I have a friend who recently decided to go on an all-vegan diet to help raise awareness for factory-farming. It had me thinking, and I'm interested in checking out the various types of diets out there.

There are various reasons to alter your diet - whether it's for the health benefits, to help the animals who are often factory farmed or to reduce your carbon footprint. Here are a few of the most common ones:

• Vegetarian - Diet excludes all animals.
• Ovo-Vegetarian - Diet excludes all animals and dairy products, but includes eggs.
• Lacto-Vegetarian - Diet excludes all animals and eggs, but includes other dairy products.
• Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian - Diet excludes all animals, but includes dairy products, such as eggs, milk and cheese.
• Pescatarian - Diet excludes animals, but includes fish and sometimes other seafood.
• Pollotarian - Diet excludes animals, but includes poultry.
• Pollo-pescatarian - Diet excludes red meat, but includes poultry and fish. White-meat only.
• Flexitarian - Diet excludes animals, but will eat meat by special/social circumstances.
• Vegan - Diet excludes all animals and animal products. No milk, cheese or eggs. Some vegans also avoid honey because it's a by-product of bees.
• Raw Vegan - Diet includes only fresh and uncooked fruit, nuts, seeds and veggies. Some allow cooking veggies to a low temperature
• Paleotarian - Diet includes organic meats and fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, with minimal grains, starches and sugars.
• Omnivore - Diet includes both animals and vegetables. This is the most common.
• Carnivore - Diet includes animals. True carnivores only eat meat.
• Macrobiotic - Diets are cooked foods and plant-based, but may include fish or seafood.
• Freegan - Diets that include reclaimed food that has been discarded. Often vegan unless the food is free.