Vegetarians are people who don’t eat meat. This humanistic view of nutrition led people to create several varieties of vegetarianism. Each of their followers has different rules about what their plates will be filled with. Moreover, each of them believes in the different health and environmental benefits of vegetarianism.
Vegetarianism: types and features
The inhabitants of the Earth have several types of vegetarianism. The type of choice depends on many factors, including health, environmental, ethical, religious, and economic reasons.
There are four types of vegetarianism:
- lacto-ovo-vegetarians do not eat meat or seafood, but include dairy products and eggs in their diets,
- lacto-vegetarians prefer vegetable and dairy foods,
- ovo-vegetarians eat eggs too,
- vegans only eat plant food, they exclude even honey from their diet.
Another type of vegetarianism has two branches: raw food vegans and fruitarians. Sometimes raw and fruit eaters make meals that only eat one kind of product, such as a tomato or an apple.
There are two other vegetarian varieties that are very easy in performance and are aimed at reducing or limiting the quantity of animal products. It is a pescetarianism that includes only the abandonment of warm-blooded meat and the consumption of fish and seafood. There is also flexitarianism, which includes very rare consumption of small portions of meat and seafood. You could say it’s half vegetarian.
The benefits of vegetarianism
A vegetarian diet that is designed correctly and professionally has many health benefits. It reduces the risk of chronic diseases such as:
- Obesity;
- Ischaemic heart disease;
- Hypertension (high blood pressure);
- Diabetes mellitus;
- Several types of cancer.
A vegetarian diet can give you many advantages. However, you must take a careful approach to plan your diet. It must include all the vitamins and minerals needed for a human being that will ensure a long and healthy life. Pregnant women and young children should have a balanced vegetarian diet that is not very strict.
The Right Type of Vegetarian Diet
Given the presence of different types of vegetarianism, there are some people who plan to give up meat and at the same time do not understand what type of diet would be optimal for them. You should take some time off and do a self-examination where you can figure out what you need vegetarianism for. Don’t be so sure that the answer to that question is so simple. In fact, there are at least several reasons why you should choose vegetarianism. You should learn each of them:
- Improved Health.
- Extra fat reduces in the body.
- Religion.
- Ecology.
- Ethics.
- The desire to save money.
- Self-development.
- Ahimsa.