Vegetarian, Vegan, Whole Food Plant Based. What’s The Difference?
Understanding this may affect your health
There’s no denying the rise of plant-based eating worldwide. Take a walk through any grocery store aisle, and the term “plant-based” pops up everywhere, from the chips aisle to the cleaning products. According to Good Food Institute (an industry group based in the US), sales of plant-based products are growing faster than total food sales.
What do the terms have in common?
Vegetarian, Vegan, and whole food plant-based eating all encourage you to reduce or eliminate meat, dairy, eggs, and other animal-based foods from your diet. On the surface, the terms may seem interchangeable, but there are significant differences between them. If you’re new to healthy eating, the terms can be very confusing.
In this article, I’ll explore the differences between all 3 of these lifestyle choices and the health benefits/risks associated with them, with an eye to clearing up the confusion these terms can create.
Ready? Here we go.
Vegetarian
- Avoid meat (beef, chicken, pork, etc.).
- May eat eggs and dairy (milk, yogurt, ice cream, cheese, etc.).
