To Live Longer, Eat More Chicken and Plant-based Protein

雞肉與植物性蛋白質有助於長壽

New research shows that when people depend less on animal protein and replace it with plant protein, they can expect to live longer, healthier lives.

       最新的研究顯示，減少對動物性蛋白質的依賴，並以植物性蛋白質來取代，可以讓人活得更長壽、更健康。

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To Live Longer, Eat More Chicken and Plant-based Protein
VOA News
Last updated on: August 07, 2016 4:00 PM (source) 

To Live Longer, Eat More Chicken and Plant-based Protein

雞肉與植物性蛋白質有助於長壽

Carol Pearson
August 07, 2016 4:00 PM

The traditional American diet is full of red meat - steaks and hamburgers and processed meat. That's where many Americans get their protein. As this diet becomes more popular in other countries, heart disease becomes more common, too. Now, new research shows that when people depend less on animal protein and replace it with plant protein, they can expect to live longer, healthier lives.

The study was led by Dr. Mingyang Song, a researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. "People should not only care about how much protein they consume, but also pay attention to what kind of food they consume to gather the protein," Song said.

Protein is important for body structure, physiology and metabolism. It helps build and repair bones and muscles. But the type of protein is also important.

The study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, looked at data from two large studies that lasted 20-plus years. Song and his colleagues focused on how much protein 131,342 U.S. adults consumed in their daily diets and what the source of that protein was.

The data came from the national Nurses' Health Study that lasted 32 years and Health Professionals Follow-up Study at Harvard that went on for 26 years. The participants provided detailed information about their diets in frequent questionnaires.

Song said the findings could change the advice doctors and government agencies provide to their patients and to the general public. Co-author Andrew Chan, also of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, said the study showed that “Individuals that consumed the highest amounts of animal based proteins had a somewhat higher risk of mortality, in particular, cardiovascular mortality.”

The researchers found that a 10 percent increase in animal protein was linked to an 8 percent increase in the risk of death due to cardiovascular disease. They found this association was stronger among people with unhealthy lifestyle factors - people who smoked or drank heavily, who were obese and/or were physically inactive. Chan added, “Some of the association between unhealthy lifestyle and animal protein may be driven primarily by the fact that these people tended to consume more red and processed meat than fish or chicken.” However, those with a healthier lifestyle did not see an increase in their risk of dying.

Still, the study showed that a 10 percent increase in plant protein (ie: nuts, seeds, beans and tofu) was linked to a 10 percent decrease in mortality, and a 12 percent decrease in death from cardiovascular disease. “Clearly, over the long term, a diet which is comprised of primarily plant-based proteins tends to be more favorable for longevity than someone who consumes most of their protein from animal sources,” Song said.

牛排、漢堡和加工肉製品(processed meat)等紅肉佔了美國傳統飲食的一大部分，也是大多數美國人蛋白質(protein)的來源。隨著這種飲食習慣在其他國家日漸普遍，心臟方面的疾病也更為常見。最新的研究顯示，減少對動物性蛋白質的依賴，並以植物性蛋白質來取代(replace . . . with . . .)，可以讓人活得更長壽、更健康。

此研究是由麻省總醫院(Massachusetts General Hospital)、哈佛大學公共衛生學院(Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health)的研究員宋明彥(音譯)博士所主持。他表示：「我們不應只注意吃進了(consume)多少蛋白質，也需注意是透過何種食物來獲取蛋白質。」

蛋白質能協助建構與修復骨骼與肌肉，對於身體組織、生理機能(physiology)和新陳代謝(metabolism)這三方面很重要，不過，其種類亦很重要。

這項研究檢視的資料來自於兩個持續(last) 20 年以上的大型研究，其結果發表於《美國醫學會內科醫學期刊》(JAMA Internal Medicine)。宋博士和其研究同僚把焦點放在 131,342 名的美國成年人每日飲食中所攝取的蛋白質的份量與其來源。

研究資料來自於持續 32 年的全國性「護理人員健康研究」(Nurses' Health Study)，以及哈佛大學歷時 26 年的「醫護人員追蹤研究」(Health Professionals Follow-Up Study)。參與這兩項研究的人員頻繁地填答問卷，提供他們自身飲食的詳細資訊。

宋博士說，此項研究的發現可能會改變醫師與政府機構給予病人及一般大眾(the general public)在保健上的建議。此研究的共同作者安德魯‧詹(Andrew Chan)與宋博士同屬於麻省總醫院與哈佛醫學院。他表示，這項研究顯示出「動物性蛋白質攝取量最多的人，其死亡(mortality)的風險較高一些，尤其是心臟血管方面的(cardiovascular)死亡率。」

研究人員發現了一個相關連結：動物性蛋白質（攝取量）增加 10%，因心臟血管方面疾病而死亡的風險就會增加 8%。若個人還有其他不利健康的生活方式之風險因子，像是抽菸、飲酒過度、肥胖和／或不好動(physically inactive)等，這個關聯性會更為明顯。詹博士補充說道：「不健康的生活方式與動物蛋白質兩者之間的關聯性，其一部分可能主要是基於生活方式不健康的人也往往吃了較多的紅肉與加工肉品，而非魚肉與雞肉。」然而，飲食中有較多紅肉與加工肉品但生活方式較健康的人，其死亡的風險則不見增加。

但研究仍顯示，增加 10% 的植物性蛋白質，即堅果種籽類(nuts, seeds)、豆類與豆腐，死亡率會減少 10%，而因心臟血管疾病造成的死亡則減少 12%。宋博士表示：「從長遠來看(over the long term)，比起大部分以動物為蛋白質來源的飲食，以植物性蛋白質為主所構成的飲食很顯然地更有益於長壽(longevity)。」