By Jennifer Bragg

隨著物質(zhì)生活的豐富，人們對食物的需求從“吃飽”轉(zhuǎn)變成了“吃好”。越來越多食物的選擇和健康意識的提高讓人們的飲食習(xí)慣發(fā)生了很大改變。在大洋彼岸的美國，人們是怎樣通過飲食改善自己健康狀況的呢？這些聽上去有些不可思議的飲食法，真的有效果嗎？

Americans are obsessed with food and diets. This has long held true， and I have childhood memories of my mother making us eat a healthy， balanced dinner that included steamed broccoli with vinegar and fat-free milk.2 Yuck！ Even to this day I cannot tolerate either of those things.

When I grew older， I succumbed3 to different food fads myself， especially in my 20s. I did a diet program where I could eat whatever I wanted， and different foods had different “points”. I had to closely watch my food and count the points. In the end， I didnt feel like I had all that much freedom. I tried another diet that had me eating very high-fat foods， no carbohydrates like bread and potatoes， and some non-starchy vegetables.4 I lost a few pounds， sure， but it wasnt something I could maintain for the rest of my life.

In the six years that I lived in China， I relied on social media to see what was happening in the lives of my friends back home. More often than not， I saw friends struggle with their “baby weight”5 and publicly announce ways they were trying to lose excess pounds. Once in a while， someone would proclaim6 “success?。　?and post photos of a healthy， fit body. But more often than not， one diet would be replaced by another， accompanied by the exclamation that this time， they would make it！

One thing I know for sure： the weight-loss industry will always be popular in the United States， because people are constantly looking for ways to lose weight. Here are some examples of the diets that I have seen come and go over the years：

Paleo diet7

This diet claims to channel the days when human populations relied on a hunter-gatherer lifestyle for sustenance.8 By eating like a caveman， the theory goes， a person can lose weight without having to trim calories.9 As that person becomes leaner， he or she can keep diabetes， heart disease， and cancer at bay.10

If you think of it as like a traffic light， “green-light” foods that are OK to eat include lean cuts of meat， fish， vegetables， eggs， nuts and seeds， and some healthier oils. On the red-light side， dairy， refined sugar，11 potatoes， salt， and vegetable oils should not be eaten. All foods eaten should be natural and not processed. The only thing I can think of is that if you are living on a budget， especially in the U.S.， this would be a very hard diet to accomplish.12

Ketogenic diet13

This meal plan is low in carbohydrates and high in fat， with some protein mixed in， which boils down to14 this formula： 70% fat， 25% protein， and 5% carbohydrates. The theory is that when a persons body experiences ketosis， fat is converted into a source that produces energy.15

Ketosis is a state the body achieves when it metabolizes fat at a high rate and turns fatty acids into ketones.16 This is different from the state of glycolysis， in which blood glucose—sugar in the blood—provides energy.17 The reason why this diet is low in carbohydrates is because carbs18 convert to sugar， but the desired effect of ketosis is to burn fat instead. Confused？ Me too. My philosophy is： if I dont understand it， its not for me.

Whole30

Conceptualized19 in 2009， the Whole30 diet is a 30-day “nutrition reset”. Its designed to sort out digestive problems， investigate food sensitivities， and reduce cravings and poor eating habits.20

For 30 days， the most “problematic” foods for the metabolism and the digestive and immune systems are eliminated.21 People can eat meat，seafood， vegetables and fruit， some healthy oils and fats， and potatoes. They cannot， however， take alcohol， sugar， grains， dairy and a handful of artificial additives.22 After a month， people can begin reintroducing23 foods back into their diet， one at a time， while paying attention to any changes in the body.

Mediterranean diet24

This food plan was derived from the eating habits of people in Italy， Greece and Spain. It is a plant-based diet heavy on fruits， vegetables， nuts and healthy fats （olive oil rather than butter）， light on meat and heavy on fish. It is said to reduce the“bad” cholesterol25 in the body that can lead to heart disease.

One component to this diet is having meals with friends and family and enjoying a glass of red wine with the meal. Culturally， the Mediterranean region is known for its communal eating traditions， in which food is savored as much as the conversation.26 Doctors say this diet can help reduce risks around heart problems and some cancers.

