一项重大研究发现：素食者的死亡率明显低于肉食者。这项研究已发表在《美国医学协会内科杂志》上，在医学建议与素食饮食对支持者的健康影响相冲突的情况下，重新燃起了人们对越来越受欢迎的素食饮食进行辩论。

　　The research was undertaken by scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital, who monitored health and diet records of more than 130,000 people over the course of thirty years. They found every three per cent increase in calories from plant protein was found to reduce risk of death by 10 per cent. The figure rises to 12 per cent for risk of dying from heart disease.

　　马萨诸塞州总医院的科学家们开展了这项研究，他们监测了过去30年里13万多人的健康和饮食记录。他们发现从植物蛋白中每增加3%的卡路里摄入量，死亡率就会降低10%。而死于心脏病的风险则降低12%。

　　By contrast, raising the share of animal protein in one's diet by 10 per cent led to a two per cent higher risk of death from all causes. This increased to an eight per cent higher chance of dying from heart disease. Substituting eggs for plant protein led to a 19 per cent reduction in death risk and eliminating unprocessed red meat saw a drop of 12 per cent.

　　相比之下，每从动物蛋白中摄入10%的卡路里，各类原因所造成的死亡风险则会上升2%。而死于心脏病的风险则增加8%。用鸡蛋代替植物蛋白，则死亡风险降低19%；不吃未处理的红肉，死亡风险就会降低12%。

　　As would be expected, the risk was found to be most pronounced among people who also engaged in other unhealthy activities, including having a history of smoking, drinking heavily or being obese.

　　正如预期的那样，那些行为不健康的人（包括有抽烟史、酗酒或肥胖）死亡率最高。

　　However, caution should be exercised when interpreting the results, as other more complex social and environment factors could affect the results rather than being solely related to diet. For instance, vegans are more likely to be younger than the general population and therefore have much lower mortality rates. Similarly, vegans can be more likely to come from socially affluent backgrounds, which can also influence mortality risk.

　　然而，在解读结果时也需谨慎，因为死亡风险不仅与饮食相关，其它更为复杂的社会和环境因素也会影响其结果。例如，相比一般人群，素食者往往更年轻，因此死亡率要低得多。同样的，素食者的社会背景可能更为富裕，这也会影响死亡率。

　　Lead scientist Dr Mingyang Song said: “Overall, our findings support the importance of the sources of dietary protein for long-term health outcomes”. “While previous studies have primarily focused on the overall amount of protein intake - which is important - from a broad dietary perspective, the particular foods people consume to get protein are equally important.”

　　首席科学家宋明阳说过：“整体而言，我们的研究结果支持饮食蛋白的来源对长期健康十分重要的观点。”“虽然先前的研究主要注重蛋白摄入的总量——这十分重要——但从更广泛的饮食角度来看，人们从特定食物中获取蛋白质也同样重要。”

　　“Our findings suggest people should consider eating more plant proteins than animal proteins, and when they do choose among sources of animal protein, fish and chicken are probably better choices.”

　　“我们的研究表明：人们应该考虑吃更多的植物蛋白而非动物蛋白。而当人们选择动物蛋白时，鱼和鸡肉或许是更好的选择。”