Vegetarian Diet Overview

Vegetarian-diet - Click to learn more

Overview

Type:

Balanced.

Resembles these U.S. News-rated diets:

Vegan Diet, Eco-Atkins

The aim:

Depends, but may include weight loss, heart health, and diabetes prevention or control.

The claim:

Going vegetarian could help shed pounds and fend off chronic diseases.

The theory:

You can cook up a perfectly healthy, meat-free menu that supports weight loss and reduces the risk of heart disease and diabetes.

How does the Vegetarian Diet work?

Well, which kind of vegetarian do you want to be? Most choose a lacto-ovo approach, turning their backs on meat, fish, and poultry but still eating dairy products and eggs. (Lacto-vegetarians, meanwhile, also nix eggs, whereas ovo-vegetarians also nix dairy; vegans exclude all animal products.) For the lacto-ovo camp, the government’s 2010 Dietary Guidelines can help you develop a healthy plan. You can skip over the first 80 pages and just figure out how many meatless calories you should eat (Appendix 6, page 78) and where they ought to come from (Appendix 8, page 81) to get all the nutrients you need.