常吃花生能降低死亡風險

Eating nuts and peanuts reduces the risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke, a new study claims. Researchers found they were linked with a reduced risk of death from heart disease among people on low incomes.
一項新的研究顯示，吃堅果和花生可以減少心臟病或者中風的發病機率。研究者發現，低收入人羣因心臟疾病而死忙的風險較低便是與此有關。

And they believe their findings suggest peanuts may be a cost-effective measure to improve cardiovascular health because they are so cheap.
並且他們相信，這項發現暗示了吃花生可能是一種既划算又有效的改善心血管健康的方式，因爲這真的花不了多少錢。

However experts cautioned today that salt-covered nuts would not have the same health benefits. Nuts are rich in nutrients and peanuts, although classified as legumes, have nutrients similar to tree nuts.
而現在專家們提醒說，鹽津堅果可能對健康沒有同樣的效果。堅果富含營養物質，然而花生雖然歸爲豆類，但是含有與堅果相似的營養物質。

The new study, led by Dr Xiao-Ou Shu, of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Tennessee, analysed various groups of people.
這項新的研究是由美國田納西州範德畢特大學醫學院的舒曉鷗博士領導的，分別研究了不同的人羣。

One involved 72,000 low-income black and white men and women living in the US, the other 134,000 men and women living in Shanghai, China.
其中一個包括了7.2萬在美國居住的低收入白人和黑人，另外13.4萬人是住在中國上海的人。

In both groups, men ate more peanuts than women.
在這兩個羣體中，男性比女性花生吃得多。

In the US group, about half of the nuts consumed were peanuts, and in the Chinese group only peanut consumption was assessed.
在美國羣體中，他們吃的堅果裏大約一半都是花生；至於中國羣體，他們只評估了吃花生的攝入量。

The researchers found that across the board, eating nuts reduced the risk of death from heart disease.
研究人員發現從全面來看，吃堅果能降低心臟病死亡的風險。

This was regardless of gender, race, BMI, smoking, alcohol consumption and conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity.
這跟性別、種族、體質、是否抽菸、是否喝酒以及是否有糖尿病、高血壓跟肥胖症無關。

In the US, the highest consumption resulted in a risk reduction of 21 per cent.
在美國，對於常吃花生或堅果的人，死亡風險比極少吃這類食物的人低21％。

In the Chinese group, it was 17 per cent.
在中國羣體中，吃花生最多的人（的死亡風險）比吃花生最少的人低17％。

Dr Shu said: 'We observed no significant associations between nut or peanut consumption and risk of death due to cancer and diabetes.
'
舒博士說：“我們還沒有發現吃堅果或者花生跟癌症和糖尿病患者死亡風險之間有什麼顯著的關聯。”

She added the findings highlight the large public health impact of nut or peanut consumption in lowering deaths from heart disease - especially given their affordability.
她還說：“這些調查結果強調了堅果跟花生在降低心臟病死亡率方面對公衆健康的影響，尤其是考慮到他們的經濟承受能力。”

The research was published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
這項研究在《美國醫學會雜誌·內科學卷》上發表。

Dr Mitchell Katz, deputy editor of the journal, added: 'Of course, peanuts are not really nuts - they are legumes since they grow in bushes, unlike tree nuts.
該雜誌的副總編米切爾·卡茨補充道：“當然，花生不是真正意義上的堅果——它們是豆科植物。因爲它們跟堅果不一樣，是生長在矮樹叢中的。”

'But who cares if they help us to live longer at an affordable price?'
“花生物美價廉，有益健康，雖然花生不屬於堅果，但又有誰在意呢？”