🥗Vegetarian diet
A vegetarian diet leaves out meat, fish and seafood but usually keeps eggs and dairy. Planned well, it can provide everything the body needs at any age. The main thing is to know which few nutrients need a little extra attention.
🔬What it means
On this site “vegetarian” means no meat, poultry, fish, seafood or gelatin. Eggs, milk, cheese and honey are allowed. Some people also eat fish (pescatarian) or skip eggs or dairy — those diets have their own rules.
Vegetarian is a choice about food, not a medical diet. People choose it for health, ethical, environmental or religious reasons.
✅What you can eat
- 🫘Beans, lentils, chickpeas, tofu and tempeh — the main sources of protein, iron and zinc.
- 🥚Eggs, milk, yogurt and cheese (check hard cheeses — see below).
- 🌾Whole grains: oats, wholemeal bread, brown rice, buckwheat, quinoa.
- 🥦Any fruit and vegetables, especially dark green leafy ones.
- 🥜Nuts and seeds, including walnuts, flaxseed and chia (plant omega-3).
- 🥣Fortified foods: breakfast cereals, plant drinks, yeast extract.
🚫What to avoid
- 🥩Meat and poultry in any form, including sausages, ham and bacon bits.
- 🐟Fish and seafood: fish, prawns, squid, mussels, crab.
- 🍬Gelatin: gummy sweets, marshmallows, some jellies, desserts and yogurts.
- 🥫Hidden sources: meat or fish stock in soups, risotto and sauces, lard in pastry, fish sauce, anchovies in Worcestershire sauce and Caesar dressing.
- 🧀Some hard cheeses, such as traditional Parmesan, are made with animal rennet — look for “suitable for vegetarians”.
- 🍽️In restaurants: ask about stock, fat and sauces, not just the main ingredient.
⚠️Nutrients to watch
Eating meat or fish by mistake is not dangerous for your health. Your body digests it as it always did; it matters only for your personal choice. The exception is a fish or shellfish allergy, which is a separate issue.
The real risk is a long-term shortage of a few nutrients if the diet is not varied:
- 🩸Iron: plant iron is absorbed less well. Eat beans, lentils, tofu, greens and fortified cereals with a source of vitamin C (fruit, peppers), and keep tea and coffee away from meals.
- 💊Vitamin B12: found only in animal foods — eggs and dairy every day, or fortified foods. If you eat little of them, a supplement helps.
- 🐟Omega-3: walnuts, flaxseed, chia and rapeseed oil give plant omega-3; the body turns only a little of it into the forms found in fish.
- 🧂Iodine: milk and dairy are the main source. If you eat little of them, use iodised salt or ask about a supplement.
- 🥜Zinc: beans, nuts, seeds, whole grains and cheese.
🚑When to see a doctor
See a doctor if you have lasting tiredness, pale skin, shortness of breath or a racing heart (possible anaemia), or pins and needles, numbness, a sore red tongue, mouth ulcers or memory problems (possible B12 deficiency). A simple blood test can check.
Pregnant or breastfeeding women, children and teenagers need more of some nutrients — talk to a doctor or dietitian to plan a vegetarian diet for them.
📱How Me Nutrition helps
Every dish in the app and on this site shows diet labels, including vegetarian, and the major allergens of a typical recipe, with the ingredient that decides it. Recipes differ, so always check with whoever cooked the dish.
Dishes that fit: 1019
Sources
Written from the sources below; not reviewed by a doctor. Not medical advice. How we count →