While some people believe that the basic premise of being a vegetarian is simply not eating meat, this is simply not the case. Vegetarians must still ingest the recommended dietary nutritional requirements daily to live a healthy lifestyle. But, they must learn to make healthy substitutions within their diet to gain the same nutrients found in meat, poultry, fish and dairy products.

Vegetarian Types

There are several vegetarian types to become familiar with as each have different dietary requirements and beliefs.

Vegans. Vegans only eat plant based foods; they don’t eat any animal products, eggs or dairy products.

Lacto-Vegetarians. This group of vegetarians eat all food products with the exception of eggs, red meat, fish and poultry. They do consume milk and milk based products.

Lacto-ovo-vegetarians. This group of vegetarians eat eggs, milk and milk based products. But, they omit meat, poultry and fish.

Flexitarians. This group actually omits fish, poultry and meat the majority of the time, but they occasionally indulge.

Each of these vegetarian types must work to replace the nutrients lost from removing all of a portion of animal foods from their daily diets.

Meat Alternatives

There are a variety of foods that can be introduced into the diet that can act as meat alternatives, including tofu, soy and vegetable protein. Here are some recommendations of foods to add into a vegetarian’s diet that will help to replace some of the lost protein:

Milk. Soymilk, rice milk or even almond milk can replace that of cow’s milk, bringing some of the much needed protein and calcium into the diet.

Cheese. Vegetarians can use soy cheese of yeast flakes as alternatives to dairy cheese.

Eggs. Egg replacement products can provide the flavour and texture of eggs without the objection to animals.

In addition to these replacement suggestions for meat, there are certain nutrients that vegetarians should be aware of and should work to ensure that they are regularly introduced into the diet.

Nutrients to Observe in a Vegetarian Diet

Some of the common nutrient deficiencies within a vegetarian diet include:

• Protein. When vegetarians add dairy and egg products into their diet, they are less likely to develop a deficiency in protein. For those vegetarians who don’t eat eggs or dairy products, there are options available such as nuts, seeds, legumes, whole grains, soy products and meat substitutes that can bring protein into the body.
• Calcium. When a vegetarian removes all dairy products from their diet, they are increasing the chances that they will develop a calcium deficiency. And, calcium is essential to help build and maintain strong bones and teeth. Alternatives to dairy products that include calcium are collard greens, spinach, kale and broccoli. And, some soy and tofu products are fortified with calcium.
• Vitamin B 12. The only natural source of vitamin B12 is animal products. So, when these products are removed from the diet, it is essential to take a multi-vitamin or to select foods that have been fortified with the vitamin.
• Iron. Iron is important for proper red blood cell functioning. So, when animal products are removed from the diet, it becomes more important to select foods that are rich in iron such as dried beans, whole grain products, dark green leafy vegetables and lentils. Some dried fruits are rich sources of iron.
• Zinc. This mineral is important for cell and enzyme health and in the process of formulating proteins within the body. Vegetarians should consider choosing nuts, wheat germ, whole grains and soy products as substitutes for animal products lacking in the diet.