In an article published yesterday on NutritionFacts.org, Dr. Michael Greger spoke out about the difference between a plant-based diet and vegetarianism.

He explained, ‘the recommended plant-based diet is not the same as vegetarianism, vegetarians often consume all sorts of less-than-healthful foods, such as oils, margarine, dairy products, and eggs.’

Ultimately, vegetarianism is a good first step towards being healthier. Eliminating meat from your diet can serve to help protect you against many forms of cancer that are caused by eating animals. However, as Greger has explained previously, in his view it is a full plant-based diet, rich in fruit and vegetables, that is the optimum diet. Not one that includes dairy or eggs, like a vegetarian eats.

In the past, Greger has even gone so far as to say that switching to a plant-based way of life can have as much of a benefit on your health as quitting smoking.

This way of thought has been backed up by other plant-based medical experts, such as Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn. Esselstyn said, ‘this new paradigm is exclusively plant-based nutrition.’ He added, ‘some criticize this exclusively plant-based diet as extreme or draconian. Webster’s dictionary defines draconian as ‘inhumanely cruel’. A closer look reveals that ‘extreme’ or ‘inhumanly cruel’ describes not plant-based nutrition, but the consequences of our present western diet.’

If you need even more reasons to switch from vegetarian to fully vegan, see our list here.