Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of

Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter.
Vegetarianism may be adopted for various reasons. Many people object to eating meat out of respect for sentient animal life. Such ethical motivations have been codified under various religious beliefs as well as animal rights advocacy. Other motivations for vegetarianism are health-related, political, environmental, cultural, aesthetic, economic, taste-related, or relate to other personal preferences. Preference for vegetarian foods can also be linked to one's own socio-economic status and evolutionary factors.
There are many variations of the vegetarian diet: an ovo-lacto vegetarian diet includes both eggs and dairy products, an ovo-vegetarian diet includes eggs but not dairy products, and a lacto-vegetarian diet includes dairy products but not eggs. As the strictest of vegetarian diets, a vegan diet excludes all animal products, including eggs and dairy.

Maintenance of a vegetarian diet can be challenging. While avoidance of animal products may provide health and ethical benefits, if all such products are shunned, dietary supplements will be necessary in order to prevent nutritional deficiency; in particular vitamin B12. Packaged and processed foods may contain minor quantities of animal ingredients.^[2][6] While some vegetarians scrutinize product labels for such ingredients, others do not object to consuming them, or are unaware of their presence At present more and more people become vegetarians or even vegans and it is not always clear if it is their conscious decision or just a desire to move with the times when it is fashionable to refrain from meat. Anyway, the fact is that the number of people who want to avoid eating meat and other products of animal origin is increasing. Nevertheless, many of them are still not informed very well about the subject.There are different types of vegetarianism and after you learn more about them, you might select the one suitable for you. We already mentioned vegans. This type is the most restrictive. Vegans do not eat meat, fish, dairy products and any other ingredients of animal origin. They even avoid honey, gelatine and do not buy silk or wool as these materials are taken from animals as well.

Then there are lacto-vegetarians. These people do not eat meat, fish or eggs but they consume dairy products. Ovo-vegetarians, on the other hand, consume only eggs from animal protein. Next, there are vegetarians who eat poultry and fish and these sorts are named pollotarian and pescatarian respectively. 

Have you found any of these types suitable for you? If not, you can try to become flexitarian at first. This type of vegetarianism is perfect for those who just start avoiding animal protein and not sure if he/she can do it. Flexitarians limit the consumption of meat and other by-products; nevertheless, they may eat them from time to time. This type is considered to be the least restricted Vegetarianism encompasses several dietary patterns including the complete exclusion of meat, fish, and dairy produce (veganism), exclusion of meat and fish with inclusion of dairy products and eggs (ovo-lacto-vegetarianism), the exclusion of all meat except fish (pesco-vegetarianism), and only excluding meat from the diet. Vegetarian diets have been associated with specific health benefits (Chiu et al., 2014; Dinu et al., 2016; Glick-Bauer and Yeh, 2014; Huang et al., 2016; Orlich et al., 2015; Sabate and Wien, 2015; Tonstad et al., 2013; Wang et al., 2015). However, exclusion of major food groups from the diet incurs a potential risk of marginal status or deficiency of nutrients that are found predominately or exclusively in the excluded foods. For example, exclusion of meat and fish from the diet may lead to suboptimal intakes of vitamin B₁₂ and of the longer-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3). Lower EPA and DHA intakes and status have been associated with increased risk of cardiovascular and inflammatory disease (Calder, 2015; Calder and Yaqoob, 2009; Harris and Von Schacky, 2004). Thus there is an apparent paradox between the health benefits associated with vegetarian diets and increased disease risk associated with low EPA and DHA intakes. One potential explanation for the apparent health benefits of vegetarian diets despite low EPA and DHA intakes is that conversion of α-linolenic acid (ALA, 18:3n-3) to n-3 LCPUFA increases when intakes of preformed EPA and DHA are low. Moreover, the developing central nervous system requires adequate accumulation of DHA for optimal function (Lauritzen et al., 2016). Thus there is a potential risk of low maternal DHA status leading to developmental deficits in children of vegetarian mothers. The purpose of this review is to examine the evidence of the effect of vegetarian diets on EPA and

