discuss when to insult a professional, listen to your body, and how Reverse Health can help.

When to Consult a Healthcare Provider Before Starting

You should insult your healthcare provider before commencing keto if you have the following conditions.

• Diabetes: Blood sugar fluctuations can lead diabetic ketoacidosis which is life-threatening.
• Pregnancy or Breast Feeding: Keto recommended as there are potential risks for mother and baby.
• Kidney or Liver Disease: High protein and fat intake can strain the kidney and liver.
• Heart Disease or High Cholesterol: Keto has the potential to increase LDL (bad cholesterol)
• History of Eating Disorders: Keto is restrictive which may exacerbate eating disorder habits.

Listening to Your Body — Fatigue, Digestion, or Dizziness

The severe restriction of carbohydrates can be difficult to navigate and can lead to fatigue, dizziness, and digestive disruption.

Fatigue occurs as the body’s glycogen stores deplete as the body switches from using carbohydrates to fat for energy. Decreased carbs also result in dehydration and low blood sugar, resulting in dizziness. During this time it is important to stay hydrated and consume electrolytes.

Meanwhile, digestive issues can happen as a result of limited fiber, high fat consumption, and changes to the gut microbiome. To address this you must focus on eating keto-friendly fiber sources such as cruciferous vegetables, avocado, nuts, and seeds, and staying hydrated.

It is important to listen to your body, identify and address potential causes, and book in to speak to your healthcare professional.

How Reverse Health Keeps Keto Gentle and Hormone-Friendly

Reverse Health aims to guide its users through the keto diet while maintaining hormone support.

The transition into ketosis can be jarring as the body switches energy systems, shown to lead to the keto flu and symptoms including fatigue, dizziness, headaches, brain fog, and nausea.

Reverse Health offers moderate carb and low-carb meal plans to help you gradually decrease carb intake, helping your body adjust.

Beyond this, Reverse Health meals plans all contain nutrient-dense whole foods which help maintain hormone support. This takes away the guesswork, enabling you to just relax knowing all your meals not only help you maintain ketosis but support your hormonal and overall health.

Getting Support and Customization

Our goal at Reverse Health is to provide our users with the highest quality user experience. In this section we explain how to reach customer support, adjust food preferences, and join our community.

How to Reach Customer Support for Dietary Help

There are several ways to get in touch with our customer support team. Below is how to get in touch on the Reverse Health and app.

Reverse Health App - Email

1. Open Reverse Health.
2. Tap the “My Profile” icon (top right corner).
3. Go to the “Settings” tab.
4. Select “Contact”.
5. Select “Help”.
6. Scroll down "Contact us” until you find the email address.

Reverse Health App - Chat

1. Open Reverse Health.
2. Tap the “My Profile” icon (top right corner).
3. Tap the “Settings” tab.
4. Select “Contact”.
5. Tap “Messages”.

Reverse Health Website - Chat

1. Go to the Reverse Health home page.
2. Click on the option menu (top right corner).
3. Click on “Need help?”.
4. Click on the hovering chat speech icon in the bottom right corner.

Adjusting Food Preferences in Your App Profile

Adjusting food preferences is easy and can be done by taking the following steps:

1. Open Reverse Health.
2. Tap the “My Profile” icon (top right corner).
3. See “Food Preferences" and tap “Edit”.
4. Tap "Continue".
5. Choose your preferences and foods to avoid.

Learning From Other Members’ Experiences

We believe community is an essential part of the health and wellness experience. That is why we have created the Reverse Health community group, a members-only forum where our users gather to share experiences, challenges of women's health over 40.

You can access the Reverse Health Group by following these steps:

1. Open Reverse Health.
2. Tap the “Grow” tab (bottom right corner).
3. Tap “Community”.
4. Tap “Let’s go”.

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