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Vegetarian Eating

Home > Staying Active and Eating Healthy Home > Special Food Issues > Vegetarian Eating

• About Vegetarian Eating
• Additional Resources

About Vegetarian Eating

You can get all the nutrients you need from a vegetarian eating plan by eating a variety of foods. But you may need to take extra steps to make sure that you are getting enough protein, iron, calcium, zinc, and vitamin B₁₂.

What extra steps you need to take depends on what type of vegetarian you are. Vegetarians fall into three groups:

• Vegans eat only plant-based foods. They do not eat any meat or animal products, including milk and eggs.
• Lacto-vegetarians consume milk and milk products along with plant-based foods. They do not eat eggs.
• Lacto-ovo vegetarians eat eggs and milk and milk products, in addition to plant-based foods.

Milk and milk products are good sources of calcium, vitamin B₁₂, and complete protein. Eggs are a good source of vitamin B₁₂ and complete protein. So if you don't eat milk or eggs, you need to look elsewhere for these nutrients.

By clicking on the links below, you can find lists of food sources for these nutrients, including non-animal sources:

• Protein
• Iron
• Calcium
• Zinc
• Vitamin B₁₂

Keep in mind that plants provide incomplete protein. In order to get all the amino acids your body needs, you have to eat a variety of plant foods. So, for instance, eating brown rice with beans will give you complete protein because each food contains the amino acids that the other food lacks.

With careful planning, vegetarian eating plans can be quite healthy. Because you are primarily eating foods from nonmeat sources, you tend to get less fat and cholesterol and more fiber than from meat-based eating plans.

Additional Resources

Publications

1.     Vegetarian Nutrition Resource List - This bibliography lists resources on vegetarian nutrition for the consumer. The resources include articles, pamphlets, books, and full-text materials on the World Wide Web.

   http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/pubs/bibs/gen/vegetarian07.pdf

2. Vegetarian Diets (Copyright © AHA) - This on line publications provides the reader with a definition of vegetarianism, and a brief explanation of the typical vegetarian diet.

   http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4777

Organizations

1.   Food and Nutrition Information Center, NAL, USDA
2.   Nutrition.Gov
3. American Dietetic Association
4. International Food Information Council
5. North American Vegetarian Society

= Indicates Federal Resources

Content last updated June 17, 2008.