一项大型研究最近称，素食饮食，特别是包括鱼在内的素食饮食，能极大降低患结肠直肠癌的风险。

　　Researchers recruited 77,659 men and women from Seventh-day Adventist churches nationwide. All filled out well-validated questionnaires that included more than 200 food items.

　　研究者从美国各地的基督复临安息日会(Seventh-day Adventist)招募了77659名男女。所有调查对象都填写了确定有效的问卷，其中提到200多种食物。

　　素食或可大大降低结肠直肠癌风险

　　Meat intake in the population was very low — an average of about two ounces a day. During an average of seven years of follow-up, the scientists found 490 cases of colorectal cancer. Over all, after adjusting for many health and behavioral variables, vegetarians had a 21 percent reduced risk of cancer compared with nonvegetarians. The results are in JAMA Internal Medicine.

　　这些调查对象的总体肉摄入量很低，平均每天约二盎司（约合56.7克）。在平均长达七年的跟踪调查中，科学家们发现了490例结肠直肠癌。在根据很多健康和行为变量调整之后，研究者们算出，总的来说，素食者比非素食者的患癌风险低21%。该研究结果发表在《美国医学会杂志·内科学卷》(JAMA Internal Medicine)上。

　　But some vegetarian diets were better than others. Results for people who modified a vegetarian diet with eating meat or fish up to four times a month derived little benefit. But “pescovegetarians,” who ate fish one or more times a month and other meats less than once a month, reduced their risk by 42 percent compared with nonvegetarians.

　　不过，有些素食优于其他素食。在素食基础上每月最多吃四次肉类或鱼类，几乎不会带来更多益处。但是，“鱼素者”(pescovegetarian)，也就是那些每月至少吃一次鱼、最多吃一次肉的人——比非素食者患结肠直肠癌的风险低42%。

　　“We’re looking at the low end of the meat consumption spectrum,” said the lead author, Dr. Michael J. Orlich, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the Loma Linda University School of Public Health, “but even compared to a moderate intake of meat, a zero intake looks better, with or without fish.”

　　“我们调查的是肉摄入量较低的人，”这项研究的主要作者、洛马林达大学公共卫生学院的流行病学助理教授迈克尔·J·奥尔利奇博士(Michael J. Orlich)说，“不过，与适量摄入肉类相比，完全不吃肉甚至似乎更好——不管是否摄入鱼类。”