Are You A Vegan?

Many people think that vegetarians are those people that just do not eat meat or other animal products (excluding milk and milk products). However, in effect there are many different types of vegetarians depending upon their eating habits.

A vegetarian is generally the one who does not eat meat. However, vegetarians do conceivably eat dairy products such as milk, eggs and cheese. They can further be of the following types:

1. A “lacto-ovo” vegetarian: They are those who do not eat meat, fish or poultry, but do consume milk, milk products such as cheese, and also eggs.

2. “Lacto-vegetarians” consume milk and various milk products, but do not eat eggs.

3. Pure vegans are those who do not consume animal products in any form, including dairy products. They eat only vegetables(raw or cooked), fruits, nuts, grains, pulses and legumes. They also do not use animal products in other forms, such as leather in shoes, purses, bags etc. They are also believed to not consume white sugar because it is often said to be processed with a substance, which is derived from animal bones for whitening the sugar.

There are other categories within the vegetarian community as follows:

* Fruitarians: They are those people who eat only fruit. Their rationale is, fruits are in themselves self-perpetuating and are not required to be planted to produce more food. They consider it the best way of eating, which is most consistent and in balance and harmony with the nature.

All of the them do eat cooked vegetables, fruit and legumes. There is also a growing notion towards eating only raw or naturally occurring foods. This is based on the assumption that cooking of food products results in loss of most of the nutrients out of it due to heating while cooking, and to get all the nutritional value, vitamins and amino acids from food, it is always better to consume it raw, or in the form of juice. If cooked at all, it should only be cooked to a temperature slightly over 100 degrees, so the nutrients are not destroyed.

All these diet notions and beliefs does not mean, you need to switch to them instantaneously. The more restrictive and strict you become with your diet, the more educated you need to be in order to be sure that you are getting all the necessary proteins and vitamins that you require to maintain good health, especially for your muscles and heart’s health.