今天你齋戒了嗎？

Can you resist the temptation of food? 你可以抵擋食物的誘惑嗎?

If you love eating and have a gargantuan appetite, the idea of going on a diet might be hard to swallow.

如果你喜歡吃并且有一個大胃口，那么減肥的念頭可能讓你難以接受。

Yet evidence suggests that short periods of fasting could help people lose weight and lead to better health. A lower calorie intake increases the life expectancy of mice, so could the same be true for humans?

但是，有證據(jù)表明短期的禁食或齋戒可以幫助人們減輕體重并有益于健康。低卡路里攝取可以延長老鼠的壽命，那么，對于人類也同樣適用嗎?

Studies show that high levels of a growth hormone called IGF-1 can lead to accelerated ageing, whilst a low level can help prevent age-related diseases. Now evidence suggests the level of IGF-1 in our bodies can be lowered by what we eat.

研究表明本被稱為IGF-1的高水平生長激素會導致身體加速老化，然而，低水平生長激素則能夠幫助預防與年齡相關(guān)的疾病。目前，有證據(jù)證實人體內(nèi)的IGF-1水平可以通過人體所攝取的食物被降低。

It’s not only about eating less, but also about limiting the amount of protein we ingest. Research by Professor Valter Longo of the University of Southern California suggests that when the level of IGF-1 drops, our bodies switch from "growth mode" to "repair mode".

這不僅僅意味著是我們要少吃，而且要限制攝入的蛋白質(zhì)量。由南加利福尼亞大學Valter Longo教授所做的研究表明，當IGF-1水平降低時，我們的身體會自動由“成長模式”轉(zhuǎn)換為“修復模式”。

BBC journalist Michael Mosley went on the 5:2 diet, which involves eating normally for five days a week, then only consuming 600 calories for two days. Despite this reduced calorie intake two days a week, he didn’t crave more food on other days: "On my feed days I ate what I normally do and felt no need to gorge." However, he adds that "Current medical opinion is that the benefits of fasting are unproven and until there are more human studies it's better to eat at least 2000 calories a day. Fasting, like eating, is best done in moderation."

BBC記者Michael Mosley正在進行5:2的齋戒模式，每周5天正常飲食，剩余2天則共攝取600卡路里熱量的食物。盡管，在這種模式下，會有2天減少卡路里攝取，但在其他日子他也不會渴求更多的食物。“在正常進食的日子里，我像往常一樣進食，并不會有想吃太多的欲望。”然而，他補充道“現(xiàn)代醫(yī)學認為齋戒的益處并未被證實，如果有更多的人類研究證明有益，每天的卡路里攝入量也最好不少于2000卡路里。齋戒和進食一樣，最好以適度為原則。”

For those who want to reduce their weight whilst maintaining a varied diet, fasting for short periods of time might be healthier than crash diets or yo-yo dieting. However, others might decide they have enough on their plate without having to think constantly about what they eat. Either way, information about fasting provides food for thought.

對于那些想要減輕體重同時又想維持均衡膳食的人們來說，短期齋戒或許比速成節(jié)食或溜溜球節(jié)食要健康。然而，其他人或許會認為他們餐盤中的食物已經(jīng)足夠了，不用時常審視自己吃進的食物。不管怎樣，有關(guān)齋戒的信息都為人們提供了精神食糧。