The Various Types of Vegetarian Diets
With heart disease and obesity climbing in the industrial nations men, women and children are gradually turning to vegetarian eating habits to promote their healthy lifestyles. As a vegetarian you would not have to worry about bad cholesterol or unwanted trans-fats in your diet. The downside to a vegetarian diet is to make sure you get the right amount of balanced nutrition from your diet. Today we will look at three of the major “Vegetarian” Diets.
All types of vegetarian diets abstain from animal products some are more strict than others though.
1: Lacto-Vegetarian
This particular diet allows a person to include cheese, yogurt, butter and milk into their diet.
2: Lacto-Ovo
Close to Lacto-Vegetarian but allows the consumption of eggs also. This is the most widely practiced vegetarian diet.
3: Vegan
This is the strictest of them all. No type of animal flesh or product is allowed.
The biggest problem facing the vegetarian lifestyle is the lack of certain nutrients like protein, minerals like iron, calcium, and zinc, and vitamins like B-12 and D. The more strict the vegetarian diet the harder it is to get these essential nutrients.
To combat this problem Soy is the number one ingredient for protein. Soy “burgers”, “chicken”, and “cold Cuts” are available for your eating pleasure while died beans, kale and spinach are excellent sources of Iron.
Any serious Vegetarian should also make sure that they take supplements to ensure that they have the complete range of vitamins and minerals that their bodies need. No matter what reason or types of vegetarian diets you follow it is crucial that you be keenly aware of your nutritional needs. A doctor or nutritionist should be consulted before deciding on the types of vegetarian diets.