素食對健康大有好處！ 康乃爾大學營養研究專家及營養生物化學系榮譽教授──Dr. T. Collin Campbell指出，其實只要吃素就可以預防大多數的文明病，如癌症、心血管疾病或因退化所導致的各種疾病。

全美最大的專業營養組織－「美國飲食協會」也發出聲明表示素食者罹患心臟病、癌症、糖尿病的機率皆比一般人低，也較不容易有肥胖或是其它健康問題。

飲食小技巧　

• 選擇各種有機食物，包括充足的豆類、堅果類、全麥製品、水果、蔬果。　
• 氫化油、人造奶油、酥油、油炸食物都含有人體無法自然代謝的反式脂肪酸，應儘量避免食用。最好改用不飽和脂肪酸含量較多的油，如橄欖油、苦茶油、芥花油、油麻菜籽油等。另外，雖然可樂和炸薯條也算素食，但是吃進這些垃圾食物對健康是無益的。　
• 維生素B12(鈷胺酸)是由細菌製造，過去，專家認為素食者可從飲水中獲得充份維生素B12，但是現在的飲水都經過消毒殺菌，所以素食者必須改從食物中加強攝取，如豆漿、米漿，營養縠片和營養酵母麵包，或是服用B12舌下錠（一天10微克）。

選擇均衡營養的素食，可以減去多餘的體重，讓體力及精神變好，還能大量的降低罹患各種疾病的機率，再搭配以上幾點飲食技巧，就能讓素食對健康發揮最大益處。

 [原文]

Optimal Vegan Nutrition

The health benefits of a vegetarian diet are impressive. Dr. T. Colin Campbell, nutritional researcher at Cornell University and director of the largest epidemiological study in history, says, "The vast majority of all cancers, cardiovascular diseases, and other forms of degenerative illness can be prevented simply by adopting a plant-based diet.

" The American Dietetic Association, the nation's largest organization of nutrition professionals, states that vegetarians have lower rates of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, and other health problems.

By adopting a nutritious vegan diet, you will likely lose unwanted weight, have more energy, and dramatically lower your risk of various diseases. Here are a few pointers on how to maximize the benefits:

Top Tips

• Eat a variety of "whole foods," with plenty of beans, nuts, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.　
• Avoid unhealthy foods like trans fats, which are usually listed as partially hydrogenated oils. Deep-fried foods often contain trans fats. Choose margarines that use nonhydrogenated oil, like Earth Balance or Smart Balance. Although a diet consisting of Coke and French fries is technically vegan, you can't be healthy if you eat nothing but junk food.　
• Vitamin B12: Vitamin B12 is produced by bacteria, and some experts believe that vegetarians used to get plenty of this vitamin from bacteria in drinking water. Since drinking water is now treated with chemicals that kill the bacteria, it's important to make sure that you get enough vitamin B12 from fortified foods (like most brands of soy or rice milks, some breakfast cereals, and many brands of nutritional yeast) on a daily basis or by taking a sublingual B12 tablet of 10 mcg per day.