If you thought vegan was just a short version of vegetarian, oh boy, have you been living under a rock. Sure, both diets don’t include meat, but vegan tends to be a bit more strict with its approach than vegetarianism. To know how to better differentiate the two, we’ve put together this comparison article for clarity on a vegetarian versus vegan diet.
A vegan diet is relatively newer than the vegetarian diet but has been gaining traction for the past couple of years now.
What is a Vegetarian Diet?
Per the Vegetarian Society, vegetarians are people who do not consume any meat, game, fish, poultry, fish, shellfish, or any by-products of animal slaughter, such as eggs, honey, dairy products like cheese, milk, and yogurt.
Vegetarian diets consist of a wide range of vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts, pulses, and grains, As well as any other “meat substitute” that can be included.
The vegetarian diet is less strict than the vegan diet and includes several variations of this kind of diet. Some of these variations include:
- Lacto-vegetarian:
People don’t consume eggs, meat, and fish but do eat dairy products like milk and cheese.
- Lacto-ovo-vegetarian:
For this type of diet, people don’t consume meat and fish but do consume dairy products and eggs.
- Pescatarian:
This is a seafood-based diet which means people avoid eating all types of meat except fish and other seafood. However, this diet is not viewed as traditionally vegetarian, and most people view it as semi-vegetarian or flexitarian.
- Ovo-vegetarian:
This diet involves people not consuming meat, fish, or any dairy products, but they do consume eggs.
Vegetarians don’t eat:
- Poultry, like chicken, turkey, and duck
- Any meat product such as beef, pork, and game
- Insects
- Fish and shellfish
- Stocks or fats that have been derived from animal slaughter
- Gelatine, rennet, and any other type of animal protein
Although they avoid meat, most vegetarians do consume by-products that don’t involve the slaughter of animals. Such items can be:
- Honey
- Eggs
- Dairy products like cheese, milk, and yogurt.
What Is a Vegan Diet?
A vegan diet is like a vegetarian diet, but more strict. It’s strict because it avoids the consumption of any animal products or even byproducts. Veganism pertains to a lifestyle that doesn’t include any materials that are derived from animals such as fur, leather, silk, and wool. This lifestyle also avoids the use of household products like soaps and cosmetics, especially if they are made with or tested on animals.
In short, vegans tend to avoid consuming any type of food or beverage that contain:
- Poultry,
- Eggs
- Fish and shellfish
- Insects
- Honey
- Fats or stock derived from animals
- Gelatin, rennet and other kinds of animal protein
Strict vegans will also take their principles beyond their diet And abstain from any product that involves the human use of animals. Such products can be:
- Wool
- Leather
- Beezwax
- Silk
- Cosmetics or any products that manufacturers or test on animals
- Latex products that include casein, which come from milk proteins
- Candles, soaps, and any other product that contains animal fat, like tallow.
Health Benefits
Numerous scientific studies reveal that both vegetarian and vegan diets offer a number of health benefits.
The effectiveness of a plant-based diet was examined in a 2017 study where 49 adults who are either overweight or obese had at least one of the following conditions:
- Ischemic heart disease
- Type 2 diabetes
- High cholesterol levels
- High blood pressure
Researchers assigned each participant a random diet, either a normal or low fat, plant-based diet program comprising of low fat, whole foods, which don’t involve any calorie counting or regular mandatory exercise. The two 2-hour sessions were also part of the intervention every week, in which the participants were provided with cooking training as well as education by doctors. Those of non-intervention didn’t attend any of these sessions.
During the 6-and 12-month intervals, the diet group participants had significant body mass index and cholesterol reductions compared to the normal care participants.
Then there is further evidence highlighted in a 2017 systematic review and meta-analysis which indicates that plant-based diets can help reduce levels of total cholesterol, high-density protein cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol.
A 2016 observational study showed that South Asian and American vegetarians were less likely to develop obesity than non-vegetarians.
So Which is Healthier?
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, as well as several other scientific reviews, suggest that both vegetarian and vegan diets are appropriate for all stages of life as long as each diet is planned and prepared accordingly. (Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4)
It has been reported that an insufficient intake of nutrients such as calcium, Omega-3 fatty acids, as well as vitamins D and B12 can have various effects on our health including physical and mental health. (Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4)
Both vegetarian and vegan diets might have lesser intakes of those aforementioned nutritions. However, vegetarians are said to consume slightly more calcium and vitamin B 12 than vegans. Nevertheless, both vegetarian and vegan diet practitioners have to pay special attention to nutrition strategies that help them increase the absorption of nutrition from plant foods.
