Photo by stephanie monfette on Unsplash
In short: A vegetarian diet leaves out meat, poultry and fish, and usually keeps eggs and dairy. A vegan diet leaves out everything that comes from an animal, including eggs, dairy and honey. Both can nourish you well if they are built on real food and planned with a little care, especially for protein, iron and vitamin B12. Which one is right for you depends on your reasons, your body and your daily life.
You are standing in the supermarket with a packet of lentils in one hand and your shopping list in the other. You have been thinking about it for a while: eating less meat, maybe none. A friend has gone vegan and seems full of energy. Your daughter has announced she is vegetarian. And you wonder what the difference really is, and whether one of the two would suit you.
Let’s look at it calmly, without labels that make it sound more complicated than it is.
What does a vegetarian eat?
A vegetarian diet does not include meat, poultry or fish. Within that, there are several ways of doing it, and you may meet these words:
Lacto-ovo vegetarian: no meat, poultry or fish, but dairy products and eggs are on the menu. This is what most people mean when they say “vegetarian”.
Lacto vegetarian: dairy products, but no eggs.
Ovo vegetarian: eggs, but no dairy products.
Pesco-vegetarian (often called pescatarian): no meat or poultry, but fish and seafood are included.
On an ordinary day, that can look like porridge with nuts and fruit in the morning, a lentil salad with feta at lunch, and an omelette with vegetables and good bread in the evening.
What does a vegan eat?
A vegan diet goes one step further and leaves out all animal products: no meat or fish, and also no dairy, no eggs and no honey. Meals are built entirely on plants: grains, pulses such as beans, lentils and chickpeas, vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds.
The same day, the vegan way: porridge made with oat drink, a chickpea and roasted vegetable bowl with tahini at lunch, and a bean chilli with rice in the evening. Nothing exotic, as you can see.
So what is the real difference between the two?
On the plate, the difference is eggs, dairy and honey. Behind the plate, it is often the reason. For some people, eating vegetarian is a way to eat less meat, for their health or for the environment. For others, veganism is a way of living that avoids all forms of animal exploitation, and it goes beyond food to clothes and cosmetics.
In daily life, a vegan diet asks for a little more organisation: reading labels, thinking ahead when you eat out or travel, and paying closer attention to a few nutrients. A vegetarian diet is usually easier to fit into family meals and restaurant menus. Neither is better in itself. They simply ask different things of you.
Are vegetarian and vegan diets healthy?
Both can be healthy and nourishing if they are well planned. When you take meat off the plate and fill the space with vegetables, pulses, whole grains, nuts and fruit, you naturally eat more fibre and more of the protective plant compounds that give food its colour, and usually less saturated fat. Diets like these are linked with good heart health and steady blood sugar, and all that fibre is kind to your digestion.
A word of caution, though. “Vegetarian” or “vegan” on a packet does not make a food healthy. Crisps are vegan. So are many biscuits and sweets. A diet of white pasta, cheese pizza and plant-based ready meals is meat-free, and it won’t make you feel your best. What helps your body is real food, cooked simply, with plenty of variety. If you would like to get better at reading packets, I explain it in how to decode product labels.
And these ways of eating do not suit everyone equally. We all have different bodies, histories and needs, which is what bio-individuality means. Some people thrive on a fully plant-based diet. Others feel better with eggs, a little fish or some dairy.
Which nutrients need a little attention?
A few nutrients are easier to get from animal foods, so they deserve a thought when you eat vegetarian, and a little more when you eat vegan.
Protein
You will find it in beans, lentils, chickpeas, tofu, tempeh, nuts and seeds, and in eggs and dairy if you eat them. Vary your sources across the day and your body gets all the building blocks it needs. The simplest check: is there one of these on my plate at this meal?
Iron
Lentils, chickpeas, beans, tofu, pumpkin seeds, and dark green leafy vegetables all contain iron. Your body takes it up more easily when there is something rich in vitamin C in the same meal: a squeeze of lemon over the lentils, peppers in the salad, an orange for dessert.
Vitamin B12
This is the one to take seriously. Vitamin B12 is found almost only in animal foods. Vegetarians get some from eggs and dairy. On a vegan diet, plants alone won’t provide it. Some foods are fortified with it, such as certain plant drinks, breakfast cereals and nutritional yeast. Please ask your doctor or pharmacist what is right for you.
