Vegetarian Nutrition in Health Improvement

This Reprint presents the collected research from the Special Issue titled Vegetarian Nutrition in Health Improvement. Led by Guest Editors, Luciana Baroni and Gianluca Rizzo, this volume offers a comprehensive, up-to-date synthesis of data on lacto-ovo vegetarian and vegan dietary patterns and their impact on human health. It addresses the growing public health relevance of plant-based nutrition, probing its role in the prevention and management of major chronic conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and frailty. The contributions explore both the potential benefits and the remaining uncertainties around nutrient adequacy, long-term outcomes, and translational applications. A key theme is the dual focus on dietary quality and sustainability: vegetarian diets are examined not only as individual health strategies, but also as sustainable models within global food systems. The Research Articles, Reviews, Meta-Analyses, and Perspectives gathered here report on large-scale surveys, cohort studies, and intervention trials, with specific attention to vitamin B12/cobalamin status, homocysteine metabolism, plant-food bioactives, oxidative stress, and risk modulation. The result is a high-impact resource for nutrition scientists, clinical practitioners, public health policymakers, and healthcare professionals seeking evidence-based insights into plant-based nutrition. This Reprint positions lacto-ovo vegetarian and vegan nutrition as both a scientifically grounded option and a strategic priority for health promotion and disease prevention.