How to spot a fad diet - Mia Nacamulli

翻译人员: Rong Ma 校对人员: fuyu you

Conventional wisdom about diets,

对于健康食谱的普遍看法，

including government health recommendations,

以及政府发布的健康饮食指南，

seems to change all the time.

似乎随时都在变化。

And yet, ads routinely come about

但是，广告总是在表明

claiming to have the answer about what we should eat.

他们有解决我们该吃什么的答案。

So how do we distinguish what's actually healthy

所以，我们该如何区分，什么是真正健康的

from what advertisers just want us to believe is good for us?

什么是广告商想让我们相信它是健康的？

Marketing takes advantage of the desire to drop weight fast,

市场抓住了人们期望， 快速减肥

and be stronger,

变得更强壮，

slimmer,

更苗条，

and brighter.

以及更聪明。

整体而言，减肥计划给人以巨大变化的期望，

And in the big picture, diet plans promising dramatic results,

known as fad diets,

也就是通常所说的流行餐，

are just what they seem: too good to be true.

就像他们看起来一样：好到难以置信

So where do diet fads even come from?

所以，流行餐到底从哪里来的呢？

While the Ancient Greeks and Romans

在几个世纪前，古希腊人和罗马人

rallied behind large-scale health regimens centuries earlier,

整合了庞大数量的养生之道，

这个现象最早出现在维多利亚时期

this phenomenon began in earnest in the Victorian Era

with crazes like the vinegar diet

并伴随着时尚，比如喝醋减肥法

节食减肥法。

and the Banting Diet.

Since then, diets have advised us all sorts of things:

从那以后，减肥被宣传成各种各种的事：

to excessively chew,

充分的咀嚼

一下都不嚼

to not chew at all,

to swallow a grapefruit per meal,

每餐吞一个葡萄柚，

non-stop cabbage soup,

必不可少的卷心菜汤，

甚至服砷，

even consumption of arsenic,

or tapeworms.

吃绦虫。

If the idea of diet crazes has withstood history,

如果流行餐的办法经受住了历史考验，

could this mean that they work?

那就意味着他们是有效的嘛？

在短时间内，他们常常有效。

In the short term, the answer is often yes.

Low-carbohydrate plans,

低碳水化合物饮食计划，

like the popular Atkins or South Beach Diets,

就像流行的阿特金斯减肥法以及南滩减肥法，

原本就有利尿的作用。

have an initial diuretic effect.

钠被流失，直到身体能够平衡他们，

Sodium is lost until the body can balance itself out,

and temporary fluid weight loss may occur.

并且会发生短暂的身体流体质量减轻。

关于其他的高蛋白餐，你可能在一开始减重

With other high-protein diets, you might lose weight at first

since by restricting your food choices,

因为它限制了你的食物选择，

you are dropping your overall calorie intake.

减少了总体卡路里的摄入。

But your body then lowers its metabolic rate to adjust to the shift,

但是你的身体之后会降低新陈代谢速率来适应调整，

lessening the diet's effect over time

减肥的效果便逐渐减少

and resulting in a quick reversal if the diet is abandoned.

并且如果放弃这种饮食，体重就会快速反弹。

So while these diets may be alluring early on,

所以，这些饮食计划可能一开始吸引着你，

they don't guarantee long-term benefits for your health and weight.

他们并不能保证对你长期的健康以及体重有好处。

A few simple guidelines, though, can help differentiate between

有一些简单的指导，能帮助你来区分

a diet that is beneficial in maintaining long-term health,

这个饮食计划是对维持长期健康有好处的，

and one that only offers temporary weight changes.

还是仅仅在短期内，体重上有所变化。

Here's the first tipoff:

这是第一个警告：

If a diet focuses on intensely cutting back calories

如果一个饮食计划集中关注减少卡路里

or on cutting out entire food groups,

或者减少整个食物群

like fat, sugar, or carbohydrates,

像是脂肪，糖类或者碳水化合物，

他们就有可能是流行餐。

chances are it's a fad diet.

And another red flag is ritual,

另一个危险信号是有模式的，

when the diet in question instructs you to only eat specific foods,

那就是当这个饮食计划告诉你只吃特定的食物，

prescribed combinations,

规定的组合，

or to opt for particular food substitutes,

或者去选择指定的食品替代物，

like drinks, bars, or powders.

像是饮料，棒状食物，或者粉末状的食物。

事实就是长期减肥

The truth is shedding pounds in the long run

simply doesn't have a quick-fix solution.

没有一个简单的速效对策。

Not all diet crazes tout weight loss.

不是所有流行餐都以减少体重为卖点。

What about claims of superfoods, cleanses, and other body-boosting solutions?

那么关于保健食品，清洁食品和其他强化身体办法的意见呢？

Marketing emphasizes the allure

市场强调了产品

of products associated with ancient and remote cultures

关于古代和久远文化的魅力

to create a sense of mysticism for consumers.

从而对消费者造成迷惑感。

While so-called superfoods, like blueberries or açaí,

被叫做绿色超级食物的东西，比如蓝莓，巴西莓，

do add a powerful punch of nutrients,

确实加入了强力的营养物，

their super transformative qualities are largely exaggeration.

他们的超级塑形能力被极大地夸大。

They are healthy additions to a balanced diet,

对于平衡膳食，他们是健康的添加剂，

yet often, they're marketed as part of sugary drinks or cereals,

但是经常被市场用作甜味饮料和谷物的成分

in which case the negative properties outweight the benefits.

在那种情况下，他们的坏处大于好处。

Cleanses, too, may be great in moderation

清洁食品，同样也是，可能对节制有很大帮助

since they can assist with jumpstarting weight loss

因为他们可以帮助开始减少体重

and can increase the number of fresh fruits and vegetables consumed daily.

并且可以增加每天新鲜水果和蔬菜的摄入。

但是，从科学角度，

Scientifically speaking, though,

they've not yet been shown to have either a long-term benefit

他们还没有被发现有长期的好处

or to detox the body any better than the natural mechanisms already in place.

或者比通过自然机制排毒更有效。

无论在哪里，

Everywhere we look,

we're offered solutions to how we can look better,

都有解决让我们怎样看起来更好

feel fitter,

感觉更健康，

and generally get ahead.

并且总体上在进步的方法。

Food is no exception,

食物没有例外，

但是建议我们吃什么最好，

but advice on what we should eat is best left to the doctors and nutritionists

应该留给了解我们个人情况的医生或者是营养师。

who are aware of our individual circumstances.

Diets and food fads aren't inherently wrong.

饮食计划以及流行餐本质上没有错。

Circumstantially, they might even be right,

有些时候，他们甚至是对的，

just not for everyone all of the time.

但并不总适用于每个人。