What do vegans and vegetarians eat and which diet is healthier? Vegans and vegetarians abstain from consuming animal products and rely on a diet consisting of vegetables and fruits.
While some variations of the vegetarian diet consume a few animal products, vegans strictly abstain from any animal product.
Veganism is the strict practice of eating neither meat nor other animal products such as milk, fish, eggs, and honey. It’s the practice of abstaining from consuming or using any animal product to protect animals across the world.
Vegans are people who avoid consuming or using any animal products. Vegetarians are people who do not consume animal flesh or in some cases, animal products.
Veganism vs vegetarianism highlights the strict practice, diet, and health benefits of being a vegan and a vegetarian.
Who Is a Vegan?
A vegan is someone who abstains from consuming or using any animal products. Vegans are those who follow the strict practice of veganism or philosophy.
Vegans follow a strict diet that tends to be higher in dietary fibre, folic acid, vitamins C & E, magnesium, and phytochemicals. Vegan diets also tend to be lower in dietary energy, cholesterol, saturated fat, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, calcium, vitamin B12, and zinc.
Strict vegans not only avoid consuming any animal products, but they also avoid any food containing gelatin or additives derived from animals. Strict vegans may also avoid drinking any wine, which may be produced by using methods that involve animal by-products.
In general, there are different categories of veganism.
Dietary vegans (also known as strict vegetarians) are those who follow strict diet and do not consume meat, eggs, any dairy products or other animal-derived substances.
There is also the ethical vegan, which refers to those who avoid any animal product in their diet and also avoid using animals, animal-tested products, and animal products for any purpose.
Environmental veganism is another term that refers to the act of avoiding animal products. The idea is to avoid all animal products as the industrial farming of animals is unsustainable and harmful to the environment.
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What Is Vegetarianism?
Vegetarianism involves the practice of following a vegetarian diet. It’s the practice of not consuming meat or all by-products of animal slaughter.
Vegetarians avoid consuming meat and in some cases abstain from consuming any by-product of animals.
Vegetarianism as a practice may be accepted by many for different reasons. People sometimes refuse to consume any animal product as a sign of respect for sentient animal life.
Vegetarianism is also adopted for health-related reasons, environmental, political, and cultural reasons. Other people may decide to follow the practice of vegetarianism based on their personal preferences.
In vegetarianism, there are several variations of the vegetarian diet, which include the ovo-lacto vegetarian diet, the ovo-vegetarian diet, and the lacto-vegetarian diet.
An ovo-lacto vegetarian diet menu includes eggs and dairy products. Ovo-lacto vegetarians abstain from consuming or using animal flesh but eat eggs and all dairy products.
An ovo-vegetarian diet menu comprises eggs but no dairy products. Ovo-vegetarians enjoy eating eggs but will avoid all other dairy products.
A lacto-vegetarian diet menu includes dairy products but no eggs. So lacto-vegetarians will consume any dairy products except animal flesh and eggs.
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Vegan vs Vegetarianism: Key Differences between Vegan and Vegetarianism
A vegan is a person who abstains from consuming or using any animal product, while vegetarianism is the practice of not consuming meat or all by-products of animal slaughter.
Vegans follow a strict diet that avoids consuming any meat, fish, eggs, milk, or honey. Vegans lack nutrients such as vitamin D, calcium and phosphorous as a result of abstaining from all animal products.
Although they lack a few nutrients, they maintain a good cholesterol level by not eating any animal products.
Vegan vs Vegetarianism: Vegan and Vegetarian Diet
Vegetarians avoid eating flesh and other animal products. Unlike vegans, the vegetarian diet may include eggs and dairy.
Here are the three types of vegetarians:
- Lacto-vegetarians: These are vegetarians who consume any dairy products except animal flesh and eggs.
- Ovo-lacto vegetarians: Ovo-lacto vegetarians abstain from consuming or using animal flesh, but eat eggs and all dairy products.
