So Many Diets, So Little Time! Vegetarians Unite!
With so many types of vegetarian diets, if you choose to follow this path on your health happiness journey, which plan is the best to follow?
There are several types of vegetarian plans: (these are the most popular)
Lacto-Vegetarian, Fruitarian Vegetarian, Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian, Living Food Diet Vegetarian, Ovo-Vegetarian, Pesco-Vegetarian and Semi-Vegetarian!
Why Do People Become Vegetarians?
For much of the world, vegetarianism is largely a matter of economics: Meat costs a lot more than, say, beans or rice, so meat becomes a special-occasion dish (if it's eaten at all).
In countries like the United States where meat is not as expensive, though, people often choose to be vegetarians for reasons other than cost. Parental preferences, religious or other beliefs, and health issues are among the most common reasons for choosing to be a vegetarian. Many people choose a vegetarian diet out of concern over animal rights or the environment. And lots of people have more than one reason for choosing vegetarianism.
Vegetarian and Semi-Vegetarian Diets
Different people follow different forms of vegetarianism. A true vegetarian eats no meat at all, including chicken and fish. A lacto-ovo vegetarian eats dairy products and eggs, but excludes meat, fish, and poultry. It follows, then, that a lacto-vegetarian eats dairy products but not eggs, whereas an ovo-vegetarian eats eggs but not dairy products.
A stricter form of vegetarianism is veganism. Not only are eggs and dairy products excluded from a vegan diet, so are animal products like honey and gelatin.
Some macrobiotic diets fall into the vegan category. Macrobiotic diets restrict not only animal products but also refined and processed foods, foods with preservatives, and foods that contain caffeine or other stimulants.
So many types, so little time to choose and get on track. If Vegetarian is the way to go for you, here is the breakdown on the several types:
(You decide, You Choose)
A Lacto-Vegetarian: A lacto-vegetarian (sometimes referred to as a lactarian; (from the Latin root lact-, milk) diet is a diet that includes vegetables as well as dairy products such as milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, ghee, cream, and kefir, but excludes eggs.
Fruitarian-Vegetarian: is a diet that consists entirely or primarily of fruits in the botanical sense, and possibly nuts and seeds, without animal products. Fruitarianism is a subset of dietary veganism.
Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian: An ovo-lacto vegetarian or lacto-ovo vegetarian is a vegetarian who does not eat meat, but does consume some animal products such as eggs and dairy. Unlike pescatarians, they do not consume fish or other seafood. A typical ovo-lacto vegetarian diet can include fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds, herbs, roots, fungi, milk, cheese, yogurt, kefir, and eggs.
Living Food Diet Vegetarian (or Raw Food Diet): Raw foodism, also known as following a raw food diet, is the dietary practice of eating only (or mostly) food that is uncooked and unprocessed. Depending on the philosophy, or type of lifestyle and results desired, raw food diets may include a selection of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, eggs, fish, meat, and dairy products. It may also include simply processed foods such as various types of sprouted seeds, cheese, and fermented foods such as yogurts, kefir, kombucha, or sauerkraut, but generally not foods that have been pasteurized, homogenized, or produced with the use of synthetic pesticides, chemical fertilizers, industrial solvents, or chemical food additive.
Ovo-Vegetarian: is a type of vegetarianism which allows for the consumption of eggs but not dairy products, in contrast with lacto vegetarianism. Those who practice ovo vegetarianism are called ovo-vegetarians or "eggetarians". "Ovo" comes from the Latin word for egg.
6. Pesco-Vegetarian: Is the practice of following a diet that includes fish or other seafood, but not the flesh of other animals.
Those on pescatarian or pollotarian diets may define meat only as mammalian flesh and may identify with vegetarianism. Most pescatarians maintain a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet with the addition of fish and shellfish, described as "fish but no other meat".
7. Semi-Vegetarian: A semi-vegetarian or flexitarian diet is one that is plant-based with the occasional inclusion of meat.
Whatever path towards vegetarianism you decide to take (if you do), remember – RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH! And don’t forget to check-in with your doctor.
I haven’t become vegetarian just yet on my own path, but I have added tons more vegetables and fruits into my everyday living and eliminated a lot of meat!
I feel so much better physically and mentally eating healthier that my body craves all the good stuff now! And vegetables and fruits are definitely the “GOOD STUFF”!
As long as you try to incorporate this good stuff into your own health happiness paths, you are on the right track whichever plan you decide. “Veggie’s – now they do a body good!”