Greater health benefits: Veganism or Lacto-ovo vegetarianism?

[TechnoGuyRob]

Does anybody have reliable sources that describe which of these two choices is--from a purely biological health point of view--"better"? I'm leaning towards lacto-ovo, since I wouldn't have to worry about taking B12 and other supplements, but I'm not sure.

Hope someone can help! Thanks.

EDIT: And, if it matters, I am in the adolescent age.

[Antarananda]

When I gave up eating meat, I was first lacto-ovo vegetarian. I have since stopped eating eggs also, and am now lacto-vegetarian.

Let me offer a perspective which is not considered by most: the ancient Indian system of medicine, Ayurveda considers milk highly beneficial as a food for spiritual nourishment of the body. It belongs to the category of foods called sattvic foods, or foods which promote joy, happiness, goodness, and wellbeing. In addition to milk, other foods which are sattvic are fresh fruit, whole grains, nuts, all vegetables (with notable exceptions of onions, garlic, and eggplant, which are to be avoided), and lentils.

Fermented products are to be avoided completely, including cheeses, bread made from yeast, and all alcoholic drinks, since they cause dullness in consciousness, inertia, laziness and ill-health. These are known as tamasic foods. Meat falls in this category, as well as all canned, processed foods, and food which has been cooked more than 3 hours prior. You could call these foods poor in energetic vibration.

Eggs are in the category of rajasic foods - foods which "excite the passions", or stimulate the system too much. Other foods in this class are all hot, spicy foods, coffee and tea, etc. They impair deep rest and silence of the mind, and interfere with meditation practices.

So, in short, from a health perspective, it is perfectly alright to drink milk in small quantities (preferably raw milk which has been boiled once; that is better than reconstituted low-fat milk), but I would avoid the eggs - in energetic terms, milk is vegetarian, but eggs are not.

[thadroe]

Originally Posted by TechnoGuyRob

Does anybody have reliable sources that describe which of these two choices is--from a purely biological health point of view--"better"? I'm leaning towards lacto-ovo, since I wouldn't have to worry about taking B12 and other supplements, but I'm not sure.

Hope someone can help! Thanks.

EDIT: And, if it matters, I am in the adolescent age.

From a health standpoint, you're probably better off with the ovo part than you are the lacto. Most dairy products aren't much better than liquid meat. I just notice a lot of people who go vegetarian will replace a lot of the meat calories with cheese and other dairy products, which really gets you nowhere. You could stick with nonfat dairy products, but I think most of that tastes like crap. Eggs are probably the cleanest animal product out there.

This article might help you with a few of the issues your asking about..

What You Need to Know About Vegetarian or Vegan Diets - Following a strict vegetarian diet is not as important as eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables.

Thad