What is a vegetarian diet?
Some people follow
a "vegetarian" diet,
but there's no single vegetarian eating pattern. The vegan
or total vegetarian diet includes only foods from plants:
fruits, vegetables, legumes (dried beans and peas), grains,
seeds and nuts. The lactovegetarian diet includes plant
foods plus cheese and other dairy products. The ovo-lactovegetarian
(or lacto-ovovegetarian ) diet also includes eggs. Semi-vegetarians
don't eat red meat but include chicken and fish with plant
foods, dairy products and eggs.
Are vegetarian diets healthful?
Most vegetarian
diets are low in animal products. They're also usually
lower than nonvegetarian diets in total fat, saturated
fat and cholesterol. Many studies have shown that vegetarians
seem to have a lower risk of obesity, coronary heart disease
(which causes heart attack), high blood pressure, diabetes
mellitus and some forms of cancer.
Vegetarian diets can be healthful and nutritionally sound
if they're carefully planned to include essential nutrients.
However, a vegetarian diet can be unhealthy if it contains
too many calories and not enough important nutrients.
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Vegetarian Recipes Section for those with special diets! |
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