Omega-3, calcium and vitamin D
Walnuts, ground flaxseeds, chia seeds and rapeseed oil bring plant omega-3. Calcium is in dairy, and also in calcium-set tofu, fortified plant drinks, almonds, sesame and green vegetables such as kale and broccoli. Vitamin D comes mainly from sunlight on your skin, whatever your diet. For all three, if you are in doubt, your doctor or pharmacist can advise you.
I go into much more detail in how to meet your nutritional needs on a plant-based diet.
How do you choose what is right for you?
Start with your reason. Is it your health, the animals, the planet, your budget, simple curiosity? Your reason will tell you how far you want to go, and it will keep you going on the days when it feels like an effort.
Then look honestly at your life. Who do you cook for? How often do you eat out? Do you enjoy cooking, or do you need meals that are on the table in twenty minutes? A way of eating that fits your life is one you can keep.
And then listen to your body. Give any change a few weeks and notice your energy, your digestion, your sleep, your mood. Your body gives very clear feedback when you take the time to ask.
You also don’t have to choose a label at all. Eating mostly plants, with an egg here and a piece of fish there, is a perfectly good way to eat.
What helps when you are starting out?
Begin with the meals you already love. Vegetable soup, pasta with tomato sauce, a curry with chickpeas where the chicken used to be. You probably eat several meat-free meals already without calling them that.
Change one meal at a time. Breakfast first, then lunch. Or one meat-free day a week, then two.
Keep a few basics in the cupboard. Tinned chickpeas and beans, lentils, whole grains, nuts, seeds, tahini, good olive oil. With those and some vegetables, dinner is never far away.
Eat the colours. The more varied the vegetables and fruit on your plate, the wider the range of nutrients you get. I wrote about this in why eating a rainbow matters.
Plan a little. A rough idea of the week’s meals saves you from the “there is nothing to eat” moment at seven in the evening. You’ll find ideas in how to make plant-based meal planning and cooking fun and easy, and simple dishes among my recipes.
If you have more questions, you’ll find answers to the most common ones in 18 FAQs on plant-based nutrition.
Frequently asked questions
Is a vegan diet healthier than a vegetarian one?
Not automatically. Both can be very nourishing when they are built on vegetables, pulses, whole grains, nuts, seeds and fruit, and both can be poor when they lean on ready meals and sweet snacks. What matters most is what is on your plate day after day, and how you feel on it.
Where do vegetarians and vegans get their protein?
From beans, lentils, chickpeas, tofu, tempeh, nuts, seeds and whole grains, and for vegetarians also from eggs and dairy. Eating a variety of these across the day gives your body what it needs. A simple habit is to make sure every meal has one of them on the plate.
Do I need vitamin B12 if I eat vegan?
Vitamin B12 is found almost only in animal foods, so on a vegan diet you cannot rely on plants alone for it. Some foods are fortified with it, such as certain plant drinks and nutritional yeast. Ask your doctor or pharmacist what is right for you, and whether a blood test would be useful.
Can I start by simply eating less meat?
Yes, and for many people that is the kindest way to begin. One or two meat-free days a week, or a vegetarian lunch every day, already changes a lot. You can stay there, or go further later if it suits you.
When should I talk to my doctor?
Before you change the way you eat if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, if you have a health condition, if you take medication, or if you have a history of anaemia or of a difficult relationship with food. And at any time if you feel unusually tired, weak or low after changing your diet.
Would you like some help?
Finding the way of eating that suits your body, with more plants and without rigid rules, is one of the things we work on in my group programmes in nutrition and health, such as Six Tuesdays in Montignac. If you’d like to hear when the next group opens, write to me at hello@catherinepolet.coach.
Would you rather work one to one? I also coach online. Book a free 20-minute call, and tell me where you are: curious, half-way there, or already vegan and wondering whether your plate is complete. We’ll look at it together.
About Catherine
I’m Catherine Polet, a holistic nutrition health coach, yoga and autogenic training teacher for more than 30 years, author and speaker. I help people find a way of eating and living that suits their own body, online in English, French, Spanish and German, and in person in Southwest France.
