Library
Vegetarian Diets
In today’s society there are a number of vegetarian diets, a description of the four main classifications are provided below:
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Lacto-ovo vegetarian:
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can include; milk, milk products and eggs, but omit meat, fish, shellfish, and poultry.
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Lacto-vegetarian:
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can include milk, milk products, but exclude meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, and eggs.
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Semivegetarian:
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can include some, but not all, groups of animal-derived foods in their diets; they usually exclude meat and may occasionally include poultry, fish, and shellfish.
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Vegans:
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exclude all animal-derived foods (including meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, eggs, cheese, and milk) from diet.
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There are some nutritional considerations that vegetarians should take into account. These include:
Protein
Vegetarians can obtain their daily protein needs from their diets as long as energy intakes are adequate and protein sources are varied. Protein sources can include; whole grains, legumes, seeds, nuts, and vegetables.
Vitamins and Minerals
Vegans in particular need to ensure they intake sufficient vitamins and minerals, vitamins and minerals to consider are vitamin B12, D, riboflavin, iron, zinc and calcium.
Research indicates that vegetarians as a group are actually closer to a healthy body weight than non-vegetarians. Additionally vegetarian diets are often higher in fibre, lower in fat and richer in certain vitamins and minerals. A well planned vegetarian diet including a variety of food has been shown to provide health benefits.
