One of 20 Gene Food diet types

Vegetarian

Eat plants

Many of the plant based principles of eating apply to the Vegetarian genotype, but with some noteworthy exceptions.

Find out if you're Vegetarian Browse all 20 diet types

Could you be a Vegetarian?

Tick anything that sounds like you. 0 of 5 so far.

These are common patterns, not a diagnosis. Your diet type is assigned from your genetic results. How we do it.

At a glance

Carb style

Flexible carbs

Fat style

Low fat

Protein style

Fresh, low histamine

10%

Fat

70%

Carbohydrate

20%

Protein

Go-to breakfast: Buckwheat porridge with a sliced banana and a plant protein smoothie.

Quick answers

Red meat?No

No.

Keto?No

No. Vegetarians simply don’t have the fat metabolism genes for a keto diet of any stripe.

Carnivore?No

Nope.

Fermented foods?Depends

Aged cheese and meat are definitely a scratch due to histamine metabolism. However, histamine levels do fluctuate based on lifestyle factors, so some Vegetarians may find they can tolerate some fermented foods on a case by case basis.

Pancakes and refined grains?Occasionally

Regardless of diet type, we don’t love refined grains, especially grain products with added oils and sugars. Having said that, Vegetarian genotypes are more likely to deal better with carbohydrate than with fat. As such, a diet that is a bit more liberal with high quality carbohydrates may benefit the Vegetarian dieter. Pancakes, or better yet, a piece of locally baked whole grain bread from time to time can make this diet more nutritious. Of course, this doesn’t apply for Vegetarians with celiac or gluten sensitivity.

Biggest challenge

Getting enough calories and enough omega-3 fats. Plant based diets can be great. In individuals with greater susceptibility to heart disease, they have a proven track record. However, it can be tricky to get adequate calories over the long haul with such strict diets. The challenge for Vegetarians, and for all our plant based categories, is determining just how plant based they need to be.

Closest relative

Not quite you? The nearest type is Okinawan. This is the tale of histamine vs. dairy. Vegetarian dieters have a histamine score that indicates trouble clearing histamine, whereas Okinawans don’t have that issue, instead they are likely to be lactose intolerant.