5 Types of Vegetarian Diets

As you have already clicked on the page, I assume you are researching the types of vegetarian diets. So, moving any further, let me assure you that you are on the right track. 

In the past, the vegetarian diet used to be as simple as black and white. People used to think the vegetarian diet is only about omitting the meat. But gone are those days. Nowadays, you will find around 50 different types of vegetarianism. 

Though all the vegetarianism categories focus mostly on plant-based diets, people nowadays want to experience different extents. Therefore more people are getting interested in different vegetarian categories rather than being merely straight-up vegetarians. 

Nowadays, what is more, important is the flexibility of diet elements. It plays a significant role in deciding how satisfied people will be. We always seek a choice of eating in a particular diet plan. Make sense why opting for a diet plan that strictly follows vegetarianism will make someone feel helpless and demotivated. That’s why the flexibility of inserting unconventional elements into the traditional vegetarian diet plan will encourage and motivate people more to balance life instead of the strict traditional one.  

As we talk about the flexibility of choice over what we eat, there are some common types of vegetarian diets. It is not surprising if anyone gets puzzled while researching the ideal diet plan that suits their food choice. 

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The five most common types of the vegetarian diet 

1.      Vegan diet

The vegan diet is a kind of diet that discourages all the food items derived from animals and fish, includes only plant-based foods. It is strict by nature and excludes foods like meats, fish, eggs, and dairy products. Even I find a lot of people omitting honey as it is derived from bees. 

A lot of reasons work behind the philosophy of the vegan diet. But most people think it is ethics that encourages mostly to adopt this diet. However, many solely plant-based food items are available for vegan people, including vegetables, seeds, nuts, fruits, beans, peas, etc. 

But don’t get confused if you see someone incorporating alternatives to non-veg foods like plant-based dairy products, egg substitutes, and meat substitutes such as tofu, seitan, and jackfruit.  

YDo you know what is more interesting about the vegan diet.

The vegan diet’s psychological impact has reached the extent that you will find many people who opted vegan diet also avoiding consumer products as cosmetics, leather shoes, and clothing containing animal-derived ingredients.   

Usually, it lacks some nutrients. Therefore, healthcare providers suggest vegans few supplements for vitamins and minerals. Mostly they recommend supplements for vitamin B12, omega-3 fats, iron, and zinc. 

2.      Flexitarian diet

A flexitarian diet is more of a flexible vegetarian diet, which allows mostly vegan foods while allowing a necessary but small amount of animal products at the same time. It focuses on capturing maximum advantages from both sources, but mostly from plant-based foods.

While including all plant-based foods, it allows a small amount of meat, eggs, and dairy products. This diet’s principles are getting proteins as much as possible from plants, consuming little sugar and animal products on very few occasions.   

As flexitarian consumes meats and animal-derived products occasionally, they will not be considered as a pure vegetarian. Nevertheless, this diet gives the freedom of designing one’s diet based on one lifestyle. 

3.      Ovo-vegetarian diet

The prefix ‘Ovo’ came from a Latin word that means ‘eggs’. An Ovo-vegetarian diet includes eggs but excludes dairy products, but includes vegetables, fruits, and other plant-based foods. 

Alongside meat and fish, the Ovo-vegetarian diet excludes all dairy products and other animal-derived foods or products but allows eggs with vegetables and fruits. The only difference from the vegetarian diet is the inclusion of eggs. So you can have egg dishes, hard-boiled eggs, eggs-baked foods like muffins, cakes and bread.

However, it excludes all other animal-derived foods and includes plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables, squashes, legumes, beans, seeds, spices, and herbs. It also includes grains such as rice, barley, and quinoa. 

It is a matter of fact that people follow an Ovo-vegetarian diet less than a vegan diet, Lacto-vegetarian diet, and lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet.  

4.      Lacto-vegetarian diet

Lacto-Vegetarian Diet includes plant-based foods and dairy products but excludes animal-derived foods, meat, fish, eggs. The dairy products include cheese, sour cream, butter, yogurt, and even ice cream. 

In a word, you can define Lacto-vegetarian is a plant-based diet that includes only dairy products. It is the most traditional type of diet around for a long time.

 Behind following the diet plan, people believe that religion and cultural influence plays a significant role. Mainly, people who strongly follow Jainism, Hinduism, and Buddhism follow the Lacto-vegetarian diet plan. 

5.      Lacto-ovo vegetarian diet

As mentioned earlier, the prefix ‘Lacto’ means dairy products, and ‘Ovo’ stands for eggs. You can get a rough idea that this a vegetarian diet that includes both eggs and dairy products.

Therefore, you would consume dairy products like milk, butter, ice-cream, mayonnaise, yogurt, ice-cream, etc. Among egg-derived foods, you can have cake, muffins, and other eggs-baked products.

But you can’t eat animal meat, fish, and the foods derived from these sources. Behind following this diet, there also works religious and cultural views. But it seems to be limited to Hinduism and Buddhism followers. 

Final Thoughts:

We have discussed above the most common five types of the vegetarian diet. People mostly follow these diets. The vegetarian diet improves health conditions and protects the environment as well. It also supports the movement of Animal-welfare. 

The different vegetarian diets exclude meat and fish but may or may not include dairy products, eggs alongside all the plant-based foods. 

All of them have a slightly different combination. For instance, a flexitarian diet emphasizes foods derived from plants alongside a small portion of animal products.

Whereas the vegan diet strictly prohibits all animal-derived foods and fish. It not only influences eating habits but also their behavior toward consumer products that have animal-derived ingredients.  So, choosing any vegetarian diet offer you a lot of health and ethical benefits. Before choosing a vegetarian diet, I would recommend you observe your health condition and find out which nutritional elements are vital for your survival and their availability.