Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a vegan.
Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat. It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. A person who practices vegetarianism is known as a vegetarian.
Vegetarian cuisine is based on food that meets vegetarian standards by not including meat and animal tissue products.
A food pyramid is a representation of the optimal number of servings to be eaten each day from each of the basic food groups. The first pyramid was published in Sweden in 1974. The 1992 pyramid introduced by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) was called the "Food Guide Pyramid" or "Eating Right Pyramid". It was updated in 2005 to "MyPyramid", and then it was replaced by "MyPlate" in 2011.
A lacto-vegetarian diet is a diet that abstains from the consumption of meat as well as eggs, while still consuming dairy products such as milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, ghee, cream, and kefir, as well as honey.
A flexitarian diet, also called a semi-vegetarian or fauxtarian diet, is one that is centered on plant foods with limited or occasional inclusion of meat. For example, a flexitarian might eat meat only some days each week. Flexitarian is a portmanteau of the words flexible and vegetarian, signifying its followers' less strict diet pattern when compared to vegetarian pattern diets.
In nutrition, diet is the sum of food consumed by a person or other organism. The word diet often implies the use of specific intake of nutrition for health or weight-management reasons. Although humans are omnivores, each culture and each person holds some food preferences or some food taboos. This may be due to personal tastes or ethical reasons. Individual dietary choices may be more or less healthy.
A plant-based diet is a diet consisting mostly or entirely of plant-based foods. Plant-based diets encompass a wide range of dietary patterns that contain low amounts of animal products and high amounts of fiber-rich plant products such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. They do not need to be vegan or vegetarian, but are defined in terms of low frequency of animal food consumption.
Vegetarian nutrition is the set of health-related challenges and advantages of vegetarian diets.
The practice of vegetarianism is strongly linked with a number of religious traditions worldwide. These include religions that originated in India, such as Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism. With close to 85% of India's billion-plus population practicing these religions, India remains the country with the highest number of vegetarians in the world.
Ovo vegetarianism is a type of vegetarianism which allows for the consumption of eggs but not dairy products, in contrast with lacto vegetarianism. Those who practice ovo vegetarianism are called ovo-vegetarians. "Ovo" comes from the Latin word for egg.
Vegetarian and vegan dietary practices vary among countries. Differences include food standards, laws, and general cultural attitudes toward vegetarian diets.
Many dietary recommendations have been proposed to reduce the risk of cancer, few have significant supporting scientific evidence. Obesity and drinking alcohol have been correlated with the incidence and progression of some cancers. Lowering the consumption of sweetened beverages is recommended as a measure to address obesity.
Animal source foods (ASF) include many food items that come from an animal source such as fish, meat, dairy, eggs and honey. Many individuals consume little ASF or even none for long periods of time by either personal choice or necessity, as ASF may not be accessible or available to these people.
Pescetarianism is a dietary practice in which seafood is the only source of meat in an otherwise vegetarian diet. The inclusion of other animal products, such as eggs and dairy, is optional. According to research conducted from 2017 to 2018, approximately 3% of adults worldwide are pescetarian.
Vegan nutrition refers to the nutritional and human health aspects of vegan diets. A well-planned vegan diet is suitable to meet all recommendations for nutrients in every stage of human life. Vegan diets tend to be higher in dietary fiber, magnesium, folic acid, vitamin C, vitamin E, and phytochemicals; and lower in calories, saturated fat, iron, cholesterol, long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, calcium, zinc, and vitamin B12.
Non-vegetarian food contains meat, and sometimes, eggs. The term is common in India, but not usual elsewhere. In the generally vegetarian environment of India, restaurants offering meat and fish usually have a "non-vegetarian" section of their menu, and may include the term in their name-boards and advertising. When describing people, non-vegetarians eat meat and/or eggs, as opposed to vegetarians. But in India, consumption of dairy foods is usual for both groups.
Jacques Louis Buttner was a French American physician and vegetarianism activist.
Alexander Haig was a Scottish physician, dietitian and vegetarianism activist. He was best known for pioneering the uric-acid free diet.
