There's Actually a Huge Limitation to The Mediterranean Diet

事實上，地中海飲食的局限性非常大

If you've spent any amount of time reading up on healthy foods that can offer significant boosts to your physiological and mental well-being, you're almost sure to have come across the Mediterranean diet.

如果你曾經花時間讀過關于那些有益身心健康的食物的文章，那你幾乎肯定讀到過地中海飲食。

This famous (and yummy) mix of vegetables, fruit, fish, and whole grains – served with a liberal splash of olive oil – is common in cultures around the Mediterranean Sea, and has long been recognised for its broad nutritional benefits.

這種著名又好吃的飲食方式，主要由蔬菜、水果、魚和完整的谷物，吃的時候還要加上不少橄欖油；它在地中海沿岸的文明中很常見，長久以來一直被認為有很高的營養價值。

But now, scientists have discovered a significant caveat to the health advantages that the Mediterranean diet provides – and it's one that seems to strictly limit just who can snare the benefits of the regimen.

但是現在，科學家們的一個新發現卻給地中海飲食的健康價值敲響了警鐘——那就是，能從這種飲食方式中獲益的人可能非常有限。

A new study by Italian researchers analysed adherence to the Mediterranean diet in almost 19,000 people who took part in a health study called the Moli-sani Project, and found that the cardiovascular benefits of the diet basically only extended to people who were well off or highly educated.

意大利的一項研究追蹤了19,000個人對地中海飲食習慣的貫徹程度，這項研究隸屬于一個叫莫里-薩尼的健康研究項目，研究人員發現：這種飲食方在心血管健康上的益處基本只出現在更有錢或者教育程度更高的人身上。

"In other words, a person from low socioeconomic status who struggles to follow a Mediterranean model, is unlikely to get the same advantages of a person with higher income, despite the fact that they both similarly adhere to the same healthy diet."

“換句話說，一個社會經濟地位更低但卻進行地中海飲食的人，不太可能獲得和高收入人群同樣的好處，雖然他們的飲食方式一樣。”

The researchers tracked participants in the Moli-sani Project for an average of four years, and found that adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated with an approximate 60 percent reduction in risk of cardiovascular disease – but only for those who had education beyond high school or a household income greater €40,000 annually.

研究人員對莫里-薩利項目中的人進行了4年的跟蹤研究，發現地中海飲食可以讓心血管疾病的發病率降低約60%，但這種效果僅限于那些有高中以上教育程度或者家庭年收入高于4萬歐元（32萬人民幣）的人。

People in the study with lower education or incomes demonstrated no cardiovascular benefits to following the Mediterranean diet.

研究中那些教育程度或收入更低的人，即使進行地中海飲食，也沒有表現出更好的心血管健康狀況。

The team found that while participants overall consumed the same amount of 'Mediterranean diet' food – the breakdown of what they ate differed depending on their socioeconomic circumstances, as did the quality of individual ingredients.

研究人員發現，雖然這些人基本上吃的都是“地中海飲食”，但他們具體吃的東西卻根據他們的社會經濟狀況而有不同。

High socioeconomic participants consumed more fish within the diet, along with more organic products and whole grain foods – meaning their diets were richer in terms of antioxidants and polyphenols, and also offered greater diversity in fruit and vegetable choice.

那些社會經濟地位更高的受試者吃的魚更多，有機食品和完整谷物的量也更多——這意味著他們的飲食中的抗氧化劑和多元酚更多，另外蔬菜和水果的種類也更多。

But until we know more, other scientists are saying that we shouldn't write off the Mediterranean diet just yet – as there could be a whole host of variables to explain the outcome here.

不過，在沒有更進一步發現的情況下，其他科學家認為我們還不能把地中海飲食一棒子打死——因為造成這個結果的因素可能有很多。

"Although the authors of this study suggest that the Mediterranean diet may be less effective in reducing heart disease in less well-off people, this is likely to be due to other differences between low and high income groups, rather than the diet not being effective," explains cardiovascular medicine researcher Tim Chico from the University of Sheffield, who wasn't involved with the study.

“雖然這個研究報告的作者說地中海飲食在心血管健康上的益處對低收入人群的效果更小，但也有可能是低收入人群和高收入人群的其他區別造成了這個現象。”謝菲爾德大學的心血管醫藥研究者提姆·契克這樣說，他并沒有參與這項研究。

There's Actually a Huge Limitation to The Mediterranean Diet

事實上，地中海飲食的局限性非常大

If you've spent any amount of time reading up on healthy foods that can offer significant boosts to your physiological and mental well-being, you're almost sure to have come across the Mediterranean diet.

