Veganism

Pescatarianism

Gluten-Free Vegetarian

Semi-vegetarianism

Sneaky non-vegetarian foods

VEGETARIANISM

Vegetarians eat fruits, vegetables, grains and nuts.  They do not eat meat or things cooked in meat based broth. There are two types of vegetarians, Ovo-Lacto and Lacto. Ovo-Lacto vegetarians include both eggs and dairy products in their diets while Lacto vegetarians include dairy products only. Ovo-Lacto vegetarianism is the most popular style of vegetarianism in the United States, while Lacto is the most popular worldwide. The Lacto vegetarian diet is the traditional East Indian diet, which could explain its broader popularity.

VEGANISM

The vegan diet is the strictest type of vegetarian diet. In addition to excluding meat from their diets, vegans also exclude eggs and dairy products.  They abstain from wearing or using animal products such as leather, wool, down filling in comforters and pillows, silk and honey. They also avoid cosmetics and soaps that contain animal products.

PESCETARIANISM

Pescetarianism is sometimes called pesco-vegetarianism. Vegetarian and pescetarian diets are similar, but the pescetarian diet also includes fish. Pescetarians often choose this type of diet to avoid the practices associated with factory farming. Eating fish can increase HDL cholesterol levels (the healthy cholesterol) and some types of fish such as salmon are a good source of Omega-3 fatty acids. However, all types of fish contain trace amounts of mercury and some larger, longer lived fish such as tuna can contain fairly high amounts.

GLUTEN-FREE VEGETARIAN

A gluten-free vegetarian or vegan diet excludes gluten, a protein found in grains such as wheat, rye, barley, and oats.  People with Celiac disease commonly follow a gluten-free diet because they cannot tolerate gluten when it comes in contact with the small intestine.

SEMI-VEGETARIANISM

Refers to people who eat a mostly vegetarian diet, but occasionally choose to eat meat. People who exclude red meat from their diets while including poultry and seafood often use this classification. There is some controversy as to whether this is a legitimate vegetarian diet.

SNEAKY NON-VEGETARIAN FOODS

• Granulated sugar: Granulated sugar comes either from sugar beets or from sugar cane. The sugar that comes from sugar beets does not need filtering, but the sugar from sugar cane does and it is sometimes filtered through bone black, which is a form of charcoal that is made from animal bones. To avoid sugars that are filtered through bone black, buy sugar that is made from evaporated cane juice crystals (unfiltered sugar) or organic sugar.

• Cheese: Rennett and rennin are sometimes used to help curdle milk during the process of making cheese and these ingredients come from the inner lining of the stomach of milk-fed calves. When buying cheese, be sure to read the label. There are many cheeses that do not include rennett and rennin.

• Marshmallows and jello: Many marshmallows contain gelatin, which is made from the skin and bones of animals. Jello also contains gelatin, but vegetarian substitutes are available.

Photo by mckaysavage