Types Of Vegetarian Diets?
A vegetarian diet is a type of diet that involves abstaining from eating meat. But this does not mean that vegetarians do not eat anything other than vegetables- they may or may not eat dairy products, eggs, or any other product derived from animals. Vegetarian diets are classified into the following types:
Veganism:
This is one of the strictest forms of vegetarianism and refers to an individual who does not even consume honey (a bee byproduct). Vegans do not use animal products for clothing, furniture, etc., nor do they visit zoos or aquariums to see animals.
Veganism also means that you avoid foods like sugar that are processed using animal bones! Raw veganism or Raw food veganism allows the consumption of uncooked vegan foods that maintain the original nutritional value of the food.
Lacto-ovo vegetarianism:
As the name suggests, people who follow this diet do not eat meat but eat dairy products and eggs. Lacto-vegetarianism is a diet that excludes meat, fish, poultry, and any other animal flesh but includes dairy products (such as milk, cheese) and plants (such as leafy vegetables).
Ovo-vegetarianism is another version of Lacto-ovo vegetarianism in that it allows eggs to be eaten but cuts out all other animal proteins. There are several types of ovo vegetarians. Some allow eggs while some restrict them based on their source, i.e., whether they are from a plant-based or an animal-based food.
Lacto-vegetarians:
This vegetarianism excludes meat, fish, poultry but includes dairy products. It is different from veganism because vegans do not use animal products, even plants. Lacto vegetarians can eat eggs but not honey as it’s derived from animals that do not fall under dairy products.
Vegetarians:
This type of vegetarianism excludes meat, fish, poultry, and eggs but allows the consumption of dairy products.
Raw food vegetarians or Raw vegans:
As the name suggests, people who follow this diet only consume uncooked vegan foods. Both processed and natural sugars are avoided.
This is because most types of sugar are processed using animal bones in the charcoal filter! The same goes for white flour, which is processed to look pure white. White sugar may be bleached using bone char, i.e., charred cow bones! Alcohol is also not consumed since many drinks are filtered using activated carbon, made from animal bones!
Fruitarianism:
People who opt for fruitarianism eat only fruits that fall from plants. This means that they do not eat tubers like potatoes or other vegetables like carrots etc. which grow underground! They also exclude all types of grains and seeds.
Lacto vegetarian:
A vegetarian diet with milk and other dairy foods. The lacto in a Lacto vegetarian is short for lactobacillus, which ferments sugars into lactic acid.
Lacto-Ovo vegetarian:
A vegetarian diet containing both dairy foods and eggs.
Macrobiotic diet:
A health food regimen developed by George Ohsawa principally consisting of brown rice, other whole grains, and a variety of vegetables, soups made from these ingredients, and occasional seafood or organ meats such as liver, but with little fruit (except for special occasions) and no refined sugar.
Its philosophy is to make oneself harmonious with nature through spiritual awareness and dietary habits. It has been widely criticized for its expense and reliance on exotic foods not readily available; many macrobiotic teachers suggest that people seeking the discipline seriously consider living in Japan, where all ingredients would be available at reasonable prices. Many “vegetarians” still eat dairy and eggs.
Raw foods diet, living foods diet:
Raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds (and sometimes other foods such as seaweed and algae) are the staples of this strict dietary regimen. Other aspects of the lifestyle include getting a massage daily, sunbathing in the summer months to obtain Vitamin D from sunlight rather than ingesting it in supplements or fortified milk, wearing loose clothing made from natural fibers, practicing yoga every day, and breathing deeply for at least five minutes each day.
Exercise is relaxed, not producing stress hormones that may damage the body’s ability to heal itself. There has been much criticism about “living foods,” especially when one considers that raw tomato juice can be deadly and that a pregnant woman who eats a live termite could miscarry or die from the infection.
Vegetarian vs. vegan:
Vegetarians do not eat meat, fish, or poultry. Vegans take it one step further by avoiding dairy foods and eggs.
Textures of food:
The nutrition in the mouth ranges from smooth to creamy to crunchy.
Ultra pasteurization:
Also called ultra-high temperature (UHT), this is a method of sterilizing milk—by heating to approximately four times average pasteurization temperatures followed by rapid cooling—allowing for its shelf life of many months without refrigeration.
It has the advantage over sterilization by radiation that no flavor changes occur. However, UHT processing reduces much of the vitamin C content and alters protein structure, making nutrients more difficult for the body to absorb and digest. Therefore, pasteurized and raw (unprocessed) milk is preferred.
Vegan:
A dietary regimen avoids all animal foods such as meat, eggs, poultry, fish, and dairy. Similar to a vegetarian diet but excludes the intake of cooked or heated foods. This is because cooking or heating destroys plants’ enzymes and denatures proteins so the body cannot properly metabolize them.
It is difficult to obtain complete proteins from plant sources without combining foods such as rice with beans or peanut butter with whole wheat bread at each meal; many vegans do not eat any food cooked above 118° F (48° C) because protein molecules will undergo coagulation.
However, it has been recently discovered that an amino acid serviceable by the human body can be found in grains after being harvested, sprouted, and fermented.
Vitamins:
Organic substances necessary for normal metabolism must be supplied in small amounts from food; unlike minerals, vitamins cannot be synthesized within the organism. Essential to life, they activate enzyme systems that maintain growth and good health.
Vitamins are divided into two groups: fat-soluble (A, D, E, and K) and water-soluble (B complex and C). Vegetarians need to eat dark green vegetables to obtain sufficient B 12, seaweed for iodine, or take supplements of these nutrients.