There are different types of vegetarians which include the following:
Vegans
These are the ultimate vegetarians who do not consume any animal produce of any kind, so they exclude all meat, poultry, eggs, animal's milk, cheese, or any deriviative from the animal kingdom including honey.
Lacto-Vegetarian
These vegetarians eat dairy produce, plant produce, but exclude eggs from their diet.
Lacto-Ovo Vegetarians
These vegetarians eat dairy produce and plant produce and eggs.
Semi or Partial Vegetarians
These vegetarians follow health guidelines but not moral guidelines as they eat poultry and fish, plus dairy produce, plant produce and eggs. They see the exclusion of red meat as the only possible improvement to their life and well being because of its high levels of animal fats.
Pescetarians
These vegetarians again follow health guidelines but not moral guidelines as they eat fish, plus dairy produce, plant produce and eggs.
Soy
The diet of vegetarians focuses largely around soy protein. Soy comes from the soya bean which is seen as a complete source of protein which means that it contains significant amounts of all the essential amino acids that must be provided to the human body because of it's inability to synthesize them.
Soy protein is also low in fat so it is great for people on diets or who are health conscious. The soya bean can therefore replace meat as a protein substitute.
Soya milk is another source of protein which comes from the soya bean and is a substitute for cow's milk which is mainly used by vegetarians, vegans, lactose-intolerant and health conscious people. Calcium carbonate is added to the milk to make the calcium more easily absorbed by the body as well as other vitamins and minerals. Soya milk contains 25% more calcium than cow's milk. Some specially formulated soya milks are available for babies who are lactose intolerant.
95 % of the soy bean harvest is eaten by animals, so human beings only eat a very small amount of the soy bean crop, and therefore is very neglected in our diets.
Soy beans are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (the healthly fats), including omega 3, and they are cholesterol free and they contain fibre, calcium and iron, therefore they contain less of the saturated fat that is found in dairy milk. Soya milk is a wonderful food that can be used safely to eliminate dairy milk in our diet. Of course the amount of cow's milk that is consumed daily means that the abuse of cows is magnified beyond belief and cows suffer every day, having their milk, which is meant for their calves only, forcibly pumped out of them. This is cruel and totally uneccessary.
Of course soya milk is now widely sold in supermarkets and included in yoghurt, desserts, cream, milkshakes and ice creams, (MORE ABOUT THIS LATER). The enzyme necessary for digestion of milk is lactase.
20% of Caucasians and up to 90% of people of African and Asian descent have no lactase in their intestines - thus, cannot digest it properly at all and lactic acid is a toxin produced by the consumption of cow's milk.
Soy Beans
Vegan Sheese
The vegan alternative to dairy cheese is called sheese. In 1988 Bute island foods in Scotland starting making their own sheese, now they have a great variety of different types and flavours of sheese, both soft and hard. For vegans and vegetarians sheese is a very good food made from soya, vinegar, oats, yeast extract and natural thickeners and is recommended to replace dairy cheese. If you cannot find this in your supermarket, your local health food store will stock this. Try different varieties and make the effort to find sheese to suit your taste buds.
Soya Milk for Babies and Children
Breastmilk is still the very best nutrition for your baby. Babies now have an alternative formula to cow's milk when breastfeeding ceases. There is a vegan soya infant formula available on the market, three of the largest baby food companies now sell vegan soya formula.
Kelp
Kelp is a very important part of our diet. It regulates the thyroid gland and balances our metabolism. The vegetarian diet, because of the lack of seafoods, which are readily rich in iodine means that vegetarians can be deficient in this very important mineral. However this problem is easily remedied by taking a kelp tablet everyday, which can be brought from supermarkets, chemists or health food stores.
Kelp Cacao
Chocolate
Most children and adults love chocolate. Of course vegetarians can eat milk chocolate, although vegans do not. The commercial chocolate readily sold in shops, is a long way from the original chocolate source. Vegans need to find their food free from all animal ingredients, this leads us nearer to a natural and healthier diet. Vegan chocolate can be made from a high percentage of cocoa beans without the dairy content but this can effect some people detrimentally with migraines or other unpleasant after effects. One chocolate substitute vegans eat is carob, this comes from a mediterranean tree. The carob nut or pod is naturally sweet and is a highly nutritious food being full of vitamins and minerals, vitamin B1, niacin, vitamin a, vitamin B2, calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, manganese, chromium, copper, nickel, protein and fibre.carob has 3 times more calcium than chocolate, one third of the calories, and 17 times less fat. The vegan diet is also enriched by raw chocolate. This is chocolate in its natural form which comes from an amazonian tree, the cacao beans are the nut of the chocolate tree and the raw cacao nibs can be brought in health food stores and this rich chocolate food can be eaten in bars or the nibs can be added to other dessets, etc, again the cacoa nibs are extremely nutritous, full of vitamins and minerals, rich in sulphur and magnesium, mildly anti-depressant and anti-oxidant to help prevent disease. please be aware of an important health warning for dog owners, all chocolate can be poisonous to dogs but cacao is highly toxic to dogs and can cause kidney failure.
Carob pods
Quorn
Quorn is the biggest commercial company that sells only vegetarian foods, targeting both vegetarians and the health conscious, providing them with foods that are high in protein but also low in fat.
The main ingredient in their products is a mycoprotein which is a mushroom protein. Mycoprotein is made by the continual fermentation of the fungusFusarium gramineuru afterwards free range eggs are then added to create the final product. There are many products in the Quorn range such as burgers, sausages, pieces, mince, fillets, etc.
These products are a great substitute for meat and some of the products are an excellent source of protein such as their quarter pounders which have a massive 20g of protein per burger which is great for people looking to build muscle. For more information on mycoprotein visit what is mycoprotein?
Wheat Protein
Wheat protein is a derivative of wheat gluten and it is assembled to look and taste like meat. It is more similar in texture to meat than mycoprotein.
Realeat
Realeat is a vegan friendly mince made out of soya and other vegetable proteins. It is an excellent food for reducing cholestorel and because it is low in saturated fats it is great for a well balanced and healthy diet.
Vegetarian Diets
Carob pods
