What does vegetarians eat?

An argument is made that some vegetarians do not have a balanced diet, which has led to nutritional deficiencies and immunity-linked disorders. This criticism is somewhat unfair, since the main cause of problems in any diet is an unbalanced or restricted food intake - and a balanced vegetarian diet can be obtained by eating a variety of different food types. Conversely, some vegetarian or vegan advocacy groups attribute poor health solely to meat eating. A common misconception is that vegetable protein is equal to animal protein. In fact, protein obtained from animal sources such as fish, egg (food)s and dairy products is inherently a higher biological value protein according to the Biological Value method of testing protein quality than protein obtained from vegetable sources such as soy. However, the biological value of soy is increased considerably when enriched with the sulfur-containing amino acid methionine. Also, soy does contain all of the essential amino acids in the amounts required by humans. Typically soy protein supplements are fortified with methionine making them a viable source of protein for vegetarians. Nonetheless, some vegetarians, particularly vegans, could, without proper daily food planning, run a health risk due to protein deficiency. Lacto-ovo vegetarians who consume egg and dairy are unlikely to develop a protein deficiency.