vegetarians and nonvegetarians. Vegans in particular
are likely to regard ovolactovegetarians as ethically
less ‘‘pure,’’ asveganism itself was started in the
1940s by an Englishman who was frustrated by the
fact that most of the vegetarians he knew saw nothing
morally wrong with consuming eggs or dairy prod-
ucts. One registered dietitian who offers tutorials on
vegetarian nutrition and food service has remarked,
‘‘This [definition of a proper vegetarian] is a very hot
topic for some people, who are adamant that their
definitions or life-style choices are theonlyway. For
the sake of these lectures, it will be easier for those
people... with very strong feelings to park their
dogma by the door.’’Research
Most of the research in nutrition and medicine
that has been carried out on vegetarians in the West
has been done with research subjects who are ovolac-
tovegetarians, with a smaller number of studies done
on vegans. In general, Western researchers use ‘‘vege-
tarians’’ simply speaking as a synonym for ovolacto-
vegetarians. Most studies done in India, however,
have recruited lactovegetarian subjects, as strict Hin-
dus do not eat eggs. As a result, it is not always easy to
compare study findings from different countries unless
the subjects were drawn from the same vegetarian
subgroup. It is interesting to note that a recent study
of French vegetarians used the term ‘‘classical vegeta-
rians’’ to distinguish ovolactovegetarian subjects from
those who were following lactovegetarian or macro-
biotic diets.
As has been noted in Europe as well as the United
States, the emphasis in medical research on all types of
vegetarian diets has shifted in the early 2000s from
concern about nutritional deficiencies in people fol-
lowing these diets to the role of vegetarianism in pre-
venting or treating chronic diseases. It was the NIH’s
studies of Seventh-day Adventists that first indicated
that ovolactovegetarian diets lower the risk of heart
disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. The Adventist
Health Study received new funding in 2003 for its
continuation. As of early 2007, the NIH is conducting
five additional clinical trials to evaluate the advan-
tages of ovolactovegetarian diets in managing uremia
in the elderly, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes,
high blood pressure, and postmenopausal disorders in
women as well as treating obesity.
European studies of ovolactovegetarians often
focus on regional diets—such as the health benefits
of eliminating meat and fish from Mediterranean
diets. In addition, as of 2007 there is an ongoing
major European study of the associations betweendietary intake and cancer risk known as the European
Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition
(EPIC). EPIC recruited over 521,000 healthy adults
between the ages of 35 and 70 in 10 European countries
between 1993 and 1999, with follow-ups scheduled
through 2009 and possibly longer. One subcategory in
the EPIC study is a cohort of 27,000 vegetarians and
vegans in the United Kingdom—the largest single sub-
group in the EPIC study. It is expected that the very
high levels of phytoestrogens (5 to 50 times higher than
in those in nonvegetarian European subjects) in the
blood plasma of the British vegetarians will provide
further information about the long-term effects of ovo-
lactovegetarian as well as vegan diets.Resources
BOOKS
Colbert, Don.What Would Jesus Eat?Nashville, TN:
T. Nelson Publishers, 2002. A conservative Christian
attempt to prove that Jesus was a vegetarian.
Harris, William, MD.The Scientific Basis of Vegetarianism.
Honolulu, HI: Hawaii Health Publishers, 1995.
Pelletier, Kenneth R., MD.The Best Alternative Medicine,
Chapter 3, ‘‘Food for Thought.’’ New York: Fireside
Books, 2002. A good summary of recent studies of the
health benefits of ovolactovegetarianism.
Scully, Matthew.Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering
of Animals, and the Call to Mercy. New York: St. Mar-
tin’s Press, 2002. The author’s focus is on kindness to
animals rather than vegetarianism in the strict sense;
however, he has been a vegetarian since the late 1970s,
and his chapters on commercialized hunting, fishing,
and factory farming are of particular interest to
vegetarians.
Stuart, Tristan.The Bloodless Revolution: A Cultural History
of Vegetarianism from 1600 to Modern Times. New
York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2006.
VEGETARIAN COOKBOOKS
Brill, Steve (‘‘Wildman’’).The Wild Vegetarian Cookbook: A
Forager’s Culinary Guide. Boston: Harvard Common
Press, 2002.
Colbert, Don.The What Would Jesus Eat? Cookbook.
Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2002.
Katzen, Mollie.The New Moosewood Cookbook. Berkeley,
CA: Ten Speed Press, 2000. A favorite with several
generations of young adults.
Nowakowski, John B.Vegetarian Magic at the Regency
House Spa. Summertown, TN: Book Pub., 2000.
PERIODICALS
American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada.
‘‘Position of the American Dietetic Association and
Dietitians of Canada: Vegetarian Diets.’’Canadian
Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research64 (Summer
2003): 62–81.
Chavarro, J. E., J. W. Rich-Edwards, B. Rosner, and W. C.
Willett. ‘‘A Prospective Study of Dairy Foods IntakeOvolactovegetarianism