Pilis Wiesław, Stec Krzysztof, Zych Michał, Pilis Anna
Rocz Panstw Zakl Hig. 2014;65(1):9-14.
A vegetarian diet may be adopted for various reasons that can include ecological, economic, religious, ethical and health considerations. In the latter case they arise from the desire to lose weight, in tackling obesity, improving physical fitness and/or in reducing the risk of acquiring certain diseases. It has been shown that properly applied vegetarian diet is the most effective way of reducing body mass (expressed as BMI), improving the plasma lipid profile and in decreasing the incidence of high arterial blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, stroke, metabolic syndrome and arteriosclerosis. In addition, improved insulin sensitivity together with lower rates of diabetes and cancer has been observed. Some studies have however found that a vegetarian diet may result in changes adversely affecting the body. These could include; hyperhomocysteinaemia, protein deficiency, anaemia, decreased creatinine content in muscles and menstrual disruption in women who undertake increased physical activity. Some of these changes may decrease the ability for performing activities that require physical effort. Nevertheless, on balance it can be reasonably concluded that the beneficial effects of a vegetarian diet significantly, by far, outweigh the adverse ones. It should also be noted that the term 'vegetarian diet' is not always clearly defined in the literature and it may include many dietary variations.
采用素食饮食可能有多种原因，包括生态、经济、宗教、伦理和健康方面的考虑。在后一种情况下，其源于减肥、应对肥胖、改善身体健康和/或降低患某些疾病风险的愿望。研究表明，合理应用的素食饮食是减轻体重（以体重指数表示）、改善血脂谱以及降低高血压、心血管疾病、中风、代谢综合征和动脉硬化发病率的最有效方法。此外，还观察到胰岛素敏感性提高，同时糖尿病和癌症发病率降低。然而，一些研究发现素食饮食可能会导致对身体产生不利影响的变化。这些变化可能包括：高同型半胱氨酸血症、蛋白质缺乏、贫血、肌肉中肌酐含量降低以及从事增加体力活动的女性月经紊乱。其中一些变化可能会降低进行体力活动的能力。尽管如此，总体而言，可以合理地得出结论，素食饮食的有益效果远远超过不利效果。还应注意的是，“素食饮食”一词在文献中并不总是有明确的定义，它可能包括许多饮食变体。
