Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Vegetarian Diet
A vegetarian diet focuses on plants for food. These include fruits, vegetables, dried beans and peas, grains, seeds and nuts. There is no single type of vegetarian diet. Instead, vegetarian eating patterns usually fall into the following groups:
- The vegan diet, which excludes all meat and animal products
- The lacto vegetarian diet, which includes plant foods plus dairy products
- The lacto-ovo vegetarian diet, which includes both dairy products and eggs
People who follow vegetarian diets can get all the nutrients they need. However, they must be careful to eat a wide variety of foods to meet their nutritional needs. Nutrients vegetarians may need to focus on include protein, iron, calcium, zinc and vitamin B12.
United States Department of Agriculture
It sits within Food and Nutrition.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Vegetarian Diet
76 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Dietary Quality and Nutritional Adequacy Among Vegetarians Attending the European Institute of OncologyEuropean Institute of Oncology
- Revealing Microbiome Association With (Plant-based) Diet in FreshmanUniversity of Kiel
- Making Meals With PulsesUSDA Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center
- Effect of Vegetarien Diet on Protein Digestibility in Young and Elderly VolunteersInstitut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement
- Plant-based Diets and Healthy AgingNational Health Research Institutes, Taiwan
- Plant-based Diets and Risk of Cancer in the Adventist Health Study-2Loma Linda University
Research already completed
- Metabolic Effects of Diet-Exercise Interventions in ObesityFirat University
- The Impact of Beef on Muscle Fatigue in Older AdultsIndiana University
- Vegetarian Diet and Chronic Degenerative DiseasesDalin Tzu Chi General Hospital
- Plant-based Diets and Body Weight and Selected Metabolic Parameters Management in Obese Patients.Medical University of Warsaw
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- Food Sources of 5 Important Nutrients for VegetariansAcademy of Nutrition and Dietetics
- Vegetarian Diet: How to Get the Best NutritionMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
Related Issues
- Building a Healthy Vegetarian Diet: Myths and FactsAcademy of Nutrition and Dietetics
- Renal Diet for Vegetarians: What about Protein?Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
- Vegetarian Diet: Can It Help Me Control My Diabetes?Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Diet, VeganNational Institutes of Health
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Diet, VegetarianNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Vegetarians, Diet, Vegetarian. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Vegetarian Diet, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.