A Vegetarian Diet Promotes Good Heart HealthPhil Mickelson, Hank Aaron, Faith Hill and Paul McCartney share a common bond. In fact, Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin and Charlotte Brontë also shared the same bond. Each of them is important in their own way – golfer, scientist, writer, singer, baseball player – but their common denominator is vegetarianism. Everyone became vegetarian for a reason. Whether out of respect for animals, maintaining good health, or religious reasons, they all decided to give up meat and maintain a plant-based diet. Whatever the reason, vegetarian diets promote good heart health. In short, a vegetarian diet avoids all animal flesh. The vegetarian diet is rich in fruits and vegetables, legumes, nuts and other protein-rich foods. A vegetarian diet is also high in grains. There are four different categories of vegetarianism. These include vegan, lacto-vegetarian, ovo-vegetarian and lacto-ovo-vegetarian. Vegans exclude all animal flesh, eggs or dairy products, including foods containing these products. The vegan diet includes all beans, legumes, vegetables and fruits, grains and the endless amount of foods obtained by combining them. Many vegans do not eat processed foods made from animal products, such as refined white sugar. A lacto-vegetarian diet allows dairy products such as milk, cheese, yogurt and butter while excluding animal flesh and eggs. In the ovo-vegetarian diet, eggs are included but not dairy products. The last type of vegetarian is the lacto-ovo vegetarian. The lacto-ovo vegetarian diet includes both eggs and dairy products. Finally, because vegetarian diets exclude animal meat and limit eggs and dairy, it can be difficult to ensure...... middle of document ......al D. Foods for life: how the four new food groups can save your life.New York: Crown Trade Paperback, 1994.Hobbs, Suzanne Havala. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Being a Vegetarian.New York: Alpha Books, 1999.Loma Linda University, School of Public Health, Dept. of Nutrition.The Vegetarian Food Pyramid. February 2011. Null, Gary. Vegetarian Handbook. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1987. American Dietetic Association. “Position of the American Dietetic Association: Vegetarian Diets.” » Journal of the American Dietetic Association. July 2009: 1266-1282. Committee of Physicians for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). Vegetarian foods: powerful for health. February 17, 2011.http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/vegetarian_foods.htmlWeisman, Roanne with Brian Berman, MD. Own your health. Deerfield Beach: Health Communications, 2003.