一詞：吃素真的就健康嗎？不，這些壞處先搞清楚

adj. 嚴格的；嚴厲的

圖片來源：視覺中國

It's becoming more popular to eat meat-free at least part of the time.

現在越來越流行吃素，至少在部分時間裏吃素。

While about 4% of Americans are full-time vegetarians, with about half of those also vegan, a recent poll by the Vegetarian Resource Group found that 46% of respondents say they always or sometimes eat vegetarian meals when dining out. The top reason? Health.

約4%的美國人完全吃素，其中約一半的人也是嚴格素食主義者（不吃肉、蛋、奶等），而且素食資源團體最近的一項民意調查發現，46%的受訪者表示，外出用餐的時候他們總是吃素，或者有時候吃素。主要原因是爲了健康。

Although vegetarian eating does have a stellar health reputation, recent news has focused on what could be bad about vegetarian diets and more stringent vegan plans, including reports of stroke risk, harms to brain health, hair loss, and depression.

儘管吃素在保持健康方面確實聲譽極佳，但最近的新聞着重報道了素食以及更嚴格的純素飲食計劃可能會帶來的不良影響，例如中風的風險、對大腦的損傷、脫髮以及抑鬱。

Stroke risk: British researchers followed more than 48,000 men and women with no history of heart disease or stroke for about 18 years. Vegetarians had a 13% lower risk of heart disease than meat eaters. But they also had a 20% higher rate of stroke than meat eaters. That translated to three more strokes for every 1,000 people over 10 years.

中風的風險：英國研究人員對48000多名沒有心臟病史或中風病史的男性和女性進行了爲期18年的跟蹤調查。素食者患心臟病的風險比肉食者低13%，但他們中風的機率比肉食者高20%。也就是說，在10年裏，每1000人要多中風3次。

Brain health: Another expert wrote that the trend toward vegetarian diets may lead to a "choline crisis." Choline is a nutrient that’s important for brain health and other functions. It’s found in meat and poultry, and the body can't make all that humans need.

大腦健康：另一位專家寫道，吃素的趨勢可能會導致“膽鹼能危象”。膽鹼是對大腦健康和其他功能非常重要的一種營養物質。它存在於肉類和家禽中，人體合成的膽鹼不足以滿足人體的需求。

Hair loss: So, can giving up meat lead to hair loss? A recent report found that a severe lack of protein, among other diet shortcomings, can lead to it. That’s because meat contains iron, vitamin B, and zinc, which are all important for hair growth.

脫髮：所以，不吃肉會導致脫髮嗎？最近的一份報告指出，除了其他飲食缺陷外，嚴重缺乏蛋白質還會導致脫髮。這是因爲肉類含有鐵、維生素B和鋅，它們都對頭髮的生長很重要。

Mood Problems: Can vegetarian and vegan diets sour your mood? Research on this is mixed. Some studies have found that going meatless improves mood, and others have found the opposite. In one study of 400 new mothers, 80 reported postpartum depression. A vegetarian diet was one factor that seemed to make it more likely to be depressed.

情緒問題：吃素和純素飲食會影響你的情緒嗎？關於這方面的研究，人們持不同的觀點。一些研究發現，不吃肉可以改善情緒，而其他研究的結果則恰恰相反。在一項針對400名新媽媽的研究中，80人患上了產後抑鬱症。吃素似乎是使她們更容易抑鬱的一個因素。