The foods you eat give you energy and nutrients that support a healthy body. Vegetarian and vegan eating patterns have been shown to help you manage diabetes, can reduce your risk of diabetes if you don’t have it, improve your ability to manage blood glucose (blood sugar), help you lose weight, and help with cholesterol problems. Vegetarian eating patterns generally exclude meat, fish, poultry, and possibly dairy products and eggs. A vegetarian eating pattern that includes dairy products and eggs is called lacto-ovo vegetarian. The vegan eating pattern excludes all animal products. Following a