健康減肥食譜 多食堅果不會使人發胖

Nuts Are a Nutritional Powerhouse

多食堅果並不會使人發胖

Sadly, for more than half my life, I had avoided some of nature’s most perfect and healthful foods: nuts and peanuts. I had been mistakenly told as a teenager that nuts were fattening and constipating, effects I certainly wanted to avoid。

真可惜，在我的有生之年裏，有一半以上的時間我都刻意地不去吃大自然中最完美也是最健康的食物：堅果和花生。這都是因爲在我十幾歲的時候，有人誤導我，說吃堅果會讓我發胖，還會導致便祕，結果——我當然會想要避免食用它們了。

But based on what I have learned to the contrary from recent studies, I now enjoy them daily as nuts or nut butters in my breakfasts, salads, sandwiches and snacks. A baggie of lightly salted peanuts accompanies me on excursions everywhere; I even keep a jar of peanuts in my car。

但是，據我瞭解，最近的研究結果與之恰恰相反。於是，我現在每天的早餐、沙拉、三明治和零食中，都有堅果或堅果醬。無論我去哪裏遠足，都會隨身帶一袋淡鹽花生；我甚至在我的車裏放了一罐花生。

A series of large studies, including the Nurses’ Health Study of 76,464 women and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study of 42,498 men, found that the more nuts people consumed, the less likely they were to die at any given age, especially of cancer or heart disease. And a clinical trial conducted in Spain showed that death rates were lower among those consuming a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra nuts。

包括護士健康研究(Nurses Health Study，涉及76464名女性)和醫藥衛生從業人員隨訪研究(Health Professionals Follow-up Study，涉及42498名女性)在內的一系列大型研究發現，人們食用的堅果越多，他們在任何給定年齡死亡，尤其是死於癌症或心臟病的可能性就越小。一 項在西班牙進行的臨牀試驗表明，堅持地中海飲食並額外補充堅果的人死亡率較低。

However, these studies were conducted almost entirely among relatively well-to-do, well educated, white individuals, and despite the researchers’ care in controlling for other factors that could have influenced the results, there remained the possibility that characteristics of the participants other than nut consumption could account for their reduced death rates。

然而，這些研究幾乎全是在相對富裕、受過良好教育的白人中進行的，儘管研究人員對可能影響結果的其他因素小心地進行了控制和校正，但仍有可能是參與者的特徵而非食用堅果降低了他們的死亡率。

Now, strong links between nuts and peanuts and better health have also been found in a major study of people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and varied ethnic groups — blacks, whites and Asians — many of whom had serious risk factors for premature death, like smoking, obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes。

現在，一項大型研究同樣發現，堅果和花生與較好的健康之間存在密切關聯，研究納入了社會經濟背景較差的黑人、白人和亞洲人等不同族羣，其中許多人都存在過早死亡的高危因素，如抽菸、肥胖、高血壓和糖尿病等。

The results were published in March in JAMA Internal Medicine by researchers at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Their study, conducted among more than 200,000 men and women in the Southern United States and Shanghai, found that the more nuts people consumed, the lower their death rates from all causes and especially from heart disease and stroke。

範德堡大學醫學院(Vanderbilt University School of Medicine)的研究人員將該研究結果發表在今年3月的《美國醫學會期刊：內科學》雜誌(JAMA Internal Medicine)上。研究涉及美國南部和上海的超過20萬名男性和女性，結果發現，人們吃的堅果越多，他們的全因死亡率，尤其是心臟病和中風死亡率就越 低。

And while it is true that more people today are allergic to nuts, and to peanuts in particular, than ever before, two recent studies have pointed to ways that may prevent children from developing a nut allergy. The first study, published last year in JAMA Pediatrics, found that women who consumed the most nuts or peanuts during their pregnancies were least likely to have children with this allergy. The reduction in risk was highest among children whose mothers ate nuts five or more times a month。

雖然今天對堅果，特別是花生過敏的人確實比以往任何時候都多，但最近有兩項研究提出了可以防止兒童發生堅果過敏的方法。第一項研究發表在去年的《美 國醫學會期刊：兒科學》(JAMA Pediatrics)上，它發現在妊娠期食用堅果或花生最多的孕婦日後生下的孩子最不可能發生這類過敏。母親每個月至少吃五次堅果，孩子的風險降低最 多。

The second study, published in February in The New England Journal of Medicine, found that introducing peanuts into the diets of infants 4 to 11 months old who were considered at high risk of developing a peanut allergy actually greatly reduced their risk of being allergic at age 5. The researchers, from King’s College London, suggested that the common practice of withholding peanuts from babies may in fact account for the recent rise in peanut allergies。

第二項研究發表在今年2月的《新英格蘭醫學雜誌》(The New England Journal of Medicine)上，該研究發現，對於被認爲日後花生過敏風險較高的嬰兒，在其4到11個月大時向其飲食中引入花生實際上大大降低了他們在5歲時出現過 敏的風險。承擔研究的英國倫敦國王學院(King’s College London)的研究人員提出，從嬰兒飲食中去除花生的常見做法可能其實反而是造成近期花生過敏不斷增加的元兇。

Guidelines issued in 2000 by the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended withholding peanuts from children at risk of developing allergies until they were 3. The academy has since revised its position, suggesting that evidence that avoiding specific foods beyond 4 to 6 months of age prevented food allergies was lacking. Now a further revision by the academy may be in order, though to prevent choking, babies should not be given whole nuts — only ground nuts or nut butters。

