Vegans Who Eats Fish

The vegan community has gained popularity, especially since influential people share their positive feedback about eating only plant-based foods.

Meanwhile, other vegans are starting to eat fish, and many are curious about calling them.

What do you call a vegan who eats fish? They are called pescatarians. One that is into a pescatarian diet eats fish and other seafood while following a vegan diet.

Learn more about the pescatarian diet below, what they eat, and the benefits of being on such a diet.

What Is A Pescatarian?

A pescatarian is characterized as a person who doesn’t consume meat but eats fish. In year 1990s, the term pescatarian or pescetarian was coined, a combination of the Italian word “peace,” meaning fish, and “vegetarian.”

According to scientific literature, this kind of diet is usually described as “pesco-vegetarian,” associated with the spectrum of vegetarianism. This diet covers plant-based food like nuts, whole grains, produce, legumes, healthy fats, and seafood play an essential role as the primary protein source.

Unlike vegans, pescatarians also eat eggs, milk, and other dairy product. Vegetarian diets widely vary, and so is the pescatarian diet. So, it is not surprising to learn that pescatarians eat a meat-free diet that involves many processed starches, fish sticks, and junk food than healthier options based on whole foods.

Are Pescatarians Considered Vegetarian?

The answer is no. Vegans are not pescatarians, and pescatarians are not vegans. Most people lump pescatarians to vegans because both don’t eat meat and consume plant-based food. The difference, though, is that pescatarians eat seafood and dairy products.

What Do Pescatarians Eat?

A pescatarian diet primarily involves a vegetarian diet with the addition of seafood.

Pescatarians Do Eat

• Whole grains and grain products
• Dairy food like milk, yogurt, and cheese
• Fish and shellfish
• Legumes and their products, like beans, tofu, lentils, and hummus
• Eggs
• Nuts and nut butter, seeds, and peanuts.
• Fruits
• Seeds, such as hemp, flaxseeds, chia
• Vegetables

Pescatarians Don’t Eat

• Beef
• Wild game
• Turkey
• Lamb
• Chicken
• Pork

Health Benefits Of Pescetarian Diet

There are wide-ranging benefits to being on a pescatarian diet. These benefits include a lower risk of chronic diseases, obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

A study also shows that women who follow a pescatarian diet gain 2.5 fewer pounds yearly than women who eat meat. Aside from that, people who switched to a more plant-based diet gained the least amount of weight. It means that consuming less animal-based food is healthier.

Another study shows that pescatarians are less likely to develop diabetes at about 4.8% than omnivores at 7.6%. One extensive research also shows that people who include less meat in their diet rarely eat meat had a 22% lower risk of developing heart disease than those who eat meat regularly.

Conclusion

Based on research, joining the pescatarian bandwagon is a healthy option, and it also offers a more flexible choice of nutritional sources than a standard vegan diet.