Most people think of vegetarianism as an either or. Either you don't eat meat, you'll never hurt a living creature, and you save whales in your spare time, or you're a gluttonous texan with a five gallon hat and a steak on every plate.

I believe vegetarianism is more of a spectrum. At the extreme end there are raw foodists. These people are even more hard core than vegans. Not only will they eat no living creature and only eat all organic food. They will only eat food raw. They believe cooking actually destroys the nutrition of the food. I dare you to try this diet for more than a month without going crazy.

A little less hard core are the vegans. These people don't eat any animal products whatsoever (no milk, cheese, etc...) but a strict vegan will only eat food that has died naturally. They will eat apples that have fallen from the tree, but not apples that have been plucked.

Then there are the mainstream vegetarians. These people don't believe in killing cows, but they don't mind having some milk with their cookies, and they don't mind plucking pears, but no animals for them.

Next there are the fish eating vegetarians. I believe this is probably the biggest category, I believe mainly because veggy people tend to like sushi.

And finally, there are the fad vegetarians. These are skinny teenagers and twenty-somethings who use the vegetarian card simply as a way of being anorexic in public. Avoid these people.

Is my spectrum lacking? I'd love to hear any feedback.

And while I'm here, I've got a few nutrition links to go along with my rant. The benefits of vitamins and omega 3 supplements are both good places to go for vitamin information (veggie or non veggie alike!)

There is a mythical consensus that vegetarians as a whole are healthier people than non vegetarians. Maybe that's because we typically equate the vegetarian lifestyle with the natural lifestyle. Vegetarians are people who like to camp. They save whales and participate in rallies and they know people in Alaska.

But it's not true! Some of the most unhealthy people I know are vegetarians. I have a friend who has a teenage daughter who recently became a vegetarian. Her mother told me she was going veggie so she wouldn't have to become a bulemic. Does that make any sense at all?!

Anyway, there is a way to be a very healthy vegetarian, but it involves getting plenty of vitamins and supplements. One of the best multivitamins out there that I've found is something called the Damage Control Master Formula. Check it out when you get the time.