Vegetarian Diet Plans

Why be vegetarian? One and a quarter million Canadians would each have a unique answer. Vegetarians dance to their own music. They have the courage to challenge accepted practices, even those respected as tradition. A good number of vegetarians are health  enthusiasts, most have a very big heart when it comes to animals, and many are deeply committed to protecting the environment. It is practically impossible to pick a vegetarian out of a crowd. While some look like bohemians; others look like construction workers, movie stars, business people, hockey players, marathon runners, or grandmas and grandpas. Vegetarians are of various ages and from every walk of life. When you tell someone you are a vegetarian, they usually say something like, “I don’t eat much meat either.” Being vegetarian is considered a very good thing, something many people aspire to.

Types of Vegetarians

A “vegetarian” is defined as someone who does not eat meat, poultry, or fish. In contrast, those who include both plants and animals
in their diet are called “omnivores” or “nonvegetarians.” The two most common subclasses of vegetarians are lacto-ovo or vegan.

1. Lacto-ovo Vegetarian

Lacto-ovo vegetarians avoid all animal flesh, but do use eggs (ovo) and dairy products (lacto). Some people are simply lacto-vegetarians, using dairy products but not eggs, and others are ovo-vegetarians, using eggs but not dairy products.

2. Vegan (pronounced vee-gun or vee-gan)

 

Vegans avoid all products of animal origin, including eggs, dairy foods, gelatin (made from the bones and connective tissue of animals), and honey (the product of bees). Vegans avoid animal products not only in their diet but in every aspect of their lives. They may shun leather goods, wool and silk, tallow soaps, and other products made with animal ingredients.

Variations on “Vegetarian” Within the two main categories of vegetarian, there are many variations, depending on the motivation, experiences, and unique needs of the individual. When people become vegetarian in an effort to achieve better health, there may be some flexibility in their use of animal products; however, when the choice is made on the basis of ethics or religion, there is a greater tendency toward complete adherence to the diet.
When people first become vegetarian, many of them rely heavily on dairy foods and eggs. As they grow in their knowledge and

experience of vegetarian issues, they often begin to shift away from the use of animal products, replacing them with protein-rich plant foods such as soy products, legumes, nuts, and seeds. This natural progression gets easier with each passing year. Convenient and delicious vegetarian options are increasing exponentially. Mainstream grocery stores feature an impressive selection of non-dairy milks, veggie meats, tofu, and other vegetarian favourites. This trend away from the use of animal products is reflected in recent figures that compare the number of vegans to lacto-ovo vegetarians. Ten years ago it was estimated that 5–10 per cent of all vegetarians were vegan and 90–95 per cent were lacto-ovo vegetarian, whereas recent surveys show that 25–40 per cent of all vegetarians are vegan.

 

While many vegetarians do not quite fit the definition of vegan, they are very close. Some avoid all obvious dairy products and eggs, but are not concerned about traces of animal products in prepared foods. Others eat the occasional pizza slice or ice cream cone, but do not consume these products on a regular basis. This rapidly growing subsection of the vegetarian population is much
closer in its dietary practices and nutritional intakes to vegans than to lacto-ovo vegetarians; thus people following this type of diet are often called “near-vegans.” We might expect that there is little room for diversity among vegans and near-vegans, but this is clearly not the case. Within the vegan/near-vegan category are many variations, among the most popular of which are health movements such as macrobiotics, natural hygiene, living and raw food consumers, and fruitarians. All of these systems promote dietary regimes based on simple, whole foods. In most cases processed foods, refined sugars, and concentrated fats are shunned and, in many cases, nutritional supplements may be avoided as well. These diets are low in total fat, saturated fat, trans-fatty acids, cholesterol, and refined carbohydrates, minimizing potentially damaging dietary components. They are also rich in protective dietary constituents such as fibre, phytochemicals, and several vitamins and minerals (including folate, vitamins A, C, and K, potassium, and magnesium). However, these whole food regimes are considerably more restrictive than vegan diets, which include the full spectrum of plant foods along with any necessary supplements or fortified foods. These diets may lack vitamin B12
and may be deficient in vitamin D. They may also provide insufficient protein, energy, fat, vitamins, and minerals and be too bulky
to meet the needs of infants and young children. Beyond the two main categories, lacto-ovo vegetarian and vegan, are people who call themselves vegetarian, but do not qualify according to accepted definitions. These near-vegetarians are two to three times the number of those who never eat flesh foods. The explanation, it seems, is that many who eliminate red meat, but include poultry and/or fish consider themselves “vegetarian.” In addition, some who eat only a little meat, poultry, and fish also often call themselves “vegetarian.” The term sometimes used to describe those folks is “semi-vegetarian,” although a more appropriate term
is “near-vegetarian.”

 

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