VOA慢速英语2019 多吃植物蛋白有助于长寿（在线收听）

Eating More Plant Protein May Help You Live Longer

People who eat more plant-based protein may live longer than those who get more protein from meat, a Japanese study suggests.

日本一项研究表明，相较于多吃肉类蛋白质的人，那些多吃植物性蛋白质的人可能更长寿。

Researchers followed almost 71,000 middle-aged Japanese adults for an average of almost 20 years. They compared people who ate the smallest amount of plant protein to those who ate the largest amount. The researchers found that those who ate the most were 13 percent less likely to die during the study. They were also 16 percent less likely to die of cardiovascular causes.

研究人员对近7.1万名日本中年人进行了平均近20年的跟踪调查。他们将吃植物蛋白最少的人与吃植物蛋白最多的人进行了比较。研究人员发现，那些吃最多植物蛋白的人在研究期间死亡的可能性降低了13%，死于心血管疾病的可能性也降低了16%。

Frank Hu is a medical doctor and the head of the department of nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts. He told the Reuters news service that earlier studies have shown that eating more animal protein is linked to chronic disease and death.

弗兰克·胡是一名医生，也是位于马萨诸塞州波士顿的哈佛大学陈曾熙公共卫生学院营养系主任。他告诉路透社，早期的研究表明，多食用动物类蛋白会导致慢性疾病和死亡。

He said earlier studies also have shown that eating more plant protein is linked with lower health risks.

他说，早期的研究也表明，多吃植物性蛋白会降低健康风险。

But most of those studies were done among Western populations, he said. “In this Japanese study, consumption of plant protein is quite high, whereas the consumption of animal protein is quite low compared to that in Western populations,” he said.

但他说，这些研究大多是在西方人群中进行的。他表示：“相比于西方人群而言，在日本的这项研究中，研究人群的植物蛋白摄取量相当高，而动物蛋白的摄取量相则相当低。”

Animal protein did not appear to influence length of life in the study, researchers report in the scientific publication JAMA Internal Medicine.

研究人员在《美国医学会内科杂志》(JAMA Internal Medicine)上发表报告称，在这项研究中，动物蛋白似乎对寿命没有什么影响。

During the study, 12,381 people died. That included more than 5,055 deaths from cancer, 3,025 from cardiovascular disease and 1,528 deaths from other kinds of heart disease. The remaining deaths were the result of cerebrovascular disease.

在这项研究期间，有12381人死亡，其中5055人死于癌症；3025人死于心血管疾病；1528人死于其它类型的心脏病；剩下的其余人死于脑血管疾病。

People who replaced just 3 percent of red meat with plant protein were 34 percent less likely to die of any cause. They were 39 percent less likely to die of cancer, and 42 percent less likely to die of heart disease during the study.

用植物蛋白代替3%红肉的人，死于以上任何疾病的可能性（平均）降低了34%。在研究期间，他们死于癌症的可能性降低了39%，死于心脏病的可能性降低了24%。

And, those who replaced just 4 percent of processed meat in their diet with plant protein were 46 percent less likely to die of any cause. They were 50 percent less likely to die of cancer.

而且，那些在日常饮食中用植物蛋白替代4%加工肉类的人，死于以上任何疾病的可能性（平均）降低了46%。他们死于癌症的可能性降低了50%。

Hu was not involved in the Japanese study. But he said when individuals eat more plant protein foods such as nuts and lentils, there is major improvement in cardiovascular risk factors. These include blood pressure and body weight.

胡没有参与这项日本研究。但他表示，假如人们多吃坚果和扁豆等富含植物蛋白的食物，包括血压和体重在内的心血管危险因素将会有很大的改善。

“It is worth noting that these plant foods contain not just protein, but also other beneficial nutrients such as healthy fats…” he said.

他说：“值得注意的是，这些植物性食物不仅含有蛋白质，还含有其它有益的营养成分，比如健康的脂肪....”

The current study was not a controlled experiment designed to prove how the amount or type of protein people eat might directly affect the length of their lives.

目前的研究并不是一个旨在证明摄入蛋白质的数量和类型可能会影响寿命的对照实验。

The researchers noted one limitation of their study. They wrote that the diets of those taking part were only considered once, at the start of the study. It is possible that those diets changed over time.

研究人员指出了他们研究的一个局限性。他们写道，参与者的饮食只在研究开始时被考虑过一次。这些饮食习惯可能会随着时间而改变。

Words in This Story

cardiovascular – adj. of or relating to the heart and blood vessels

chronic – adj. continuing or occurring again and again for a long time

consumption – n. continuing or occurring again and again for a long time

quite – adv. to a very noticeable degree or extent

cerebrovascular – adj. of or relating to the brain and its blood vessels

replace(d) – v. to put someone or something new in the place or position of someone or something

factor(s) – n. something that helps produce or influence a result

beneficial – adj. producing good or helpful results or effects