Do vegetarians have a “get out of jail free” card when it comes to unhealthy habits? A new study finds vegetarians aren’t just healthier than meat-eaters, the impact of their diet holds up regardless of how much they drink and smoke.

在不健康的生活习惯方面，素食者有没有“免罪卡”?一项新的研究发现，素食者不仅比肉食者更健康，而且不管他们喝了多少酒，抽了多少烟，他们饮食的影响都是有效的。

Researchers from the University of Glasgow examined more than 175,000 British adults during their study. Those results reveal people sticking to a plant-based diet appear to be healthier than meat-lovers. Moreover, they came out ahead regardless of age, weight, smoking habits, and their levels of alcohol consumption.

格拉斯哥大学的研究人员在他们的研究中调查了超过175000名英国成年人。这些结果显示，坚持植物性饮食的人似乎比喜欢吃肉的人更健康。此外，无论年龄、体重、吸烟习惯和饮酒水平，他们都走在了前面。

The Scottish team looked at biomarkers that can have good and bad health effects; promoting or preventing cancer, heart and age-related diseases, as well as other chronic conditions. Previous studies have also looked at these markers to assess the effectiveness of certain diets on human health.

苏格兰研究小组观察了生物标志物，这些标志物可以对健康产生好的和坏的影响; 促进或预防癌症、心脏和年龄相关的疾病，以及其他慢性疾病。以前的研究也观察了这些标记物，以评估某些饮食对人类健康的有效性。

Glasgow researchers analyzed blood and urine samples from 177,723 healthy participants, between 37 and 73 years-old, reporting no major changes in their diet over the last five years. The team categorized the group as either vegetarians (not eating red meat, poultry, or fish) or meat-eaters, according to each person’s self-reported diet. The researchers examined each diet’s association with 19 biomarkers related to diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, liver, bone and joint health, and kidney function.

格拉斯哥的研究人员分析了177723名、年龄在37岁到73岁之间的健康参与者的血液和尿液样本，报告说他们的饮食在过去五年中没有发生重大变化。根据每个人自我报告的饮食，研究小组将这组人分为素食者(不吃红肉、家禽或鱼)或肉食者。研究人员研究了每种饮食与19种生物标志物的关系，这些生物标志物与糖尿病、心血管疾病、癌症、肝脏、骨骼和关节健康以及肾功能有关。

Even after accounting for potentially influential factors including age, sex, education, ethnicity, obesity, smoking, and alcohol intake, the analysis reveals, in comparison to meat-eaters, vegetarians had “significantly lower” levels of 13 key biomarkers. Those include total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein “bad” cholesterol, and a hormone that encourages the growth and proliferation of cancer cells.

即使在考虑了年龄、性别、教育程度、种族、肥胖、吸烟和酒精摄入等潜在影响因素后，分析显示，与肉食者相比，素食者的13个关键生物标志物水平“明显较低”。其中包括总胆固醇、低密度脂蛋白“坏”胆固醇和一种促进癌细胞生长和增殖的激素。

Vegetarians also had lower levels of beneficial biomarkers including “good” high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol.

素食者也有较低水平的有益生物标志物，包括“好”的高密度脂蛋白(HDL)胆固醇。

“Our findings offer real food for thought,” says study leader Dr. Carlos Celis-Morales in a media release. “As well as not eating red and processed meat which have been linked to heart diseases and some cancers, people who follow a vegetarian diet tend to consume more vegetables, fruits, and nuts which contain more nutrients, fiber, and other potentially beneficial compounds.”

研究负责人卡洛斯·塞利斯·莫拉莱斯博士在一次媒体发布会上说：“我们的研究结果确实值得深思。除了不吃与心脏病和某些癌症有关的红肉和加工肉外，素食者倾向于食用更多的蔬菜、水果和坚果，因为它们含有更多的营养素、纤维和其他可能有益的化合物。”

“These nutritional differences may help explain why vegetarians appear to have lower levels of disease biomarkers that can lead to cell damage and chronic disease,” Celis-Morales concludes.

“这些营养差异可能有助于解释，为什么素食者似乎在可导致细胞损伤和慢性疾病的生物标志物方面水平更低。”Celis Morales总结道。

Researchers presented their findings at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO), held online this year.

研究人员在今年举行的欧洲肥胖大会(ECO)上公布了他们的研究结果。