成為素食主義者的副作用

成為素食主義者的副作用

There are several medical studies linking vegetarian diets to lower incidences of certain types of cancers, heart disease, Type II diabetes and other chronic diseases. Many news headlines say vegetarians live longer than meat eaters.

有幾項(xiàng)醫(yī)學(xué)研究表明，素食可以降低某些癌癥、心臟病、二型糖尿病和其他慢性疾病的發(fā)病率。許多新聞頭條都說素食者比肉食者活得更久。

Thinking about going veggie? Before permanently clearing out the steak knives from your kitchen, consider some of the following possible side effects of becoming vegetarian:

想吃素嗎?在永久清除廚房里的牛排刀之前，考慮一下成為素食者可能帶來的一些副作用:

Vegetarians tend to have lower cholesterol levels than non-vegetarians, as well as a lower risk of heart disease and Type II diabetes. ArtKolo/Shutterstock

1. Low cholesterol levels: Virtually every medical study on vegetarian populations, including the prominent Oxford Vegetarian Study of 5,000 vegetarian subjects, have concluded that vegetarians have lower cholesterol levels than non-vegetarians. Most in the mainstream medical community, including the American Heart Association, recommend keeping total cholesterol levels under 200.

低膽固醇水平:幾乎所有針對素食人群的醫(yī)學(xué)研究，包括著名的牛津素食研究，該研究對5000名素食者進(jìn)行了調(diào)查，得出的結(jié)論是素食者的膽固醇水平比非素食者低。大多數(shù)主流醫(yī)學(xué)團(tuán)體，包括美國心臟協(xié)會，建議將總膽固醇水平控制在200以下。

2. Increased risk of colorectal cancer: One would assume that heavy meat eaters would have a higher risk of developing colorectal cancer but a review published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition of the aforementioned Oxford study reveals, "Within the study, the incidence of all cancers combined was lower among vegetarians than among meat eaters, but the incidence of colorectal cancer was higher in vegetarians than in meat eaters."

增加結(jié)直腸癌的風(fēng)險:人們可能會認(rèn)為肉食者患結(jié)直腸癌的風(fēng)險更高，但是發(fā)表在《美國臨床營養(yǎng)學(xué)雜志》上的一篇關(guān)于上述牛津大學(xué)研究的評論指出，“在這項(xiàng)研究中，所有癌癥的發(fā)病率在素食者中都低于肉食者，但結(jié)腸直腸癌的發(fā)病率在素食者中高于肉食者。”

3. Lower bone mineral density: While it’s possible for vegetarians to consume adequate amounts of protein, calcium, iron and vitamin D (if supplementing properly or getting enough sunlight) to ensure proper muscle and bone development, one study concluded that vegetarians had approximately 5 percent lower bone-mineral density (BMD) than non-vegetarians.

骨密度較低:雖然素食者有可能攝入足量的蛋白質(zhì),鈣,鐵和維生素D(如果適當(dāng)補(bǔ)充或有足夠的陽光),以確保適當(dāng)?shù)募∪夂凸趋腊l(fā)展,一項(xiàng)研究得出的結(jié)論是,素食者大約比非素食者的骨礦物質(zhì)密度低5%。

4. Lower levels of vitamin B12: A study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry says that omnivores have a significantly higher cluster of cardiovascular risk factors than vegetarians. But one potential risk of becoming a vegetarian seems to be the preponderance of lower vitamin B12 in the blood. B12 helps with metabolism, converting food into stable energy, utilizing iron, producing healthy red blood cells, and a host of other benefits.

維生素B12水平較低:《農(nóng)業(yè)與食品化學(xué)雜志》上的一項(xiàng)研究表明，雜食者比素食者具有明顯更高的心血管風(fēng)險因素。但成為素食者的一個潛在風(fēng)險似乎是，血液中維生素B12含量偏低。B12有助于新陳代謝，將食物轉(zhuǎn)化為穩(wěn)定的能量，利用鐵，產(chǎn)生健康的紅細(xì)胞，以及許多其他的好處。

Walnuts are a great source of omega-3 fatty acids for vegetarians. Pauline Mak/flickr

5. Insufficient levels of omega-3 fatty acids: A paper published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition claims that vegetarians have lower levels of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, particularly EPA and DHA. Sufficient levels of long-chain omega-3s are beneficial for cardiovascular health, say the study’s authors, who also concluded that DHA supplementation at a dose of about 2 grams per day eventually decreased plasma cholesterol.

歐米伽-3脂肪酸水平不足:一篇發(fā)表在《歐洲臨床營養(yǎng)學(xué)雜志》上的論文聲稱，素食者的歐米伽-3脂肪酸水平較低，特別是EPA和DHA。研究報告的作者說，足量的長鏈歐米伽-3脂肪酸對心血管健康有益。他們還得出結(jié)論說，每天補(bǔ)充大約2克DHA最終會降低血漿膽固醇。

One last morsel for thought: if you’re concerned at all about side effects of becoming vegetarian, Minor says to consider being a "flexitarian."

最后一點(diǎn)建議:如果你擔(dān)心成為素食者的副作用，Minor建議你考慮成為一個“彈性素食者”。

"Flexitarians are people who are vegetarian most of the time, but once in a while will consume an animal protein," she says. "The more restrictive you are with your diet, the more you’ll have to closely monitor what you’re consuming and the more likely your need will be to supplement. Work with a registered dietitian to make sure you’re not at risk for dietary deficiencies."

她說:“彈性素食者大部分時間都是素食者，但偶爾也會攝入動物蛋白。你對自己的飲食限制越嚴(yán)格，就越要密切關(guān)注自己攝入的食物，也就越有可能需要補(bǔ)充。”與注冊營養(yǎng)師合作，確保你不會有飲食不足的風(fēng)險。”