2006年VOA标准英语-Vegetarian Diets: Can You Eat as Much as Y

By Melinda Smith
Washington, DC
11 May 2006
 
watch Vegetarian¹ Diet report

It seems too good to be true.  Eat as much as you want and still lose weight?  That's the conclusion of a group of health experts who say a vegetarian diet is just the ticket for losing those unwanted pounds or kilos.  But others say a side order of common sense goes along with it. 

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American staples²: hamburger and fries
  

Hamburgers and french fries ... staples of what's called the "Western diet".  Quick ... easy ... often cheap ... and very fattening³.  This calorie-rich diet has become one of America's most successful exports.  McDonald's and other fast food restaurants are popping up in China and elsewhere, and health experts lay much of the blame for a worldwide problem of obesity⁴ at their doorsteps. 

Obesity is a serious health problem in the United States.  Fad⁵ diets that guarantee weight loss often make headlines.  But one of the latest studies to grab attention supports the old-fashioned notion that if you eat your fruits and vegetables, you can lose weight.

Susan Levin  
  
Washington dietitian⁶ Susan Levin is with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, which conducted the research.  She says the diet is simple: just whole grains, fruits, vegetables and legumes. "Those are the four food groups that a plant-based diet should be built around and those food groups are so high in fiber⁷ and typically low in calories and low in fat that you don't have to think about quantity."

 
Janet Zalman
  
But Washington nutritionist Janet Zalman is concerned about the reality of sticking to this kind of diet. "I think that's for most busy people in major cities pretty impractical⁸ because there's no way you can really eat in any kind of restaurant and do it in an effective way, because everything is going to have some butter, some cheese, and I think only having fruits, vegetables,  grains and some nuts is going to be a plan that you're really going to be hungry."

Susan Levin agrees that even a vegetarian has to watch out for the fat. "You don't want to eat things like a lot of olive oil ... a lot of cheese ... a lot of anything that's high in fat, because that's where you get in trouble."

Butter and cheese are what separate the vegetarians⁹ from the vegans, says Gail Naftalin, who runs a vegetarian catering¹⁰ company in Wheaton, Maryland. 

 
Gail Naftalin
  
As a vegan, she doesn't eat dairy products and finds other sources of calcium¹¹ in leafy green vegetables, like kale.  Gail believes the nutritional¹² balance in her diet can be found in the colors of what's on her plate. "So that if you even think about it in terms of colors, you know ... 'have I had some green things, some orange things, some yellow things,' you can get your nutrients¹³ very well satisfied that way."

With the growing concern about obesity and related problems of heart disease and diabetes¹⁴, Americans are becoming more particular about what they buy.  Frozen vegetables from the grocery store may be more convenient, but Gail Naftalin says fresh produce from the local farmers' market has more appeal:

"Local ingredients that haven't had to be trucked across the country and seasonal¹⁵ ingredients that are growing now -- and that's the food that people really enjoy the most."

So, what is the food you enjoy the most?  Gail Naftalin believes variety is the spice of healthy eating. "Meat eaters certainly can eat vegetarian food, whereas if you have something with meat or chicken stock, the vegetarians won't eat it.  So it's a nice safe route to go and it's healthy and it's setting a good example."

Setting a good example can be critically important to your health.  A British study of 500,000 people in 10 countries has shown that a high fat diet is second only to tobacco as a leading cause of cancer, and when combined with alcohol, accounts for almost one third of the cancer rate in developed countries.

1 vegetarian   

n.素食者；adj.素食的

参考例句：

• She got used gradually to the vegetarian diet.她逐渐习惯吃素食。
• I didn't realize you were a vegetarian.我不知道你是个素食者。

2 staples   

n.（某国的）主要产品( staple的名词复数 )；钉书钉；U 形钉；主要部份v.用钉书钉钉住( staple的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The anvil onto which the staples are pressed was not assemble correctly. 订书机上的铁砧安装错位。 来自辞典例句
• I'm trying to make an analysis of the staples of his talk. 我在试行分析他的谈话的要旨。 来自辞典例句

3 fattening   

adj.（食物）要使人发胖的v.喂肥( fatten的现在分词 )；养肥（牲畜）；使（钱）增多；使（公司）升值

参考例句：

• The doctor has advised him to keep off fattening food. 医生已建议他不要吃致肥食物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We substitute margarine for cream because cream is fattening. 我们用人造黄油代替奶油，因为奶油会使人发胖。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

5 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。

6 dietitian   

n.营养学家

参考例句：

• You can seek the advice of a nutritionist or dietitian.你可以征求营养师或饮食专家的意见。
• I have no doubt she would make a good dietitian.毫无疑问她会成为优秀的营养学家。

7 fiber   

n.纤维，纤维质

参考例句：

• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
• The material must be free of fiber clumps.这种材料必须无纤维块。

8 impractical   

adj.不现实的，不实用的，不切实际的

参考例句：

• He was hopelessly impractical when it came to planning new projects.一到规划新项目，他就完全没有了实际操作的能力。
• An entirely rigid system is impractical.一套完全死板的体制是不实际的。

9 vegetarians   

n.吃素的人( vegetarian的名词复数 )；素食者；素食主义者；食草动物

参考例句：

• Vegetarians are no longer dismissed as cranks. 素食者不再被视为有怪癖的人。
• Vegetarians believe that eating meat is bad karma. 素食者认为吃肉食是造恶业。

10 catering   

n. 给养

参考例句：

• Most of our work now involves catering for weddings. 我们现在的工作多半是承办婚宴。
• Who did the catering for your son's wedding? 你儿子的婚宴是由谁承办的？

11 calcium   

n.钙(化学符号Ca)

参考例句：

• We need calcium to make bones.我们需要钙来壮骨。
• Calcium is found most abundantly in milk.奶含钙最丰富。

12 nutritional   

adj.营养的，滋养的

参考例句：

• A diet lacking in nutritional value will not keep a person healthy.缺乏营养价值的饮食不能维持人的健康。
• The labels on food products give a lot of information about their nutritional content.食品上的标签提供很多关于营养成分的信息。

13 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

15 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。