A healthy pesco-vegetarian, or pescetarian, diet includes fish in addition to vegetables and other plant foods, along with low-fat dairy products or dairy substitutes. Like any other healthy diet, a healthy pesco-vegetarian diet balances foods from all the food groups and features a wide variety of foods from within each group.
Types
A lacto-vegetarian who is also a pesco-vegetarian will consume dairy products but no eggs or animal flesh other than fish. A lacto-ovo vegetarian who is also a pesco-vegetarian adds fish to a diet that includes dairy products and eggs but no other animal foods. A pesco-vegetarian diet that is otherwise purely vegetarian does not include dairy products in the diet, but in order to be an overall healthy diet, should include diary substitutes that provide the nutrients typically supplied by milk and milk products..
Significance
When fish is included in an otherwise meatless diet, there is less concern about meeting the nutritional needs for protein, vitamin B12 and other nutrients that are typically supplied by meat. In addition, fish supplies omega-3 fatty acids, healthful fats that are not found in abundance in any other foods. Dairy products and fortified dairy substitutes made with soy help round out a healthy pesco-vegetarian diet by supplying additional protein and essential nutrients such as calcium, B vitamins and vitamins A and D. Other fortified, dairy-free milk alternatives such as rice, almond, oat and hemp beverages, will provide some of the vitamins and minerals normally supplied by milk, but not the protein.
Effects
Harvey B. Simon, M.D., editor of the Harvard Men's Health Watch, points out that a properly planned, healthy vegetarian diet is low in saturated fats, cholesterol and other substances that contribute to chronic disease, and that adding seafood brings healthful proteins and fats into the diet. A Loma Linda University study published in the May 2009 issue of Diabetes Care indicated that people who follow a pesco-vegetarian diet and other semi-vegetarian diets have a lower risk of becoming obese and developing type 2 diabetes than non-vegetarians.
Considerations
A healthy pesco-vegetarian diet includes a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, such as beans and lentils, dairy products or dairy substitutes and seafood to ensure a good supply of all the essential vitamins and minerals that must come from food. The Vegetarian Food Guide Pyramid indicates how much food a vegetarian needs to eat from each of the non-meat food groups in order to achieve a healthy diet. A pesco-vegetarian who regularly eats fish will not need to include as many alternative forms of protein as a strict vegetarian.
Identification
Because sea animals are included in a pesco-vegetarian diet, some people feel this practice is not technically a form of vegetarianism. As a result, pesco-vegetarianism is sometimes referred to as pescetarianism and people who follow this type of diet are sometimes called pescetarians.
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