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A vegetarian diet is one that does not include any meat or seafood. However, there are many variations to this – some people following a vegetarian diet may eat eggs and dairy foods, while others may avoid one or both.

A vegan diet is another form of vegetarianism where only plant foods are eaten and all foods from animal sources are avoided (meat, seafood, dairy, eggs and sometimes honey and gelatine).

Vegetarian diets can have many health benefits. They can offer all the essential vitamins and minerals necessary for a long and healthy life provided they are well-planned.

Breastfeeding mothers and children who have a vegetarian diet need to take particular care to make sure they get all the essential nutrients they need for healthy growth and development.
Types of vegetarian diets

Although ‘vegetarian’ usually means ‘plant-based’ there are a few different types of vegetarian diets. What version of vegetarian diet a person follows depends on many things including health, environmental, ethical, religious or economic reasons.

The main types of vegetarianism are:

Lacto-ovo-vegetarian – people who do not eat any meat and seafood, but include dairy foods (such as milk), eggs and plant foods
Lacto-vegetarian – people who do not eat meat, seafood and eggs, but include dairy foods and plant foods
Ovo-vegetarian – people who do not eat meat, seafood and dairy foods, but include eggs and plant foods
Vegan – people who avoid all animal foods and only eat plant foods.

Two other diets that are not strictly vegetarian but still focus on reducing or limiting the amount of animal products eaten are:

Pescetarian – people who do not eat any meat, but include seafood, dairy foods, eggs and plant foods
Flexitarian – people who mainly have a plant-based diet but that sometimes includes small portions of meat and seafood; sometimes also called ‘semi-vegetarian’.

People following pescetarian or flexitarian diets often do so to get the health benefits of eating a largely vegetarian diet without giving up meat entirely.
Health benefits of a vegetarian diet

A well-balanced vegetarian or vegan diet can provide many health benefits, such as a reduced risk of chronic diseases, including:

obesity
coronary heart disease
hypertension (high blood pressure)
diabetes
some types of cancer.

Vegetarians and vegans also have lower rates of illness and death from some degenerative diseases.
Meeting nutritional needs on a vegetarian diet

If you choose to be vegetarian or vegan, plan your diet to make sure it includes all the essential nutrients. This is even more important if you are pregnant, planning a pregnancy, breastfeeding or have young children following a vegetarian diet. Eating a wide variety of foods will make it easier to meet your nutritional requirements.

Essential nutrients that are harder to obtain in a vegetarian diet, if not carefully planned – include protein, some minerals (especially iron, calcium and zinc), vitamin B12 and vitamin D.
Protein sources for vegetarians

Protein is essential for many bodily processes, including tissue building and repair. Protein is made up of smaller building blocks called amino acids. These amino acids are classed as non-essential (can be made by the body) and essential (must be obtained through the diet).

A ‘complete’ protein has all the nine essential amino acids necessary for dietary needs. Most plant foods, however, are not complete proteins – they only have some of the nine essential amino acids. Soy products, quinoa and amaranth seeds are some of the few exceptions of a complete vegetable protein.

It was once thought that vegetarians and vegans needed to combine plant foods at each meal to ensure they consumed complete proteins (for example, baked beans on toast). Recent research has found this is not the case.

Consuming various sources of amino acids throughout the day should provide the complete complement of protein. Generally, if energy (kilojoules or calorie) intake is sufficient, vegetarian diets can meet or exceed their protein requirements, but some vegan diets may be low in protein.

Some good vegetarian sources of protein include:

legumes (such as beans, peas and lentils)
nuts and seeds
soy products (including soy beverages, tempeh and tofu)
whole (cereal) grains (such as oats and barley)
pseudo-cereals (such as quinoa and amaranth)

It’s recommended that vegetarians and vegans eat legumes and nuts daily, along with wholegrain cereals and pseudo-cereals, to ensure adequate nutrient intakes.