Once upon a time, being a vegetarian was pretty black and white.
You didn’t eat meat, and that was that.
These days, though, there seem to be 50 different shades of vegetarianism.
Hi viewers and welcome back to another Bestie video.
Vegetarianism has grown in popularity.
This rising acceptance is primarily because of its many advantages.
Vegetarians appear to have lower levels of cholesterol,
blood pressure, hypertension and type 2 diabetes than meat-eaters.
They also have a lower body mass index,
lower overall cancer rates plus lower risk of chronic disease.
Besides the health reasons, the meat industry is one of the main contributors to problems
such as pollution, food shortages and the emptying of our oceans.
Raising animals for food also requires massive amounts of water, energy, and land.
All these factors have led to more and more people to turn vegetarian.
But not eating meat isn’t the only type of vegetarian diet.
In fact there are many different variations to it.
And in today’s video, we will tell you what they are.
From vegan, lacto vegetarian, macrobiotic,
pollo vegetarian to mediterrenean and more, watch till the end to learn about all of them.
Vegan:
A vegan diet is one that excludes all
animal-derived products, including all meats and fish, dairy products, and eggs.
Some people on a vegan diet also choose to exclude honey because it’s produced by bees.
Ethics are a major reason for people choosing this diet.
It is based solely on plant foods.
This includes fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds, and legumes,
including beans, peas, and lentils.
A vegan diet may incorporate plant-based alternatives to traditional animal products,
such as plant-based milk and dairy products, plant-based egg substitutes,
and plant-based meat replacements like tofu, tempeh, seitan, and jackfruit.
Another distinction of the vegan diet is that it
tends to extend beyond food choices and into a person’s everyday life.
For example, someone on this diet may avoid purchasing consumer products — such as cosmetics,
clothing, and shoes — that use animal-derived ingredients or have been tested on animals.
On the flipside, this diet tends to be low in some nutrients.
For this reason, healthcare providers often recommend vegans take certain
vitamin and mineral supplements, including vitamin B12, iron, omega-3 fats, and zinc.
Have you ever tried going vegan?
How long were you able to do it before caving in?
Tell us quickly down below in the comments section!
Lacto-ovo Vegetarian:
This is one of the most popular and
traditional forms of vegetarianism because it's pretty approachable.
People who follow this diet avoid meat, fish, and poultry,
but still eat animal products like dairy and eggs.
This is right for someone who wants to be primarily vegetarian but not full-on vegan.
Still, if you notice that you’re feeling tired or aren't satiated after your meals, take a closer
look at your overall intake to make sure you’re getting all the nutrients like protein you need.
Lacto Vegetarian:
One step beyond lacto-ovo vegetarians are lacto vegetarians,
who eat a plant-based diet and dairy products, but avoid meat, seafood, and eggs.
Yep, that means you can have plenty of milk, cheese, butter, and ice cream on this one.
Though many people do well on a lacto-vegetarian diet,
you should keep a tab on your dairy intake to make sure you don’t overdo it.
Otherwise, you might end up bloated and constipated.
Ovo Vegetarian:
While ovo vegetarians don’t eat meat, seafood, or dairy products,
they do eat eggs and products that contain eggs.
Though not as popular as lacto-ovo vegetarian diet or even lacto vegetarian diets,
this eating style does offer some flexibility.
If you go this route, make sure your eggs are
organic to lower your exposure to antibiotics and pesticides.
Macrobiotic:
This diet was very popular in the ’70s and with good reason.
The macrobiotic diet, revered by some for its healthy and healing qualities,
includes unprocessed vegan foods such as whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.
It allows the occasional consumption of fish.
Sugar and refined oils are avoided.
Perhaps the most unique qualifier of the macrobiotic diet is its
emphasis on the consumption of Asian vegetables,
such as daikon radish, and sea vegetables, such as wakame and other seaweeds.
Since this diet excludes meat and dairy, you might have to stock up on iron,
magnesium, calcium, and vitamin B12 supplements.
Flexitarian diet:
A flexitarian diet is designed to be more flexible than a strict vegan or vegetarian diet,
as indicated by its “flexi” prefix.
It emphasizes the benefits of plant-based foods while allowing small amounts of animal products.
It takes a primarily plant-focused approach to eating, but includes
some meat and other animal products, like eggs and dairy, in moderation.
The main principles of a flexitarian diet include eating mostly whole plant foods
and getting most protein from plants instead of animals.
It also limits added sugar and processed foods if possible,
and incorporates meat and animal products occasionally.
A flexitarian wouldn’t technically be considered a vegetarian because
they eat small amounts of meat sometimes.