- Ovo-vegetarians: Ovo-vegetarians enjoy eating eggs but will avoid all other dairy products.
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Vegan Diet
Veganism is more of a strict practice of eating neither meat nor other animal products such as milk, fish, eggs, and honey. Their diet is strictly on not consuming any animal product or by-product of any kind.
Vegans will not eat anything derived from animal sources. A few subtypes of veganism include;
- Frugal or frugivorous: This is a diet mainly consisting of fruits and a small portion of nuts, seeds, and vegetables.
- Raw food: This is a diet that involves eating foods in their raw state.
Veganism is not only about following a strict diet, it’s more of a lifestyle. Some vegans avoid consuming any animal products because of environmental, political, and cultural reasons.
They prefer not to use any material derived from animals such as milk, dairy products, and even leather.
Vegan vs Vegetarianism: Which is More Healthier?
Since veganism and vegetarianism involve abstaining from consuming animal products, their health benefits are similar.
It’s really difficult to choose which diet is healthier than the other since both diets have their advantages and disadvantages.
For instance, vegans abstain from consuming any animal product or by-product, while lacto-vegetarians consume dairy products enriched with calcium, vitamin D, and phosphorous.
According to an article published on MedicalNewsToday.com, vegans are also likely to suffer from omega-3 fatty acid deficiency, specifically in EPA (Eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (Docosahexaenoic acid).
DHA (Docosahexaenoic acid) is an important omega-3 fatty acid that is essential for brain function. It also helps to avoid memory difficulty and brain fog.
While vegans may lack EPA and DHA, vegetarians obtain these omega-3 fatty acids from eggs and seafood.
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Vegan vs Vegetarianism: Risk and Consideration
Let’s look at the disadvantages of being a vegan or a vegetarian. Veganism and vegetarianism may have their health benefits but without a balanced diet may result in;
- Bone fractures, hormone disruptions, haemorrhagic stroke, lower energy levels, type 2 diabetes risk, heart diseases, weight changes, and increased depression.
Also, abstaining from animal products means that one has to look for a substitute to gain nutrients such as;
- Protein, omega-3 acids, iron, iodine, calcium, vitamins B2, B3, & D, and zinc.
Vegan vs Vegetarianism: Which is better for Weight Loss?
In general, vegans tend to have a lower BMI (body mass index) compared to vegetarians and omnivores. Since vegans abstain from consuming animal products, it explains why they have a lower BMI than vegetarians.
A medical observation conducted in 2018 shows that people on a vegan diet tend to lose more weight than vegetarians.
About 70 overweight adults were selected by researchers to participate in a 16-week weight loss diet plan. The participants will either have to follow a low-fat vegan diet or continue with theirs.
After four months, those in the vegan group lost more fats, especially in their abdomen compared to those in the other group.
So, following a vegan diet guarantees more weight loss than any other personal diet.
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Vegan vs Vegetarianism: Health Benefits
| Vegans | Vegetarians |
| Decrease blood pressure, cholesterol, insulin resistance, fasting blood sugar, and triglycerides | Weight management |
| Lower risk for obesity and overweight | Autoimmune disease |
| Improve heart function | Reduces heart disease |
| Reduce heart disease risk | Reduces the risk of having type 2 diabetes |
| Provide higher levels of anti-inflammatory compounds, antioxidants, and healthy fats | Inflammatory diseases |
Conclusion
Vegans are people who abstain from consuming or using any animal product, while vegetarianism is the practice of not consuming meat or all by-products of animal slaughter.
Being a vegan or vegetarian comes with its health benefits and disadvantages. Vegans and vegetarians may lack some nutrients as a result of abstaining from animal products, but they enjoy other health benefits such as improved heart disease and a lower risk of overweight and obesity.
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References
- Healthline.com: Vegan vs. Vegetarian: What’s the Difference?
- Health.com: A Guide to Vegetarian and Vegan Diets