“French Women Dont Get Fat”

In 2004， a different kind of French revolution hit American bookstores， with the publication of Mireille Guilianos book French Women Dont Get Fat.27 Did I read it to try to get some unique insight into how French women maintain their thin figures？ Guilty！

This book touts eating small portions of quality foods， savoring each bite， eating three meals a day， and—this is where it gets very French to me—sitting in a good posture while eating.28 Guiliano offers a simple leek soup that helps French women when they find themselves a kilo or two up on the scale.29 Whats problematic to me is that for the first two days， Guiliano recommends eating the leek soup only， to clear out the system. When I read this， I thought，“Yes， but what would I eat？”

When it comes to diets， what it really comes down to is not just the food， but acceptance of ones body. When she was younger， the famous Italian actress Sophia Loren was known for her beautiful， curvy body.30 Did she go on a diet？ No. She was just Italian. She was quoted once as saying， “Everything you see， I owe to pasta.” To me， those are the words of a woman who does not need a diet.

1. fad： 時尚，潮流，faddy food指風(fēng)靡一時的食物。同時，faddy和單詞fatty近似，也是作者玩的一個文字游戲。

2. broccoli： 花椰菜；fat-free milk： 脫脂牛奶。

3. succumb： 屈服于，這里加入某種風(fēng)潮。

4. 我嘗試的另外一種飲食法要求我只吃高脂肪的食物和一些不含淀粉的蔬菜，而絕不攝入一點兒諸如面包或土豆之類的碳水化合物。carbohydrate：碳水化合物；starchy： 淀粉。這里提到的飲食法指“阿特金斯無糖減肥法”（the Atkins diet or the Atkins nutritional approach），俗稱“吃肉減肥法”，由羅伯特·阿特金斯博士在1972年提出，和下文的“生酮飲食法”原理類似。

5. baby weight： 產(chǎn)后發(fā)胖。

6. proclaim： 宣告，公布。

7. paleo diet： 原始人飲食法。paleo意為“古代的”。

8. 這種飲食法倡導(dǎo)回到以前那種人類依靠狩獵和采集為生的飲食方式。channel：將（人或事物）引向（某個特定的地方、某種特定的情況等）；sustenance：生計，食物支持。

9. caveman： 穴居人，原始人；trim： 減少，消耗。

10. diabetes： 糖尿??；keep sth. at bay： 將……拒之門外。

11. dairy： 乳制品；refined sugar： 精制糖。

12. 對于這種飲食法，我唯一能想到的是，如果你的手頭不寬裕，特別是在美國，這將非常難以實現(xiàn)。

13. ketogenic diet： 生酮飲食法，是一種高脂肪、低碳水化合物、適量蛋白質(zhì)的飲食法。通過模擬饑餓狀態(tài)，強迫人體燃燒脂肪而非碳水化合物，產(chǎn)生酮體以代替血糖給身體提供能量。在生酮飲食的作用下，人體幾乎完全靠燃燒脂肪來維持機能，從而達到快速減肥的目的。該飲食法最初用于治療癲癇。

14. boil down to： 歸結(jié)為。

15. ketosis： 酮癥；convert： 轉(zhuǎn)換，轉(zhuǎn)化。

16. 酮癥是一種身體在快速代謝脂肪并將脂肪酸轉(zhuǎn)化為酮時的狀態(tài)。metabolize： 代謝；fatty acid： 脂肪酸；ketone： 酮體，脂肪分解的產(chǎn)物。

17. glycolysis： // 糖酵解，指細胞內(nèi)糖無氧氧化供能的過程；blood glucose： 血糖。

18. carbs： carbohydrates的縮寫。

19. conceptualize： 提出概念，概念化。

20. digestive： 消化的；food sensitivity： 食物敏感性，食物過敏性；craving： 渴求，渴望，這里指food craving，即飲食沖動。

21. 在這30天內(nèi)，那些對于代謝、消化和免疫系統(tǒng)而言的最“有問題”的食物將被禁止。problematic： 有問題的，有疑問的；metabolism system： 代謝系統(tǒng)；immune system： 免疫系統(tǒng)。

22. grain： 谷物；artificial additive： 人工添加劑。

23. reintroduce： 恢復(fù)。

24. Mediterranean diet： 地中海式飲食法，指一種有利于健康的，簡單、清淡以及富含營養(yǎng)的飲食，因是居住在地中海地區(qū)的居民所特有的而得名。

25. cholesterol： // 膽固醇。

26. 在文化上，地中海地區(qū)以其聚餐的傳統(tǒng)而聞名，人們在享用美食的同時也開懷暢聊。communal： 公共的；savor： 盡情享受，細細品嘗。

27. 2004年，隨著米雷耶·朱里安諾所著的《法國女人吃不胖》的出版，一場另類的法國革命席卷了美國書市。

28. tout： 吹捧，吹噓；posture： 姿勢，姿態(tài)。

29. leek： 韭菜；scale： 秤。

30. Sophia Loren： 索菲亞·羅蘭（1934— ），意大利女演員，奧斯卡和戛納雙料影后；curvy： 曲線優(yōu)美的。