A Vegetarian Diet Promotes Good Heart Health

A Vegetarian Diet Promotes Good Heart Health

Phil Mickelson, Hank Aaron, Faith Hill and Paul McCartney share a common bond. In fact, Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin and Charlotte Bronte also shared the same bond. Each of them is important in a different way – golfer, scientist, writer, singer, baseball player – but their common denominator is vegetarianism. Each became a vegetarian for a reason. Whether it was to be humane to animals, maintain good health or for religious reasons, they all decided to forego meat and maintain a plant-based diet. Whatever the reason, vegetarian diets promote good heart health.

In brief, a vegetarian diet is one that avoids all animal flesh. The vegetarian diet is rich in fruits and vegetables, legumes, nuts and other protein-rich foods. A vegetarian diet is also one laden with grains. There are four different categories of vegetarianism. These include the vegan, the lacto-vegetarian, the ovo-vegetarian and the lacto-ovo vegetarian. Vegans exclude all animal flesh, eggs, or dairy products including foods that contain these products. The vegan diet includes all beans, legumes, vegetables and fruits, grains and the infinite number of foods made by combining them. Many vegans do not eat processed foods using animal products, such as refined white sugar. A lacto-vegetarian diet allows dairy products such as milk, cheese, yogurt and butter while excluding animal flesh and eggs. In the ovo-vegetarian diet, eggs are included but not dairy products. The last type of vegetarian is a lacto-ovo vegetarian. The lacto-ovo vegetarian diet includes both eggs and dairy products. Finally, because vegetarian diets exclude animal flesh and restrict eggs and dairy, it can be difficult to ensu...

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