Alternative lifestyle and diet changes may help lead to a healthier, more energetic life

Aside from going paleo or tossing out carbs with Adkins, there are a number of lifestyle and diet changes people can make to live healthier, more energetic existences, says Charlotte Cervantes, instructor of dietetics at Southeast Missouri State University.

Cervantes says a popular trend over the last several years sees people looking to cut down on or eliminate meat altogether. That's a trend with a lot of benefits, not only to people's health, but to their budgets and even the environment.

"Most vegetarian diets are completely sustainable and nutrient dense," Cervantes says. "Fad diets like wheat barley or paleo" aren't necessarily as beneficial, she says, but some nutrient replacement options are more sustainable.

"Vegetarian diets certainly fit in that category," she says.

Cervantes says the most liberal vegetarian diet is a semivegetarian or "flexatarian," whose diet isn't restricted other than excluding red meat.

Happy man sitting at the restaurant and having salad for lunch.

Lactovegetarians will consume dairy, Cervantes says, but no other animal flesh or products or by-products.

Ovovegetarians will eat eggs but no other.

Cervantes says she thinks most vegetarians in American culture are lacto-ovo-vegetarians, who consume dairy and eggs but no animal flesh.

The most restrictive in terms of food intake, Cervantes says, is vegan.

"The vegan lifestyle is a complete lifestyle," she says, "with no animal products consumed at all, even honey."

"Certainly lots of people are able to make that work, although we do find in vegan diets there are some nutrients missing."

Vitamin B12, for instance, is often lacking in a strict vegan diet, but it's often replaced by supplements or eating fortified foods.

Another vitamin not as prevalent in vegan diets is Vitamin D, which should be gotten from sunlight, Cervantes says, but if a vegan has cut out dairy milk, it might be best to seek supplements.

Bioavailability, or the extent to which a human gastrointestinal tract can digest, absorb and use a nutrient, plays into this as well, Cervantes says.

"With iron, calcium, for instance, they're more bioavailable when they come from animal sources. Not to say they're not in good amounts, but not as available as we'd find in an animal source," Cervantes says.

Even protein needs can be different for vegans than for someone consuming animal products, Cervantes says. "Vegans' protein needs might increase, not because their needs are really that much higher but because bioavailability in animal products is higher," she says.

Cervantes says fortified foods need to be researched as well, if one is considering a vegan lifestyle.

"Vitamin D is sometimes sourced from sheep's wool," Cervantes says, which excludes it from the vegan distinction, since it's an animal product.

Vitamin B12, though, is often synthesized in a lab, but these are considerations, Cervantes says.

As to benefits of a meat-free diet, Cervantes says, as with any diet or lifestyle change, it's important to check with a doctor first.

"Sometimes when people switch to a vegetarian diet, to lose weight for instance, there's a new focus on nutrient density and a healthier lifestyle, so it does result in changes. How much is tied directly to animal products, I couldn't say."

Cervantes says in nutrition, studies conducted are attempting to build correlations, not a causative relationship, so it's a little difficult to say one change is the reason for another change.

"Just paying attention, trying to eat better, it doesn't really matter what the change is so long as it's not harmful," Cervantes says.

Some research does indicate people who live a vegetarian lifestyle have a lower risk of metabolic syndrome, a condition associated with greater risk of Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, Cervantes says, "but then again, it's hard to nail down exactly why."

Healthy lifestyle practices, exercising regularly, meditation, relaxation or other factors besides choosing to follow the diet could be at play, she says.