美國兒科學會(American Academy of Pediatrics)在2000年發佈的指南建議從存在過敏風險的兒童的飲食中排除花生，直到他們年滿3歲爲止。該學會現已修正了自己的立場，指出 “4-6個月以上的兒童不食用特定食物就可以防止食物過敏”的說法缺乏證據支持。如今，按照計劃，該學會將對指南做出下一輪修訂(美國兒科學會的指南通常 每5年修訂一次——譯註)。不過，需要注意的是，爲了避免嬰兒被噎住而窒息，不應該讓嬰兒直接吃整個兒的堅果——他們只能吃乾果碎和堅果醬。

Before returning to the relationship between nuts and better health, I want to reassure weight-conscious readers that, when consumed in reasonable quantities, nuts are not fattening and can even help people lose weight and maintain the loss。

在說回堅果與更好的健康之間的關係之前，我想請在意自己體重的讀者放心，只要攝入量合理，堅果就不會讓人發胖，甚至，它們可以幫助人們減肥並保持身材。

Yes, relatively speaking, nuts are high in fat, and fat contains more calories per gram (nine) than protein or sugar (four calories)， even more than alcohol (seven calories). But a review of studies of large populations here and abroad by Richard D. Mattes of Purdue University and co-authors most often found that adults who eat nuts weigh less than nut avoiders. And children who ate peanuts usually had a lower body mass index than those who did not。

的確，相對而言，堅果是種高脂肪食品，而每克脂肪中蘊含的熱量(九卡路里)比蛋白質或糖(四卡路里)都高，甚至還超過了酒精(七卡路里)。但是，美 國普渡大學(Purdue University)的理查德·D·馬特斯(Richard D. Mattes)和共同作者綜述了調查美國和國外的大羣體的研究，發現最常見的情況是，吃堅果的成年人體重小於不吃堅果者。而且，經常食用花生的兒童身體質 量指數通常也低於不吃花生的兒童。

Clinical trials found that adding lots of nuts to one’s diet had a limited effect on body weight. But more important, participants in studies that included nuts in a weight-loss regimen lost more weight and ended up with a smaller waist and less body fat than participants who did not eat nuts。

臨牀試驗發現，在一個人的飲食中添加大量堅果對體重的影響有限。但更重要的是，與不吃堅果的研究參與者相比，在減肥療程中納入堅果的參與者體重減輕更多，最終腰圍更細，體脂肪也更少。

One explanation for the weight control benefit of nuts is the satiation provided by their high fat and protein content, which can reduce snacking on sweets and other carbohydrates. Another is that all the calories in nuts, especially whole nuts, may not be absorbed because they resist breakdown by body enzymes。

對於堅果的體重控制效益，一種解釋是它們的高脂肪和高蛋白質含量提供了飽食感，讓人少吃甜食和其他碳水化合物等零食。另一種解釋是，人無法完全吸收堅果，尤其是整個兒的堅果中的所有熱量，因爲它們不太容易被體內的酶分解。

Finally, in a 2013 study in The British Journal of Nutrition, Dr. Mattes and colleagues reported that consuming peanut butter or peanuts for breakfast helps to control hunger, stabilizing blood sugar and reducing the desire to eat for up to 8 to 12 hours. (My favorite breakfast: half a banana, sliced, with each slice topped by a half-teaspoon of crunchy peanut butter。)

最後，馬特斯博士及其同事在2013年發表在《英國營養學雜誌》(The British Journal of Nutrition)上的一項研究中報告，早餐食用花生醬或花生有助於控制飢餓感，穩定血糖，並可降低食慾達8-12小時。(我最喜歡的早餐是：香蕉半 根，切片，每片淋上半茶匙脆脆的花生醬。)

As for their cardiovascular benefits, nuts are rich sources of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, which prompted a health claim by the Food and Drug Administration that “Scientific evidence suggests but does not prove that eating 1.5 ounces per day of most nuts as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease。” Two exceptions are macadamia nuts and cashews, which have too much saturated fat to qualify for this claim。

就其心血管效益而言，堅果富含單不飽和與多不飽和脂肪，因此美國食品和藥品監督管理局(Food and Drug Administration)發佈了健康聲明：“科學證據顯示(不是證實！)，作爲低飽和脂肪、低膽固醇飲食的一部分，每天食用大多數堅果1.5盎司 (約合42.5克)可降低患心臟病的風險。”不過有兩個例外：澳洲堅果和腰果，它們含有過多的飽和脂肪，不符合聲明中的要求。

Nuts are also rich sources of dietary fiber, and almonds, Brazil nuts, peanuts and walnuts may actually help prevent constipation, countering my long-held concerns about their effects on digestion. Other beneficial substances in nuts include vitamins, antioxidants and other phytochemicals. All of which adds up to nuts as a nutritional powerhouse。

堅果中還含有豐富的膳食纖維，實際上，杏仁、巴西果、花生和核桃可能有助於防止便祕，這抵消了我長期以來對其可能影響消化功能的擔憂。堅果蘊含的其它有益物質還包括：維生素、抗氧化劑和其它植物化學成分。所有這些加起來，使堅果成爲了一座營養豐富的能量寶庫。