中餐在英國的名聲非常差，許多英國人認為中餐米飯含量太高，肉菜油膩，長期食用會導致心臟病，造成肥胖。但是英國中餐專家羅琳·克利索德卻表示事實正相反：如果合理烹調，吃中餐不但健康，而且飽腹，還能防病和延壽。

這位專家在她的書《為什么中國人不計算卡路里》中堅稱，真正的中餐不會讓人肥胖。中國肥胖率上升，主要原因是攝取了太多含糖量高、過度加工的西方食物。以下是克利索德在書中揭示的中餐的奧秘，還有兩位西方營養學專家帕特里克·霍福德和伊恩·馬貝對中餐給出的評價。

1. Think of vegetables as dishes
在中國，蔬菜也是主菜

Rather than an uninspiring accompaniment to meat or fish, the Chinese treat vegetables as meals in their own right, rather than add-ons, as in the West.
在西方，蔬菜一般只作為肉類或魚類的配菜，而在中餐里，蔬菜也被當成主菜來食用。

Holford says: "Vegetables should make up half of what's on your plate in any given meal, so this fits perfectly with the Chinese diet."
霍福德表示：“蔬菜應該占到每餐的一半，中餐在這點上做得很好。”

2. Fill up on staple foods
吃飽靠主食

Without rice, which is low in fat and high in nutrients and fibre, claims Clissold, it is impossible to eat until you are full. Low-carb diets promise to burn fat, but Clissold says that replacing carbs with food that is higher in fat and lower in nutrients is not a long-term answer to weight loss.
大米具有低脂高營養高纖維的特點，如果沒有大米，你是不會吃到飽的。克利索德認為，雖然少吃碳水化合物據說能燃燒脂肪，但如果用高脂低營養食物來取代碳水化合物，長期看來不利于減輕體重。

3. Eat until you are full
吃吃吃，吃到飽。

The Chinese eat until they are full, and then stop. Westerners often take a feast-and-famine approach to eating– purging during the week and binging over the weekend, or skipping lunch to make room for cake, The Chinese tend to eat three good meals every day.
中國人在吃飽之前不會停下。西方人則是饑一頓飽一頓，他們在工作日吃得很少，在周末就放開了吃。還有些西方人不吃中飯，留著肚子吃蛋糕。而中國人一般每天三頓都要吃飽。

Holford says: "Provided that a meal has a high intake of fibre-rich vegetables and a balance of protein and carbohydrate, which a typical Chinese meal would, then you should eat until you are full. But the combination of high sugar, refined carbs and high fat allows for more food to be eaten in a short space of time before the body's 'appestat' kicks in and tells you to stop."
霍福德說：“中餐中富含纖維的蔬菜比例較高，兼顧了蛋白質和碳水化合物，而且中國人會吃到飽為止。而西方大量高糖食品、精制碳水化合物和高脂肪食品容易讓人吃得過快，在大腦還沒有接收到身體的吃飽信號前，西方人容易吃下更多食物。

4. Take liquid food
吃流食

Soup, or a soup-based dish, is present at every Chinese meal, often in the form of a watery porridge, zhou. Western diets can be very dry, and nutritionists compensate by urging us to drink more water, which the Chinese would never do with a meal. Instead, they make a nourishing liquid food part of the meal.
湯或粥等湯湯水水的食物，在中餐里很常見。西方人的飲食往往都很干，因此營養學家建議人們多喝水來彌補。中國人吃飯的時候就不喝水，他們喝有營養的湯。

Holford says: "Thirst is often confused with hunger. Also, drinking does tend to fill you up. So soups help you control your appetite."
霍福德說：“口渴經常和饑餓搞混。而且，喝湯能讓人有飽腹感，所以有助于控制食欲。”

5. Bring yin and yang into your kitchen
廚房里的陰陽概念

A good Chinese diet balances yin (wet and moist) and yang (dry and crisp) ingredients. Yin foods cool the body down, while yang foods – meat, spicy dishes, wine, coffee – heat it up. The sharing, multi-dish approach to eating in China means most meals contain yin and yang in equilibrium.
中餐講究陰（潮濕）和陽（干脆）的平衡。陰性食物讓身體涼下來，陽性食物（肉類、辣菜、酒和咖啡）讓身體溫熱起來。中國人會一起分享多盤菜，每種菜都吃一些會讓身體達到陰陽平衡。

Holford says: "Most protein foods are seen as yang, carbohydrates as yin. The combination of these two helps stabilise blood sugar, which is the key to good energy and minimising weight gain."
霍福德說：“多數蛋白質食物都被歸為陽性食物，而碳水化合物則被歸為陰性食物。兩者相結合有助于穩定血糖，這對于補充精力和控制體重增加很關鍵。”

6. Raw power? not necessarily
生吃食物最健康？不見得。

Chinese people don't eat raw salad. While raw food has a higher concentration of vitamins than cooked food, Clissold says experts ignore that lightly cooking food makes its nutrients easier for the body to take on. The stomach is unable to digest too much raw food; this can lead to bloating and weight gain.
中國人不吃生拌沙拉。雖然烹飪會降低食物中的維生素濃度，但克利索德表示，專家忽略了一點，那就是輕微烹飪過的食物的營養更容易被人體吸收。人的腸胃無法消化太多生食物，吃太多生食物會導致脹氣和體重增加。

7. Use food to keep fit
食療好

Chinese medicine prescribes various foods as medical treatments: chillies to promote digestion and dispel cold; garlic to counteract toxins. The ultimate purpose is to ensure all the organs are working correctly to allow energy, or chi, to circulate smoothly around the body.
中醫認為許多食物都有各自的醫用價值：辣椒幫助消化并能驅除寒冷，大蒜可以中和毒素。最終的目的是確保所有的器官都能正常運轉，讓體內氣血可以通暢運行。

Holford says: "Two thousand years ago, Hippocrates said, 'Let food be your medicine.' But people in the West forgot. "
霍福德說：“兩千年前，古希臘醫生希波克拉底就認為應該用食物作為藥物。但是西方人已經完全忘記了這點。”

8. Drink green tea
喝綠茶

Green tea eliminates toxins, aids digestion and allays hunger. Scientists have found that it also fights free radicals, which cause cancer and heart disease.
綠茶具有消除毒素、幫助消化和減緩饑餓的效果。科學家已經發現綠茶還具有消除自由基的效果，而自由基會引發癌癥和心臟病。

Marber says: "I'm a great believer in green and herbal teas. Green tea is an important antioxidant, but it will only help you lose weight if you drink 40 cups a day. "
馬貝說：“我認為喝綠茶和花草茶對身體很有好處。綠茶是重要的抗氧化劑，但一天得喝夠40杯才能幫助人減肥。”

Holford says: "Traditionally, when the Chinese want another cup of tea, they'll keep the same leaves and add water to the pot. That's like only using one teabag a day – which means much less caffeine."
霍福德指出：“傳統上，當中國人想再喝一杯茶時，他們會在茶壺里不斷續水。他們每天通常只用一個茶袋，所以攝入的咖啡因也比較少。”

英文來源：獨立報、煎蛋網
編譯：丹妮