Whilst only a small percentage of our population follow a vegetarian diet, this way of eating has become more and more popular over the years. These days, many meat eaters can appreciate the health and environmental benefits of eating a meat free meal one or two nights a week. If you’re interested in becoming a vegetarian, already are a vegetarian, or just looking to have a little less meat in your life, read on to learn more about the different types of vegetarian diets, the health benefits of this diet, important nutrients to consider, and how to achieve a healthy, balanced diet without meat.
Types of vegetarian diets
These include:
- Lacto-ovo vegetarians: include eggs and dairy, but exclude animal flesh
- Lacto-vegetarians: include dairy, but exclude eggs and animal flesh
- Ovo-vegetarians: include eggs, but not dairy or animal flesh
Vegans exclude all animal-derived foods including eggs, dairy, honey and gelatin.
Health benefits
Research shows that the key benefit of following a vegetarian diet is heart health – vegetarians generally have lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and have lower blood pressure than meat eaters. Other benefits include a lower body weight and lower rate of cancer. This is most likely due to the reduced intake of saturated fat in the vegetarian diet, and the higher intake of vitamins, minerals and fibre from the consumption of fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds, wholegrains and legumes (beans, lentils, chickpeas). Despite this, it is important to take into account that vegetarians tend to have healthy lifestyles, in general they are more physically active, non-smokers, drink less alcohol, and are more aware of their diet, which may account for these health benefits.
Nutrients to consider
Below is a list of the key nutrients that can be lacking in vegetarian diets, and some of their food sources:
- Protein: legumes, dairy foods, eggs, nuts, seeds, soy foods (tofu, tempeh, soy milk, soy yoghurt), wholegrains
- Iron: legumes, tofu, tempeh, nuts, seeds, green leafy vegetables, dried fruit, eggs, wholegrains
- Calcium: dairy foods, calcium fortified milks, almonds, brazil nuts, sesame seeds, unhulled tahini, figs, Asian greens, kale, broccoli, tofu set in calcium
- Zinc: legumes, wholegrains, nuts, seeds, eggs, cheese, milk, soy products
- Omega-3: flaxseed oil, chia seeds, chia oil, walnuts, linseeds
- Vitamin B12: diary foods, eggs
A healthy vegetarian diet
As can be seen above, a healthy vegetarian diet does require careful planning to ensure the diet is nutritious and varied. A healthy vegetarian diet is made up of a range of wholegrains, fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds, and dairy and eggs depending on the type of vegetarian diet.
Some of my popular vegetarian recipes include:
For more individual and tailored advice, I recommend seeing an Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD). For more information head to http://www.daa.asn.au
