The Pros and Cons of Long-Term Vegetarian Diet on Human Healthand Scientific Dietary Strategies
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: With the enhancement of public health awareness and the innovation of dietary concepts, vegetarian diets have gradually become a popular dietary pattern, mainly divided into lacto-ovo vegetarian and vegan types. A well-balanced long-term vegetarian diet, characterized by low saturated fat, high dietary fiber, and rich antioxidant content, offers potential health benefits in cardiovascular protection, weight regulation, reduction of chronic disease and certain cancer risks, and modulation of gut microbiota. However, long-term vegetarian diets without scientific guidance, especially vegan diets without nutritional intervention, can easily lead to insufficient intake of key nutrients such as vitamin B\(_{12}\), high-quality protein, iron, calcium, zinc, and DHA, which may further induce muscle loss, anemia, osteoporosis, nerve damage, and decreased immunity\cite{cn2021,yu2020}. This paper systematically reviews domestic and international epidemiological cohort studies and nutritional evidence, analyzes the health benefits and potential risks of long-term vegetarian diets, compares the risk differences among various vegetarian patterns, identifies common misconceptions, and proposes actionable scientific dietary strategies, nutritional supplementation, and population-specific adaptation approaches, aiming to provide theoretical references for the public to safely adopt vegetarian dietary practices.
Language: English
Topic: Nutritional Studies and Diet
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7204005079