拒絕成爲素食者的十大理由(上)

There's been a trend in recent years of everyone and their brother hopping on a proverbial train labeled "Vegetarianism." As the population has paid shrewder attention to health and nutrition, it seems that one of the most touted lifestyles is any collection of vegetarianism, most specifically veganism, which eliminates any addition of meat or dairy products in one's diet. Meats have been condemned for the alleged predispositions one will have to heart disease and various cancers due to the consumption of saturated fats.

近年來有一種趨勢，人人都熱衷於標榜自己是"素食主義者"。人們越來越關注健康和營養問題，貌似最時尚的生活方式就是加入素食主義陣營——飲食中完全沒有肉類或乳製品。人們排斥肉食，認爲吃肉會攝入飽和脂肪，從而患上心臟病和各種癌症。

In the 1950s, a breakfast that included greasy bacon, three egg omelettes and steak was seen as typical. "Diet" wasn't a word that was common in American vernacular and "gym rat" would likely be associated with an actual rodent as opposed to a fraternity member with a penchant for pumping iron. Over several decades, America's views on health and diet have changed drastically. Vegetarianism is no longer a rarity and it seems that every other week a member of Hollywood's elite (or at least reality television) is touting veganism as their diet of choice, along with various "cleanses" (note: don't do a cleanse). For many, acquiring a gym membership is as crucial as having a credit card, and the word "bacon-wrapped-cheddar whatever" is synonymous with dropping an "F" bomb. It is interesting that vegetarianism has become so much of the hype for combatting diseases when instances of heart disease and various cancers are at an all-time high and have led to more mortalities than they ever had during decades where meat was considered a staple of all dishes. The truth of the matter is, food processing and various artificial ingredients are much more likely to be contributing to health detriments than a healthful steak or lamb shank. While everyone believes meats and dairies have become unhealthy, the truth is quite the opposite. Meat consumption can actually lead to a decreased risk of various medical conditions and can help to maintain weight. Let's take a look at the 10 ways vegetarians have gotten it all wrong.

在20世紀50年代，早餐裏通常會有肥膩的培根、三個煎蛋和牛排，在美國方言中並沒有"飲食"這個詞，"體育館老鼠"還不用於比喻喜歡舉重的健身館會員，而是指真正的老鼠。最近幾十年來，美國人對健康和飲食的觀點發生了戲劇性的變化。素食主義不再是一個罕見的觀念，貌似每隔一週，就有大批好萊塢精英（至少是真人秀明星）宣稱他們是素食者。很多人覺得獲得健身房會員資格的重要性堪比擁有信用卡，對他們來說，"吃任何東西都要加培根"的想法簡直不可理喻。有意思的是，越來越多的素食主義者高調宣稱，現在是心臟病和各種癌症發病率有史以來最高的時期，可是在過去，人們每餐都吃肉，由心臟病和癌症引發的死亡率卻遠遠低於現在。 實際上，相比牛排或羊腿，食品的烹飪方式以及各種人造添加劑對健康的損害更嚴重。很多人都認爲肉類和乳製品有損健康，而事實卻恰好相反。吃肉會讓我們少生病，並且有助於保持體重。下面請看素食主義者的10種錯誤觀念。

Ancestry Is Rooted In Eating Meat

10.人類的祖先是肉食動物

Back in the days our primitive ancestors lived — around 2.5 million years ago — behaviors were much more instinctual. There were no "fad" diets, just a diet that consisted of hopefully finding a worthy specimen to kill and eat in order to stave off starvation. In other words, it was a simpler time.

