What's a Vegetarian?
“Vegetarian” is a blanket term for a variety of diets that exclude meat, poultry, and fish. The most healthful, the pure vegetarian (or "vegan") diet, only includes foods of plant origin, such as nuts, seeds, vegetables, fruits, grains, and legumes. A "lacto-vegetarian" includes these plant foods and also dairy products. A "lacto-ovo-vegetarian" consumes both dairy and eggs.
Is Veg Healthier?
There is abundant evidence that vegetarian diets are more healthful than the average American diet, especially for preventing, treating or reversing heart disease and reducing the risk of cancer. Research has shown a low-fat vegetarian diet is the single most effective way to stop progression of coronary artery disease or prevent it altogether. Several other health conditions, such as diabetes, obesity, gallstones,and kidney stones,are much less common in vegetarians. The health benefits of a vegetarian diet may be linked to the fact that vegetarians tend to eat less animal fat, protein and cholesterol and more fiber and antioxidants. Simply put, the fewer animal foods and the more varied, whole plantfoods consumed, the healthier the individual will be compared to the general population.
