禁食對你有好處嗎?

禁食對你有好處嗎?

For some people, fasting is a way to cleanse the body of toxins. For others, it's a religious or spiritual practice.

對一些人來說，禁食是一種凈化身體毒素的方法。對其他人來說，這是一種宗教或精神實踐。

While some health experts have questioned its safety — particularly when used in the extreme — fasting proponents have praised its value. Fasting has been linked in several studies to weight loss, immune system benefits and brain function.

雖然一些健康專家質疑它的安全性——尤其是在極端情況下使用時——禁食的支持者卻稱贊了它的價值。幾項研究表明，禁食與減肥、免疫系統(tǒng)和大腦功能有關。

Putting the plates (and the food) aside for a limited period of time might have health benefits. (Photo: Lolostock/Shutterstock.com)

In an earlier study, researchers developed a five-day monthly diet that they called the "Fasting Mimicking Diet." In the study, also published in Cell Metabolism, scientists said the 19 participants who followed the fasting regimen for three months had reduced risk factors for aging, cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

在早期的一項研究中，研究人員開發(fā)了一種每月5天的飲食，他們稱之為“禁食模仿飲食”。這項研究也發(fā)表在《細胞代謝》(Cell Metabolism)雜志上。科學家說，19名參與者堅持禁食三個月，降低了衰老、癌癥、糖尿病和心血管疾病的風險因素。

Is fasting normal?

禁食正常嗎?

Our "normal" meal pattern of three daily meals (plus snacks) is highly abnormal from the perspective of human evolution, wrote an international group of researchers in a paper published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Early hunter-gatherers often ate intermittently, depending on how often they were able to capture prey.

一組國際研究人員在發(fā)表于《美國國家科學院院刊》(Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)上的論文中寫道，從人類進化的角度來看，我們“正常”的三餐(外加零食)飲食模式極不正常。早期的狩獵采集者經(jīng)常間歇性地進食，這取決于他們捕捉獵物的頻率。

"Intermittent fasting helps the body to rejuvenate and repair, thereby promoting overall health," article co-author Satchidananda Panda, associate professor of regulatory biology at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego, told LiveScience.

“間歇性禁食有助于身體恢復活力和修復，從而促進整體健康，”文章作者之一、圣地亞哥索爾克生物研究所調節(jié)生物學副教授Satchidananda Panda告訴LiveScience。

"Fasting alone is more powerful in preventing and reversing some diseases than drugs," he said.

“單獨禁食在預防和逆轉某些疾病方面比藥物更有效，”他說。

The researchers concluded that restricted fasting can have an impact (at least on mice) on the prevention of metabolic diseases.

研究人員的結論是，限制禁食可以(至少對小鼠)對預防代謝性疾病產(chǎn)生影響。

What happens to your body when you fast?

當你禁食時，你的身體會發(fā)生什么變化?

Technically, most of us fast every night when we sleep. Fasting is defined as going without food for eight or more hours — so when you wake up in the morning, your body is in a fasting state. That's when your body has stopped absorbing nutrients from the last meal you've eaten.

從技術上講，我們大多數(shù)人每晚睡覺時都會禁食。禁食被定義為8小時或更長時間不進食——所以當你早上醒來時，你的身體處于禁食狀態(tài)。這是你的身體停止從你吃的最后一餐吸收營養(yǎng)。

Some people go on special fast diets — drinking just juice or eating just cabbage soup, for example — hoping to rid the body of chemicals and pollutants accumulated from food, the environment and everyday life.

有些人進行特殊的快速飲食——例如只喝果汁或只喝卷心菜湯——希望清除身體中從食物、環(huán)境和日常生活中積累的化學物質和污染物。

Intermittent fasting

間歇性禁食

Fasting typically doesn't mean having to abstain from all food and drink. Whether for religious, spiritual or health reasons, people typically fast by limiting their food to certain hours or types or by cutting back dramatically on their overall food intake.

禁食通常并不意味著必須戒掉所有的食物和飲料。無論是出于宗教、精神或健康方面的原因，人們通常會通過將食物限制在特定的時間或種類，或大幅減少總體食物攝入量來禁食。

Should fasting be used for weight loss?

禁食應該用來減肥嗎?

Fasting is questionable when used as a quick way to lose weight. (Photo: Billion Photos/Shutterstock)

When fasting can be dangerous is when it is used as a weight loss tool, says Melinda Johnson, MS, RDN, clinical assistant professor at Arizona State University and president of the Arizona Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

亞利桑那州立大學(Arizona State University)臨床助理教授、亞利桑那營養(yǎng)與飲食學會(Arizona Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics)主席梅林達·約翰遜(Melinda Johnson)女士表示，當禁食被用作減肥工具時，它就可能是危險的。

But another study published in Nutrition and Healthy Aging points to a specific use of fasting that might work better for some people. Researchers put 23 obese volunteers on a 16:8 fasting diet where they ate between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. and drank only water the rest of the time. After 12 weeks, the fasting volunteers lost about 3% of their body weight and their blood pressure dropped.

但發(fā)表在《營養(yǎng)與健康老齡化》(Nutrition and health Aging)雜志上的另一項研究指出，禁食的一種特定用途可能對某些人更有效。研究人員讓23名肥胖志愿者在16:8禁食，他們在上午10點到下午6點之間進食，其余時間只喝水。12周后，禁食的志愿者體重減輕了約3%，血壓也下降了。

"The 16:8 diet is another tool for weight loss that we now have preliminary scientific evidence to support. When it comes to weight loss, people need to find what works for them because even small amounts of success can lead to improvements in metabolic health."

16:8飲食是另一種減肥方法，我們現(xiàn)在有初步的科學證據(jù)支持。說到減肥，人們需要找到適合自己的方法，因為即使是很小的成功也能改善新陳代謝健康。”