回顧250萬年前，人類的祖先基於本能生活。在那時，沒有所謂的"飲食時尚"，他們竭盡所能只爲果腹。換言之，這是一個樸素的時代。

Other than eating meat as a survival technique — and because that along with the occasional twigs and berries were all that was at our primitive ancestors' disposal — Pete Ungar of the University of Arkansas made the discovery in 2003 that Homo sapiens "had much sharper teeth than their most likely immediate ancestor, Australopithecus afarensis, which posits that our ancestors were born to consume meat. The steep crests of primitive humans cannot be found in various omnivores, and even chimpanzees and gorillas "which consume mostly soft foods such as ripe fruit and almost no meat" do not have as steep and sharp of a crest in their teeth. The sharpness of the crest of our teeth is clearly designed for cutting and tearing of tough textures that are characteristic of meat. There is more to the story of evolutionary reasons for keeping meat as a staple in the human diet. When Homo sapiens brains increased in size during the Ice age, their digestive systems also became smaller so that they would need less energy in order to survive the long, harsh winters of the Ice Age, which made food scarce. There were very little plant options during this time, and meat became the primary source of primates' nutrients and energy. According to Holistic Help, the advent of agriculture is one thing that has begun to change our evolutionary assets in a negative way. Holistic Help vetted Dr. Barry Groves for more insight, and he posited that, " The brain has become 11 percent smaller since the introduction of agriculture about 10,000 years ago. Many of the calories in the diet that once consisted of nutrient-dense foods, like the high-fat animals of the Paleolithic era, were substituted with mineral-depleting grains. This has robbed the brain of the energy it needs to maintain its large size."

之後，他們偶爾能吃到野果和樹枝，食肉隨之成爲一項生存技能。阿肯色大學的Pete Ungar在2003年的研究中發現，智人的牙齒比他們的先輩阿法南猿人更鋒利，因此他們天生就有食肉的能力。在雜食動物，甚至是黑猩猩和大猩猩中，都沒有發現類似原始人類的牙冠。黑猩猩和大猩猩只能吃像熟透的果子這樣容易咀嚼的食物，他們幾乎不吃肉，因爲他們的牙齒上沒有鋒利的牙冠。人類牙齒上的牙冠就是用來撕咬和嚼碎像肉類一樣堅韌的食物。還有很多與進化相關的原因使得肉食成爲人類的基本飲食。在冰河時代，智人的腦容量變大，消化系統變小，因此他們只需要較少的能量就可以度過漫長、寒冷、食物匱乏的嚴冬。在這樣的冬天幾乎找不到植物來充飢，肉類就成了能量和營養的主要來源。Holistic Help說，農業的出現對人類的進化產生了負面影響。他仔細查閱了Barry Groves博士的研究並指出："自10000年前出現農業以來，人類的腦容量縮小了11%，因爲食物中營養豐富的食材（例如：舊石器時代裏，富含脂肪動物的肉）被穀類所替代，從而導致大腦缺乏足夠的能量來維持腦容量的體積。"

umption Of Red Meat Can Prevent Certain Deficiencies

9.吃牛羊肉能預防某些疾病

Marbly red meats are a favorite entree several in restaurants across the nation, and also considered a "guilty pleasure" by many due to the high amount of saturated fats, as well as beef's omnipresence on fast food menus across the globe. The processing of red meat in chain restaurants has been instrumental in giving this protein and vitamin-rich food a bad rap. However, red meat purchased from grocery stores that has labels like "grass-fed," "organic," "ethical," "hormone-free" and/or "unprocessed" can serve as an essential part of one's diet and decrease the risk of physical and mental health ailments such as anemia, jaundice and dementia to name a few.

牛羊肉在各個餐館都深受歡迎，牛肉製品也遍佈全球各地的快餐店，不過，因爲其富含飽和脂肪，很多食客覺得應該少吃。快餐連鎖店對牛羊肉的粗製濫造，導致人們對這種富含蛋白質和維生素的食物印象不佳。不過，從肉店買回的牛羊肉（如有機肉、優質肉、無激素或未加工的肉類）依然可以作爲人們飲食中的重要組成部分，食用牛羊肉有助於降低身心疾病的發病風險，例如：貧血、黃疸和癡呆。

Red meat is rich in vitamin B12, a vitamin that can only be found in meats, dairy or poultry products and is essential to the operations of the central nervous system. A deficiency in this vitamin can give way to a litany of health issues such as dementia that can decrease quality of life and longevity. Deficiencies in B12 can be insidious, as people can go years without feeling the effects. There are few tastier ways to ensure you are getting enough of this essential vitamin than to "beef" things up at dinner time with a home-cooked burger or filet mignon.

