But before I dive into the environmental impact of different diets, let’s get on the same page about what they are. People eat in different ways for different reasons, such as health, weight loss, religion, ethics, or personal taste.
What I find interesting is that vegans are not just looking after themselves (by eating healthier) but also caring for all living beings. And they do it by choice, not by faith. That’s pretty impressive, if you ask me.
Just so you know, I’m not the best person to judge which diet is better than the other. But I have a hunch that if there was a magic diet that made you lose weight, we would all be on it by now. Glucose monitoring sounds interesting though. I’m all for finding out what works best for my body.
- Vegan: Vegans don’t eat any animal products, like meat, eggs, cheese, or honey. They also avoid things like leather and wool. Veganism can be good for your heart, blood sugar, and the planet. But vegans need to take some supplements, like B12, iron, calcium, and zinc.
- Vegetarian: Vegetarians don’t eat meat, poultry, or fish, but they may eat eggs and dairy. There are different kinds of vegetarians, like lacto-ovo (eggs and dairy), lacto (dairy only), and ovo (eggs only). Vegetarianism can lower your blood pressure, cholesterol, and weight. But vegetarians also need some supplements, like B12, iron, calcium, and zinc.
- Pescatarian: Pescatarians don’t eat meat or poultry, but they do eat fish and seafood. They may also eat eggs and dairy. Pescatarianism can give you some benefits of vegetarianism plus omega-3s from fish.
- Omnivore: Omnivores eat all kinds of foods from plants and animals. Omnivores can get a balanced diet of protein, carbs, fats, vitamins, and minerals from different foods. But omnivores need to limit their intake of processed meats, red meats, saturated fats, added sugars, and salt to avoid health problems like obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.
- Flexitarian: Flexitarians are mostly vegetarian but sometimes eat meat or fish. That’s the definition while in reality it is more the other way around.
- Low-carb: Low-carb diets limit carbs from foods like grains, starchy veggies, fruits, and sugars. There are different low-carb diets, like Atkins, keto (see below), and paleo (see below). Low-carb diets may also cause side effects like constipation, headache and bad breath.
- Gluten-free: Gluten-free diets skip gluten, a protein in wheat and some other grains. People may go gluten-free for health reasons, like celiac disease or gluten sensitivity.
- Mediterranean: Mediterranean diets follow the traditional foods of people around the Mediterranean Sea. Mediterranean diets focus on fruits, veggies, whole grains, beans, nuts, seeds, olive oil, fish, and some dairy, eggs, poultry, and wine. I was reading somewhere that this diet was the best for longevity and good health (don’t quote me),
- Paleo: Paleo diets eat like our ancestors in the Palaeolithic era. They eat foods that were around before farming and civilization. Foods to eat on paleo diets are meat, poultry, fish, eggs, fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, and healthy oils. Foods to avoid on paleo diets are grains, beans, dairy, sugar, salt, and processed foods. People of Paleo diets do use ovens and stoves.
- Keto: Keto diet is a very low carb, high fat diet that makes your body burn fat instead of sugar for energy. This can help with weight loss. Typical example when putting butter in the morning coffee instead of sugar.
- Glucose monitoring diet: Glucose monitoring diet is a diet that uses a device called a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) to track blood sugar levels throughout the day. Glucose monitoring diets can help people understand how different foods affect their blood sugar levels and metabolic health. This is a growing trend at the moment, inline with personalized nutrition.
- Jewish diet: it follows the dietary laws of Judaism. These laws are called kashrut or kosher. Kosher foods are foods that are allowed by kashrut. Some examples of kosher foods are fruits, vegetables, grains, fish with fins and scales (like salmon), meat from animals that chew their cud and have split hooves (like cows), eggs from kosher birds (like chicken), and dairy products from kosher animals (like milk).
- Muslim diet: Muslim diet is a diet that follows the dietary laws of Islam. These laws are called halal. Haram foods are foods that are forbidden by halal. Some examples of halal foods are fruits, vegetables, grains, fish with scales (like tuna), meat from animals that are slaughtered in the name of Allah and have their blood drained (like lamb), eggs from halal birds (like chicken), and dairy products from halal animals (like milk). Some examples of haram foods are pork, alcohol, blood, carrion, meat from animals that are dead before slaughtering, meat from predators or scavengers (like dogs).
I am sure I left a few relevant ones out. Happy to have your thoughts on this.
