As more and more research confirms that eating more vegetables and fruit results in a healthier and longer life there are more people who are turning to a vegetarian lifestyle. But, there are several different types of vegetarian living, of which a vegan is the most strict.

A simple vegetarian meal planning guide would include no meat, meat by products or honey. A person who practices a lacto-vegetarian lifestyle will include dairy products while those who practice a lacto-ovo-vegetarian mail plan will eat eggs and dairy products. Pesco-vegetarians eat fish and pollo-vegetarians eat fowl such as chicken, turkey and duck.

Vegan go a step above and eat only plant food - no animal food, fish, eggs, dairy products or honey. And those who practice a vegan whole food diet also limit their cooked foods to 15% of their total diet getting their calories from vegetables, fruit, seeds and nuts.

The majority of those who choose to practice a vegan lifestyle do it for one of three reasons. The first of those do it for religious reasons and remove animal products from their life. The second do it for health reasons believing that eating meat and meat byproducts will cause rancid food in the intestines and more bacteria to leach into the body. And the third group do it because of their belief in animal cruelty. They eliminate all forms of exploiting animals for food, clothing or other purposes.

Vegans also use less energy and water resources in their lifestyle since their food sources don't include caring for livestock. For instance, growing plants will use energy and water that is recycled through the end user while livestock depletes the resources.

Vegans used to be called Pythagoreans until the name was changed in 1847 and the term vegetarian was used. The term vegetarian is a derivitave of the Latin word Vegetus, meaning whole, sound or fresh. The original group of people who practiced eating a vegetarian diet did it either with or without eggs. Today distinctions are made between those who include by products such as eggs and

dairy or those who include specific types of meat such as fish or poultry.

Being a vegan has a positive impact on health, blood sugar, triglycerides and cholesterol - all indications of risk to develop disease and illness. And, becoming a vegan isn't as difficult as you might imagine. Most people reach the vegan lifestyle by transitioning slowly. By giving up a type of meat every month and slowly including meat byproducts you can be eating a vegan diet within six months.

And, most importantly, you haven't failed if you occasionally eat a piece of cheese, bowl of ice cream or slice of cake. The truly important benefit of eating a vegan diet is the consistent way in which you feed your cells the extra vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that lead to a lifetime of healthy living. Once slice of cake can't undo 7 days a week of vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds.

Tags : vegan, vegetarian, eating healthy, eating vegetables, weight loss