只能從肉類、乳製品和家禽產品中獲取的維生素B12是中樞神經系統正常運行的必要保障，而牛羊肉中富含維生素B12。缺乏維生素B12可能會引發一系列健康問題，例如：癡呆（降低生活質量減少壽命），這類疾病的病情並不顯著，人們可能很多年都沒有意識到疾病的影響。而多吃牛羊肉，是避免維生素B12缺乏症的最有效的辦法。

tarianism Does Not Necessarily Help With Weight Loss

8.素食主義並不有助於減肥

Many people have taken to vegetarianism not for political reasons, but for weight loss reasons, as vegetarianism has been touted as a great weight loss regimen. This is not necessarily the case. In fact vegetarianism can actually lead to weight gain.

很多人選擇素食主義不是因爲政治因素，而是想要減肥，素食主義已被吹捧爲減肥的絕好方法。然而實際情況未必如此，吃素有可能導致體重增加。

As a personal anecdote, I'll reference an ex of mine who practiced vegetarianism. When you think of a vegetarian, you're likely thinking of someone who eats tons of organic fruits and vegetables, a plethora of nuts and beans for proteins, and a smorgasbord of healthy complex carbohydrates like brown rice or quinoa, all aligned in a beautiful rainbow of health on a plate like one of those featured in many a picture on veg blogs. The reality is that you don't necessarily have to be healthy to be a vegetarian. You just have to exclude meat (and dairy as well if you are a vegan). My ex boyfriend the vegetarian had a steady diet of vodka, tofurkey, hash browns, and Oreos (which are completely vegan, by the way) to support his vegetarian lifestyle. In other words, he wasn't in the best of health. Vegetarianism and veganism do not provide the same satiation that a diet including meat does. Because meats provide complete proteins as well as fat, you will feel fuller longer. In fact, met actually can aid in a weight-loss program and even expedite benefits gained during exercise. According to Men's Health, "When you eat, your body has to expend calories to digest the food. Protein causes this inner fire to burn the hottest, followed by carbohydrates, followed by fat. Animal proteins increase thermogenesis more than vegetable proteins, so the best calorie-burning foods are lean meats. So eat some protein at each meal—build your dinner around lean chicken, beef, or pork. That way, you're burning the most calories through digestion at the end of the day, when your metabolism is slower."

我以前也曾奉行素食主義，現在想跟大家分享一下前男友的趣聞軼事。當你想到素食主義者時，你可能會認爲他們只吃大量的有機水果、蔬菜、堅果、富含蛋白質的豆製品以及各種健康的如糙米或藜麥一類的碳水化合物，它們像彩虹般擺放在盤子上，就和博客上介紹蔬菜的圖片一模一樣。事實上，你不用爲了保持健康而成爲一個素食主義者，你只需要不吃肉就行了（如果你是一個嚴格的素食主義者，那麼奶製品也不要吃）。我前男友是一名素食主義者，他堅持用伏特加、豆腐火雞、薯餅和奧利奧（順便說一下，他是一位嚴格的素食主義者）來支撐他的素食生活。換句話說，他根本不是最佳的健康狀態。素食主義者和嚴格的素食主義者都不能像肉食者一樣感受飽腹感，因爲肉類除了提供蛋白質，還會提供讓你的飽腹感持續時間更久的脂肪。實際上，肉類有助於減肥，讓你在運動中瘦身的速度更快。《男士健康》這本雜誌提到，"當你吃東西后，你的身體需要消耗卡路里來消化食物，蛋白質可以讓體內的熱量燃燒到最熱，其次是碳水化合物，最後是脂肪。動物蛋白比植物蛋白產熱多，所以燃燒卡路里的最好食物是瘦肉。因此，每頓吃一點含蛋白質的食物，例如瘦雞肉、牛肉或者豬肉。在每天晚間，你的新陳代謝速度會減慢，但食用動物蛋白會讓你通過消化燃燒最多的卡路里。"

Probably Doesn't Cause Cancer

7.肉類也許並不會致癌

One of the most touted reasons to steer clear of meats — particularly those high in saturated fats — is the alleged increased risk of cancer and heart disease. Not only were cases of cancer, heart disease, AND obesity much lower during decades like the 1950s — where meat was a staple of every mealtime — recent research has shown that both saturated fat and cholesterol actually pose benefits to the body. According to Authority Nutrition, cholesterol is an essential molecule and yes that includes both HDL (or "good cholesterol") and LDL (otherwise known as "bad cholesterol"). "When we get a lot of cholesterol from the diet, the liver just produces less of it instead, so the total amount doesn't change much. In fact, in about 70% of people, cholesterol has negligible effects on cholesterol in he blood. In the other 30% (termed hyper-responders), there is a mild elevation in LDL cholesterol, but HDL (which is protective) also goes up."

