TED演讲:流行饮食法有用吗(1)

 　　Conventional wisdom about diets, including government health recommendations, seems to change all the time. 人们对饮食的普遍看法，包括政府的健康推荐，似乎永远都在发生变化。

　　And yet, ads routinely come about claiming to have the answer about what we should eat. 然而广告却一如既往地声称，他们能够回答我们应该吃什么这个问题。

　　So how do we distinguish what's actually healthy from what advertisers just want us to believe is good for us? 所以我们如何才能从广告商们想让我们相信对我们有好处的东西中，辨别出真正健康的食物呢？

　　Marketing¹ takes advantage of the desire to drop weight fast, and be stronger, slimmer, and brighter. 营销人员利用了我们想要快速减重，变得更强壮、更纤细、气色更好的心愿。

　　And in the big picture, diet plans promising² dramatic results, 大体来看，那些承诺会有显著效果的饮食计划，

　　known as fad³ diets, are just what they seem: too good to be true. 即流行饮食法，和它们的外表一模一样：太过美好而不真实。

　　So where do diet fads⁴ even come from? 那么，膳食风尚究竟来自何处？

　　While the Ancient Greeks and Romans rallied behind large-scale health regimens centuries earlier,  几个世纪之前，在古希腊人和古罗马人一致支持大规模的健康养生法时，

　　this phenomenon began in earnest in the Victorian Era with crazes like the vinegar diet and the Banting Diet. 这种现象在维多利亚时期正式形成，这期间出现了像喝醋减肥和节食减肥这样的热潮。

　　Since then, diets have advised us all sorts of things: to excessively chew, to not chew at all,  自那以后，饮食规定给我们提供了各种建议，比如要多咀嚼，不要咀嚼，

　　to swallow a grapefruit per meal, non-stop cabbage soup, even consumption of arsenic⁵, or tapeworms. 每顿饭吃一个葡萄柚，不停地喝卷心菜汤，甚至食用砒霜或者绦虫。

　　If the idea of diet crazes has withstood history, could this mean that they work? 如果这些饮食热潮中提出的想法经受住了历史的检验，那这是不是就说明它们是有效的？

　　In the short term, the answer is often yes. 短期来看，答案往往是肯定的。

　　Low-carbohydrate plans, like the popular Atkins or South Beach Diets, have an initial diuretic effect. 碳水化合物含量低的植物，比如流行的阿金饮食法或迈阿密饮食法，都有初步的利尿效果。

1 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

2 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

3 fad   

n.时尚；一时流行的狂热；一时的爱好

参考例句：

• His interest in photography is only a passing fad.他对摄影的兴趣只是一时的爱好罢了。
• A hot business opportunity is based on a long-term trend not a short-lived fad.一个热门的商机指的是长期的趋势而非一时的流行。

4 fads   

n.一时的流行，一时的风尚( fad的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It was one of the many fads that sweep through mathematics regularly. 它是常见的贯穿在数学中的许多流行一时的风尚之一。 来自辞典例句
• Lady Busshe is nothing without her flights, fads, and fancies. 除浮躁、时髦和幻想外，巴歇夫人一无所有。 来自辞典例句

5 arsenic   

n.砒霜，砷；adj.砷的

参考例句：

• His wife poisoned him with arsenic.他的妻子用砒霜把他毒死了。
• Arsenic is a poison.砒霜是毒药。