A healthy lifestyle always has been associated with eating a lot of fruits and vegetables. Often, that's the reason people choose to become vegetarians. But, stripping a diet of all animal foods in order to achieve a healthier lifestyle is not always the wisest decision. Of course, fruits and vegetables carry an abundance of delicious and beneficial ingredients that attribute to a healthy diet. But, so do animal products like milk, cheese and meat.
Vegans exclude all animal foods and animal-derived foods from their diets.
They rid their meals of meat, milk, eggs and any other food item that contains a product originating from an animal. Lacto-vegetarians consume milk and dairy products, but don't eat any other animal products. Ovo-vegetarians allow eggs in their diet as their only animal product. Semi-vegetarians are the most common type of vegetarian. They include seafood, fish and some animal products in their diet, but exclude some or all meats.