食用肉類會導致所謂的患癌症和心臟疾病的風險增加，這是人們不吃肉，尤其是不吃那些富含飽和脂肪的肉的最重要的原因之一。其實不僅是癌症，目前患有心臟病和過度肥胖的患者都比上世紀50年代要多，而那個時候肉食是一日三餐的主食。最近研究表明，飽和脂肪和膽固醇實際上對我們身體有益。根據網站"權威營養"介紹，膽固醇是一種重要的分子，包括了高密度脂蛋白（或稱爲"好的膽固醇"）和低密度脂蛋白（或稱爲"壞的膽固醇"）。 "如果我們從飲食中攝入了過多的膽固醇，肝臟就會代謝出少量的膽固醇，因此總量並沒有太大變化。事實上，在人體內大約70%的部位中，總膽固醇對血液中膽固醇的影響幾乎可以忽略不計。在另外人體的的30％（稱爲超應答者），低密度脂蛋白含量會有輕微的升高，不過高密度脂蛋白含量（它具有保護性）也會隨之上升。

Authority Nutrition goes on to note that saturated fats can be beneficial by "decreasing risk of stroke" and results from studies and data collection have aggregated to show that saturated fats do not have an impact on cancer risks and heart disease.

"權威營養"提醒，飽和脂肪有利於"降低中風的風險"，集中了研究成果和統計數據的結果顯示，飽和脂肪不會提高患癌症和心臟病的風險。

Eating Meat Is Bad For The Environment

6.不吃肉無益於環境

Say what?! That's right. Look, as an animal lover myself, it always feels a bit morbid to be a proponent of handing out death sentences to livestock. I can empathize with those who are put off by the idea of eating meat due to both their love of animals, and the abhorrent conditions of some (some not all) farming industries. The fact of the matter is, however, not only do we currently have a choice of selecting meats and dairy products that are from farming industries that allow "free-range" and do not include the use of hormones or GMOs, but to eschew killing cattle for meat production would actually be detrimental to our environment. Yes, that's right, the methane produced from livestock is more potent than the deadly gas known as carbon monoxide. Moreover, soy and tofu products have always been regaled in vegetarianism (I don't know if there's a single person that orders tofu without a self-important grin plastering their face. Hey, I've been guilty of it myself) but tofu production actually exacerbates environmental harm. According to a study from Cranfield University, "Switching from British-bred beef and lamb to meat substitutes imported from abroad such as tofu and Quorn would increase the amount of land cultivated, raising the risk of forests being destroyed…The researchers concluded: ‘A switch from beef and milk to highly refined livestock product analogues such as tofu could actually increase the quantity of arable land needed to supply the UK.'"

什麼？不吃肉無益於環境？其實這是真的，看吧，作爲一個動物愛好者來說，倡導吃家禽確實是有點不對。不過我可以強調，那些倡導不吃肉的人不僅是動物愛好者，同時也是和農場工業過不去的人。事實上，除了選擇吃農場生產的不含激素、轉基因的肉類或奶製品，爲了吃牛肉而選擇殺牛的一系列行爲其實對於環境是不利的。這一觀點肯定是正確的，家畜蓄養製造的甲烷比起致命的一氧化碳更有影響力，而大豆以及豆腐產品更受素食主義者的歡迎，但是事實上豆腐製品並不對環境有利。克蘭菲爾德大學的研究表明：把英國本土飼養的牛和羊轉換成牛肉、羊肉替換進口的豆腐或者是素肉會增加耕植土地的數量，造成森林被毀壞的風險。同時，調研者還總結道：若是把牛肉或者是奶製品替換成高度提純的牲畜製品（如豆腐一類）會增加英國供給耕作土地的數量。

翻譯：@某某人 審校：飛揚 來源：前十網