A vegetarian diet that requires the abstinence from meat and restricts animal products such as fats, milk and eggs can cause deficiencies in many vitamins and trace elements. This applies in particular to people starting out on this diet who are not yet familiar with the right choice of products, as well as women during puberty, pregnancy and lactation and those with excessive menstrual bleeding. Iron deficiency can be particularly dangerous for the health of these people and should therefore be supplemented with preparations containing this bio-element.
The multitude of factors having a decisive influence on the normal state of the human organism means that we are unable to eliminate all those having a negative effect. One of the most important factors influencing health is a correctly composed diet containing foods that provide all the necessary nutrients, vitamins and micro- and macroelements. In recent years, it has become increasingly popular to promote a healthy lifestyle, and one of its basic rules is a proper diet. Due to the fact that the average person's diet is most often a mixed diet and often contains too many fatty and hard-to-digest foods that provide a lot of calories and cause an excessive increase in cholesterol, thus increasing the risk of overweight and cardiovascular disease, an increasing number of people are choosing to change their diet to a vegetarian one. A large group of people switching to a vegetarian diet are young people, predominantly women. This is largely influenced by the desire to reduce calorie intake, dictated by the fashion for a slim figure.
Vegetarians are those who prefer a meat-free diet of plant-based products. These foods include, amongst others, fruit, vegetables, cereals, seeds (e.g. sunflower, pumpkin) as well as plant sprouts, nuts and mushrooms. Depending on the type of food allowed, several variations of the vegetarian diet can be distinguished.
Types of vegetarian diet:
- Veganism - vegans eat exclusively plant-based products; this can take two forms:
-
- Vitarianism - the extreme branch of vegetarianism, only raw vegetables and fruit are allowed to be eaten, not heat-treated
- Frutarianism - the most extreme form of vegetarianism, only fruit dishes and fruit juices are consumed
- Lacto-vegetarianism - the diet is plant-based, with the consumption of milk and milk products permitted
- Lactovegetarianism - eggs are introduced in addition to dairy products
- Pesco-vegetarianism - in addition to plant-based products, fish is permitted
- Semi-vegetarianism - small quantities of fish and poultry are allowed in addition to plant-based products
