One Week， No Food 轻断食：一次特别的禁食经历.docVIP

One Week， No Food 轻断食：一次特别的禁食经历 　　为了保持完美的身材，相信多数人都曾尝试过各种瘦身法。要论近来在全球哪种瘦身法最热，那当属“轻断食”了。这种禁食方法是指一周或一个月中有几天停止进食，只靠喝白水或蔬果汁来维持身体所需，以达到瘦身、健体的目的。这样的方法真能达到所宣传的效果吗？文中作者用一周的时间体验了一把轻断食，我们来看看他禁食的效果如何。 　　It all began in March last year when I read an article by Steve Hendricks in Harper’s magazine titled “Starving Your Way to Vigour.” Hendricks examined the health benefits of fasting1）， including long-term reduced seizure2） activity in epileptics3）， lowered blood pressure in hypertensives4）， and weight loss. He also mentioned significantly increased longevity in rats that are made to fast. Most interesting was his tale of undertaking a 20-day fast himself， during which he shed more than 20 pounds and kept it off for the two years since. I was fascinated， and I started reading more about fasting afterwards， although at the time I had no intention of doing it myself. 　　The benefits of fasting have been much in the news again， in part due to a best-selling book from the UK： The Fast Diet： Lose Weight， Stay Healthy， and Live Longer by Dr Michael Mosley and Mimi Spencer. Mosley is a BBC health and science journalist who extols5） the benefits of “intermittent fasting.” There are many versions of this type of fasting that are currently the subject of various research programmes， but Mosley settled on the 5：2 ratio―in every week， two days of fasting， and five days of normal eating. Mosley’s claim is that such a “feast or famine” regime closely matches the food consumption patterns of pre-modern societies， and our bodies are designed to optimise such eating. Mosley says that he himself lost 20 lbs in nine weeks on the diet. He also says that he feels much more energetic since. 　　Inspired by Mosley and Hendricks， I delved into research on fasting online. I happen to be a mild hypertensive myself and for various reasons have been off my blood pressure medication for a couple of months. I thought I might try fasting as an experiment， to see if it made any difference to my blood press