DHA status in adults and to assess whether EPA and DHA synthesis may be increased in individuals who consume a vegetarian diet. egetarianism may be adopted by some athletes to achieve an ideal body composition or weight. With constant monitoring and nutrient assessment, an athlete can achieve their goal safely and effectively by following a well-planned vegetarian diet. However, female vegetarians, especially vegans, may be at a greater risk for the female athlete triad, which encompasses disordered eating, amenorrhea, and osteoporosis . There is no causal relationship shown between vegetarianism and disordered eating, but young women with anorexia nervosa more frequently adopt a vegetarian diet [10,39]. With the lower intakes of iron, calcium, dietary fat, and energy associated with vegetarian diets, female vegetarian athletes may have a higher risk of developing the female athlete triad. Vegan and vegetarian diets

Vegetarianism and veganism have increased in popularity and are growing social movement. Generally, vegetarians do not eat meat, poultry or fish but typically eat eggs and dairy foods. Vegans refrain from eating any animal-derived products and may extend this to other aspects of life e.g., avoiding use of animal-sourced clothing, medicines or household products. The prevalence of vegetarianism ranges from 5% in the US/UK and 8% in Canada, to 30% in India (Paslakis et al., 2020) which may be largely attributed to strict Hindus being lacto-vegetarians (vegetarian but includes dairy). In Europe, the prevalence of vegetarianism is on the rise. While specific data on adolescents are scarce, there has been an apparent rise in interest in young people according to social media and campaigns by vegan/vegetarian organizations. In a national health survey in Germany, 6% of girls and 2% of boys aged 14–17 years reported eating a vegetarian-type diet (Schürmann et al., 2017).

Both the British Dietetic Association and the US Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics agree that vegetarian and vegan diets are appropriate at all stages of the life cycle, although this is not a universal view and expert bodies from some European countries have raised concerns about vegan diets in younger age groups.
The Spanish Pediatric Association suggest that is it safe to follow a vegetarian diet at any age but advise young children to follow an omnivorous diet or at the very least, an ovo-lacto-vegetarian diet (Redecillas-Ferreiro et al., 2020). With any restrictive diet, inadequate intakes can occur and vegetarianism or veganism are no different. There are a number of nutrients that may be a cause for concern if the diet is not adequately planned. Firstly, protein quality is a concern. While soy protein has a high digestibility, this is not the case for protein in cereals, pulses, nuts and seeds which need to be combined to ensure a broad range of essential amino acids. Hence vegan adolescents will require more protein or specific combinations of protein-rich foods than their vegetarian or omnivorous peers (Agnoli et al., 2017). Another issue in vegetarian and vegan diets relates to omega-3 fatty acids. Oily fish is an excellent source of very long chain omega-3 fatty acids, such as eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid which are incorporated directly into body cells and which support the synthesis of anti-inflammatory immune compounds. Vegetarian and vegan sources of alpha-linolenic acid—a shorter chain omega-3 fatty acid—include nuts, seeds, dark green vegetables, soya products and rapeseed oil. Alpha-linolenic acid must be converted into eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid in the body but the process is inefficient and inhibited by the amount of omega-6 fatty acids in the diet. Thus, plasma levels of very long chain omega-3 fatty acids are often lower in vegetarians and vegans compared with fish and meat eaters, although the health implications of this are unclear.

There are a number of minerals and vitamins that are essential for adolescents but may not be supplied in sufficient quantities by a vegetarian or vegan diet. Iodine can be found in plant foods but levels vary depending on soil quality. In general, foods tend to be higher in iodine if they are grown closer to the ocean. Vegans are advised not to use seaweed or kelp as a source of iodine but to consider a dietarysupplement.

For calcium, tofu and calcium-enriched milk alternatives are excellent sources as well as kale, wholegrain bread (fortified) and sesame seeds and almonds. Spinach is high in calcium but is poorly absorbed as the calcium is bound to oxalate. In contrast, the absorption of calcium from low-oxalate founds such as broccoli, kale and cauliflower can be up to 50%. Iron, which will be discussed in more detail later, is another mineral of particular concern for adolescents. Vegetarian diets mostly consist of non-heme sources of iron which is not as efficiently absorbed as heme sources of iron originating from animal origin foods. Vegetarians can access non-heme sources of iron such as cereals, nuts, seeds, legumes and fortified foods such as breakfast cereals, as well as foods rich in vitamin C which enhance the absorption of non-heme iron (Hood, 2019). Lastly, as vitamin B12 is present only in foods of animal or microbiological origin, vegans depend on fortified foods, fermented foods or supplements, whereas vegetarians can choose fortified foods as well as dairy products and eggs as a source of vitamin B12 (Agnoli et al., 2017).