如果你曾經花時間讀過關于那些有益身心健康的食物的文章，那你幾乎肯定讀到過地中海飲食。

This famous (and yummy) mix of vegetables, fruit, fish, and whole grains – served with a liberal splash of olive oil – is common in cultures around the Mediterranean Sea, and has long been recognised for its broad nutritional benefits.

這種著名又好吃的飲食方式，主要由蔬菜、水果、魚和完整的谷物，吃的時候還要加上不少橄欖油；它在地中海沿岸的文明中很常見，長久以來一直被認為有很高的營養價值。

But now, scientists have discovered a significant caveat to the health advantages that the Mediterranean diet provides – and it's one that seems to strictly limit just who can snare the benefits of the regimen.

但是現在，科學家們的一個新發現卻給地中海飲食的健康價值敲響了警鐘——那就是，能從這種飲食方式中獲益的人可能非常有限。

A new study by Italian researchers analysed adherence to the Mediterranean diet in almost 19,000 people who took part in a health study called the Moli-sani Project, and found that the cardiovascular benefits of the diet basically only extended to people who were well off or highly educated.

意大利的一項研究追蹤了19,000個人對地中海飲食習慣的貫徹程度，這項研究隸屬于一個叫莫里-薩尼的健康研究項目，研究人員發現：這種飲食方在心血管健康上的益處基本只出現在更有錢或者教育程度更高的人身上。

"In other words, a person from low socioeconomic status who struggles to follow a Mediterranean model, is unlikely to get the same advantages of a person with higher income, despite the fact that they both similarly adhere to the same healthy diet."

“換句話說，一個社會經濟地位更低但卻進行地中海飲食的人，不太可能獲得和高收入人群同樣的好處，雖然他們的飲食方式一樣。”

The researchers tracked participants in the Moli-sani Project for an average of four years, and found that adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated with an approximate 60 percent reduction in risk of cardiovascular disease – but only for those who had education beyond high school or a household income greater €40,000 annually.

研究人員對莫里-薩利項目中的人進行了4年的跟蹤研究，發現地中海飲食可以讓心血管疾病的發病率降低約60%，但這種效果僅限于那些有高中以上教育程度或者家庭年收入高于4萬歐元（32萬人民幣）的人。

People in the study with lower education or incomes demonstrated no cardiovascular benefits to following the Mediterranean diet.

研究中那些教育程度或收入更低的人，即使進行地中海飲食，也沒有表現出更好的心血管健康狀況。

The team found that while participants overall consumed the same amount of 'Mediterranean diet' food – the breakdown of what they ate differed depending on their socioeconomic circumstances, as did the quality of individual ingredients.

研究人員發現，雖然這些人基本上吃的都是“地中海飲食”，但他們具體吃的東西卻根據他們的社會經濟狀況而有不同。

High socioeconomic participants consumed more fish within the diet, along with more organic products and whole grain foods – meaning their diets were richer in terms of antioxidants and polyphenols, and also offered greater diversity in fruit and vegetable choice.

那些社會經濟地位更高的受試者吃的魚更多，有機食品和完整谷物的量也更多——這意味著他們的飲食中的抗氧化劑和多元酚更多，另外蔬菜和水果的種類也更多。

But until we know more, other scientists are saying that we shouldn't write off the Mediterranean diet just yet – as there could be a whole host of variables to explain the outcome here.

不過，在沒有更進一步發現的情況下，其他科學家認為我們還不能把地中海飲食一棒子打死——因為造成這個結果的因素可能有很多。

"Although the authors of this study suggest that the Mediterranean diet may be less effective in reducing heart disease in less well-off people, this is likely to be due to other differences between low and high income groups, rather than the diet not being effective," explains cardiovascular medicine researcher Tim Chico from the University of Sheffield, who wasn't involved with the study.

“雖然這個研究報告的作者說地中海飲食在心血管健康上的益處對低收入人群的效果更小，但也有可能是低收入人群和高收入人群的其他區別造成了這個現象。”謝菲爾德大學的心血管醫藥研究者提姆·契克這樣說，他并沒有參與這項研究。