It’s up to the individual to design the diet to fit their lifestyle.
Pollo Vegetarian:
Pollo means chicken in Spanish.
Pollo vegetarians typically incorporate multiple
forms of poultry like turkey and duck, into their otherwise plant based diet.
You may find this diet similar to a flexitarian.
Just make sure you eat organic chicken and reduce
your exposure to antibiotics when following this diet.
Pescatarian diet:
If you follow a pescatarian diet, you eat primarily plant-based foods
but include fish and seafood in your diet as well.
The prefix is derived from the Italian word “pesce,” meaning fish.
Using the Healthy Eating Index, researchers scored
the pescatarian diet about the same as the vegetarian and flexitarian diet.
However, when using a different healthy eating scale based on the Mediterranean diet,
this eating style scored higher than both the vegetarian and flexitarian diet.
The emphasis on eating fish helps to increase not only your protein
intake but also healthy fats, including omega-3 fatty acids.
You're likely to gain the same health benefits on this diet as you would on a vegetarian diet,
but you may enjoy a few additional advantages.
These are because of the fish that you eat such as salmon, mackerel,
or some types of tuna which are rich in omega 3 fatty acids.
These help to maintain healthy arteries,
lower bad cholesterol levels and decrease both triglyceride levels and blood pressure.
If you are currently a regular fish eater, this diet is likely to be sustainable.
But for some others, it may be less so.
Not everyone is comfortable cooking fish on a regular basis.
Fresh fish tends to have less fat, sodium,
and other unnatural ingredients when compared to breaded or processed fish.
Did you know that fish along with certain other foods can help you sleep better?
Learn more about such foods by watching this
video titled “Foods You Should And Shouldn't Eat Before You Go To Sleep”
Now back to types of vegetarian diets that you should know about.
Raw Vegan Diet:
Raw veganism is a subset of veganism.
Like veganism, it excludes all foods of animal origin.
Then it adds the concept or raw foodism, which dictates that
foods should be eaten completely raw or heated at temperatures below 104–118°F.
The idea of eating only raw foods has existed since the middle of
the nineteenth century when it was promoted as a way to avoid illness.
A raw vegan diet is generally rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts,
seeds, sprouted grains and legumes.
It also tends to be naturally low in processed foods.
Those choosing to follow a raw vegan diet are often motivated by health reasons.
They believe that raw and minimally heated foods are more nutritious than cooked ones.
Alternative meal preparation methods, such as juicing, blending, soaking,
sprouting and dehydrating, are used instead of cooking.
Some proponents also believe that a raw vegan diet provides all the
nutrients humans need — which is why supplements are often discouraged.
Mediterranean Diet:
A Mediterranean diet includes all food groups recommended by the USDA.
Animal products are eaten, but minimally.
The focus is on vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds, and plant-based healthy oils.
Foods that are higher in saturated fat like dairy and meat are minimized.
Foods that boost health like whole grains and vegetables are encouraged.
But since animal products and dairy are still eaten in small quantities,
calcium, protein, and vitamin levels are less likely to be compromised.
The Mediterranean diet has been widely studied and is associated with a wide range of health benefits
including a lower risk of heart disease, cancer, and other chronic diseases.
It’s also very effective for weight loss.
Along with the flexitarian diet, this diet is highly sustainable when compared
to other more rigorous plant-based diets, such as vegan and vegetarian.
No foods are off-limits on this plan.
Rather, healthy, whole foods are emphasized and less healthy foods are minimized.
How do you choose a vegetarian diet that’s correct for you?
When choosing which vegetarian diet it’s important to consider
factors like sustainability, cost, and nutritional quality.
Furthermore, considering which variation best aligns with your personal values and goals is
an important factor when determining how sustainable it will be for you.
If a way of eating isn’t realistic for your lifestyle and doesn’t align
with what’s important to you, it will be much harder to sustain.
What’s nice about all the types of vegetarian diets is that you can experiment with different
variations and adjust accordingly until you find a good fit for you.
Now that you know what different types of vegetarian diets are,
it’s very important to eat the correct foods and cook them the right way.
Learn more of what we are talking about by:
Watching: 8 Healthy Vegetables You Should Be Eating And 8 You Shouldn’t
Or
Finding out Ways You're Cooking Your Vegetables Wrong Which Reduce Their Health Benefits
These 2 videos will definitely help you pick the
correct vegetables and cook them the right way for maximum health benefits.
So go ahead and pick a video, or watch them both for maximum benefits.
When switching to a vegetarian diet, which meat would be the most difficult for you to give up?
Let us know in the comments section below!