Protein is made up of smaller building blocks called amino acids. Protein is essential for many bodily processes, including tissue building and repair. Eating a wide variety of foods will make it easier to meet your nutritional requirements.Įssential nutrients that are harder to obtain in a vegetarian diet, if not carefully planned – include protein, some minerals (especially iron, calcium and zinc), vitamin B12 and vitamin D. This is even more important if you are pregnant, planning a pregnancy, breastfeeding or have young children following a vegetarian diet. If you choose to be vegetarian or vegan, plan your diet to make sure it includes all the essential nutrients.

Meeting nutritional needs on a vegetarian diet Vegetarians and vegans also have lower rates of illness and death from some degenerative diseases. Health benefits of a vegetarian dietĪ well-balanced vegetarian or vegan diet can provide many health benefits, such as a reduced risk of chronic diseases, including: People following pescetarian or flexitarian diets often do so to get the health benefits of eating a largely vegetarian diet without giving up meat entirely.

Flexitarian – people who mainly have a plant-based diet but that sometimes includes small portions of meat and seafood sometimes also called ‘semi-vegetarian’.

Pescetarian – people who do not eat any meat, but include seafood, dairy foods, eggs and plant foods.

Two other diets that are not strictly vegetarian but still focus on reducing or limiting the amount of animal products eaten are:

Vegan – people who avoid all animal foods and only eat plant foods.

Ovo-vegetarian – people who do not eat meat, seafood and dairy foods, but include eggs and plant foods.

Lacto-vegetarian – people who do not eat meat, seafood and eggs, but include dairy foods and plant foods.

Lacto-ovo-vegetarian – people who do not eat any meat and seafood, but include dairy foods (such as milk), eggs and plant foods.

What version of vegetarian diet a person follows depends on many things including health, environmental, ethical, religious or economic reasons. Types of vegetarian dietsĪlthough ‘vegetarian’ usually means ‘plant-based’ there are a few different types of vegetarian diets. They can offer all the essential vitamins and minerals necessary for a long and healthy life provided they are well-planned.īreastfeeding mothers and children who have a vegetarian diet need to take particular care to make sure they get all the essential nutrients they need for healthy growth and development. Vegetarian diets can have many health benefits. However, there are many variations to this – some people following a vegetarian diet may eat eggs and dairy foods, while others may avoid one or both.Ī vegan diet is another form of vegetarianism where only plant foods are eaten and all foods from animal sources are avoided (meat, seafood, dairy, eggs and sometimes honey and gelatine).

A vegetarian diet is one that does not include any meat or seafood.

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