What does being a vegetarian mean?
Vegetarianism is the approach of eating a diet composed generally or entirely of foodstuff that is derived from plant sources (such as grains, nuts, fruit and vegetables). A vegetarian can as a result broadly be referred to as an individual who does not ingest meat, fish, poultry or any slaughterhouse by-product such as gelatin – especially for moral, religious, political or health reasons. Environmentalism and vegetarianism are also often practised together.
That being said, vegetarians are sometimes sub-categorised by the sort of foodstuffs they are or are not happy to eat. Of course, vegetarian meal plans can vary broadly and there a wide range of different kinds of vegetarians.
Semi-vegetarians
Semi-vegetarian eating regimes comprise mostly of vegetarian foods, but can include fish or poultry, or some other meats on an intermittent basis.
In such cases, the vegetarians involved are likely to define “meat” only as mammalian tissue. A pescetarian diet, for instance, is said consist of fish, but not meat – so there is evidently believed to be a big difference between the two.
The common use association and misunderstanding involving such diets and true vegetarianism has directed vegetarian communities (for instance the Vegetarian Society) to say that diet plans comprising these foods aren’t in truth vegetarian, attributable to fish and birds being animals.
Ovo-vegetarians
Here, the diet plan includes eggs, but excludes dairy products.
Ethical motivations for excluding dairy products correspond with worries with the industrial practices. For example, the practice of trying to keep a cow continually pregnant in order for her to lactate and the killing of unwanted male calves. Other sorts of worries are the standard practice of splitting up the mother from her calf and denying the calf its natural source of milk.
This contrasts with the industrial practices surrounding egg-laying hens, which create eggs for human intake without being fertilized. However, ovo-vegetarians generally opt for free-range eggs, in particular those made by uncaged hens.
People that practice ovo vegetarianism are classified as ovo-vegetarians or “eggetarians.”
Lacto-vegetarian
A lacto vegetarian (occasionally referred to as a lactarian) food lifestyle consists of dairy products (for example milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, cream etc), but excludes eggs. Lacto-vegetarians also avoid cheeses that have animal rennet and yogurts that have gelatin.
The reasoning behind and exercise of lacto-vegetarianism amidst a significant number of people emanates from ancient India and was to begin with based on faith. To this day, lacto-vegetarian eating habits are typically favoured by several fans of Eastern religious ways of life such as Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism, and Buddhism. The core notion driving a lacto-vegetarian diet is the law of ahimsa, or non-violence.
Ovo-lacto vegetarian
An ovo-lacto vegetarian (or lacto-ovo vegetarian) is a vegetarian who does not eat animal flesh of any sort, but is willing to have dairy and egg products. This way of vegetarianism, as with the others, is usually encouraged by moral objections. Even so, the inclusion of dairy and egg products is allowed on the basis that they do not involve the killing of the animals (though turn to the objections of ovo-vegetarians and lacto-vegetarians respectively on the treatment of dairy cows and hens).
In the Western world, ovo-lacto vegetarians are the most common type of vegetarian. Usually, when an individual uses the term “vegetarian”, an ovo-lacto vegetarian is presumed.
Vegan
Veganism is the individual practice of wiping out the use and intake of animal products. A vegan diet thereby excludes all animal products, including eggs, dairy and honey.
Furthermore, veganism is apt also to exclude animal products even where these do not involve the demise of the animal (for example wool). In comparison, a large number of vegetarians simply do not wear clothes made of leather, fur, or any type of animal product which necessitated the death of the animal.
Ethical vegans deny the commodity status of animals and the use of animal products for any purpose, while dietary vegans or strict vegetarians remove them from their diet only.
The expression “vegan” was created in England in 1944 by Donald Watson, co-founder of the British Vegan Society, to mean “non-dairy vegetarian“; the society additionally opposed the use of eggs as food. It extended its definition in 1951 to mean “the doctrine that man should live without exploiting animals,” and in 1960 H. Jay Dinshah started the American Vegan Society, linking veganism to the Jainist concept of ahimsa, the avoidance of violence against living things.
Veganism is a small, but thriving, movement. In 2007, 2% of the British population called themselves vegans.
The Vegetarian Society
The Vegetarian Society is an educational charity “working to support, represent and increase the number of vegetarians in the UK”. Established in 1847, it is the oldest vegetarian organisation on this planet.
Diet and supplementation
If you’re a vegetarian or vegan, you’ll perhaps know how tough it is sometimes to make sure that you receive all of the vitamins, minerals and nutrients that you need each day.
Plant-based diets lead to specific health challenges should be borne in mind. Such as, they often have a notably low intake of protein (not surprisingly), vitamin B12, vitamin D, calcium, iron, zinc and omega-3 fatty acids. There are also certain nutrients (most notably B12) that are observed chiefly in animal-based products or are not assimilated as well in their plant form.
Step 1
The first thing is to attempt to plan a nutritious and balanced eating routine, which mirrors both the advantages and the difficulties of a vegetarian or vegan way of living. In case you are finding it too hard to maintain the necessary level of calories and/or protein (for example, you may not like legumes!), you could look at dietary supplementation.
Meal replacement powders and protein powders are great ways to improve the nutritional content of a vegetarian or vegan diet and make sure that you are getting all of the protein, healthy calories, vitamins and minerals you must have on a daily basis.
Try our great dairy and gluten free meal replacement, MEALtime Protein Drink. MEALtime is a soya-based protein drink liquid meal full of top quality protein, complex carbohydrates and nutrients. This protein drink powder (with added psyllium husks for colon detoxification and cleansing), is the perfect solution for vegetarians and vegans seeking to maintain the best possible nutrient intake and high levels of energy. On top of that, it is dairy and gluten free, which makes it suitable for those that have very sensitive stomachs and people who suffer from coeliac disease and dairy allergies.
The 2nd step
The second step is to observe your weight. A typical issue is that, oftentimes, vegetarians and vegans don’t take in sufficient calories or protein to keep up their weight. Again, if your are finding it tricky to meet these requirements through food, dietary supplementation (through meal replacements, protein powders or health supplements) can provide a fast and straightforward way to top-up on nutrients.
The 3rd step
The third step is to get some exercise regularly.
Vegetarian and vegan diets can be perfectly healthy, but care needs to be taken to ensure optimum nutritional content. Let us help you do that! Visit Specialist Supplements Ltd at www.specialistsupplements.co.uk.