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Home » Diet » A Glossary of Common Special Diets – Care2.com

It seems like everyone you meet is eating a special diet right now, and its easy to mix them up.

I cant tell you how many times someone has suggested the gluten free or paleo optionwhen I ask about whats vegan on a menu, for example. Special diets can overlap, which, I think, is where the confusion comes in. Ifthe only vegan youve ever met is also gluten free, you might think that vegans dont eat gluten. But many of us do, with glee!

Here are some of the most common special diets and what theyre about.

You can sort of break down the why behind common special diets into two broad categories:

The ethical reasons forchoosing a special diet areusually about animal rights, human rights, or the environment. Maybe youre eating veganor plant-based, because you want to reduce your carbon footprint or fight climate changeor protect animals, for example.

Health is an even more broad category when it comes to why people choose special diets. Some folks are looking to lose weight or maintain weight loss.

Theres also evidence that some special diets can prevent or even cure chronic disease. Sometimes, a special diet is not a choice, and a gluten free diet isa great example. Going gluten free is very hip right now, but forsomeone withceliac disease, its a life or death decision.

There are dozens ofnuanced special diets out there, and thisglossary is meant to address theones that you are most likely to encounter. It doesnt include short-term weight loss diets, and it leaves out some special diets that are less popular.

These are some of the most common special diets that youll encounter, arranged alphabetically.

DASH is aspecial diet aimed at controlling high blood pressure. It is a low-sodium diet that focuses on whole grains, fruits, and veggies. You can eat small amounts oflow fat dairy, lean meats, fish, nuts, and seeds on the DASH diet.

This is a somewhat broad special diet, and how flexible a flexitarian is depends on why he or she chose to eat this way. A flexitarian avoids meat (and sometimes all animal products)but will sometimes still eat meat or dairy.

Someone who is gluten free avoids all food with gluten. This includes foods you mayalready know about, like conventional breads and pastas, butgluten hides in all kinds of other products, like soy sauce and even makeup. Depending on why someone is gluten free, eating gluten can potentiall cause serious health problems.

A locavore is someone who focuses on eating food grown locally. This can include or exclude animal products. Like a raw diet, notevery locavore eats 100 percent local, but they will choose local options whenever possible.

Macrobiotic diets have come a long way since the 70s and 80s when they were even more popular. Back then, they were very restrictive, but people have reimagined the macrobiotic diet since then. In a nutshell, itcan describe a vegetarian or pescatarian diet with afocus on whole foods andmindful eating.

A paleo diet is supposed to mimic the way people ate during paleolithic times. It focuses on meat,eggs, fruits, nuts and seeds, and unsaturated oils.There are paleo vegans, as well, who follow a paleo diet, minus the meat and eggs.

A pescatarian diet is a vegetarian diet, plus seafood. Pesca is Latin for fish.

A plant-based is another way to refer to a vegan diet. Someone who is plant-based usually eatsthis wayfor health reasons, so theydont necessarily live a vegan lifestyle.Theres also a Whole Food Plant-Based Diet movement, which describesa plant-based diet thats free from processed foods, refined sugars, refined oils, and alcohol.

Raw food is a dish that hasnt been heated above117F (48C). The idea is thatcooking food destroys some of the nutrients in it. People on a raw diet may or may not eat 100 percent raw, and they can eat animal products, as long as those are also raw.

A raw vegan follows a raw diet without any animal products.

Vegan diets, like plant-based diets, are free from all animal products: meat, poultry, fish, dairy, eggs, honey,gelatin, etc. Unlike someone eating plant-based, though,veganism is mainly about ethics, not health. Though, of course, some people do choose a plant-based diet for ethical reasons. Veganism just takes that further in some ways and is less discriminatingin others. Vegans can eat refined foods, drink alcohol (as long as its not processed with animal products), eat gluten, and eat sugar. If a food doesnt come from an animal, its vegan whether its healthy or not.

A vegetarian diet is a vegan diet, plus eggs and dairy.Before veganism became popular, early vegans sometimes described themselves as strict vegetarians. Here are the sub-categories of a vegetarian diet:

A pescatarian diet is not a type of vegetarian diet, because fish are not plants. For a definition of pescatarian, see the section on that diet above.

All images via Thinkstock.

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

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A Glossary of Common Special Diets - Care2.com

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Home » Diet » A Glossary of Common Special Diets – Care2.com