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(Approximate reading time 2 minutes。阅读时间大约两分钟)
开始生酮饮食已经⼀个星期了。
I have gone keto for about a week.
生酮饮食在过去这几年席卷了整个营养界，至少在美国是这样。到处都是关于生酮的信息，食谱和课程。我从来不愿意也不善于赶潮流，那这次为什么要加入了这个大军呢？
Keto has taken the nutritional world by storm in the past few years, at least in the US. Wherever you turn, there is keto information and recipes and courses. I am never willing to or good at following trends, so why did I jump on the bandwagon this time?
⾸先，什么是生酮饮食？
First, what is actually keto?
简单来说，生酮饮食是⼀种强调脂肪摄入量（⾄少占总卡路⾥的70％），限制碳水化合物摄⼊量（5％⾄10％）的⼀种饮食方法。
To put it simply, keto, which is a short name for ketogenic diet, is the type of eating that emphasizes intake of fats (at least 70% of total calories) and limit the intake of carbohydrates (5 to 10%).
这听起来和我们的传统理念大相径庭，为什么会如此流⾏？
This sounds very anti-tradition, so why is it so popular?
要了解生酮饮食，我们先要知道什么是酮体。我们的身体主要依靠葡萄糖获取能量，至少对于大部分的⼈来说是如此。但人体的脂肪其实是另外⼀种能量来源。当体内葡萄糖不足以提供身体所需的能量时，人体会将脂肪分解，作为燃料。而酮体便是是这个过程的产物。当人体使用酮体代替葡萄糖作为主要燃料时，这种代谢状态称为“酮症”。
To understand keto, we need to understand ketones. Our body primarily runs on glucose for energy, at least for most people. But fat is actually another energy source. When there is not enough glucose to provide for energy, the body will start breaking down fats. Ketones are the byproduct of this process. When the body uses ketones instead of glucose as the primary fuel source, this metabolic state is called “ketosis”.
对于糖尿病患者来说，酮症这种状态有可能是很危险的。如果⼀个糖尿病患者因为胰岛素不足而引发酮症，那就需要采取紧急措施。但是对于⼀个健康的，酮症是自我诱发的人来说，情况就完全不同了。
For people with diabetes, this actually could be dangerous. If a diabetic goes into this state as a result of not enough insulin, urgent measures need to be taken. But for a healthy person with self induced ketosis, then it is a totally different story.
到⽬前为止，大多数人跟随生酮饮食是因为想减肥。当然，研究表明它还可以提供其他诸多益处，但体重控制是大部分人的动机。你可以去争论⽣酮饮食是否会存在长期的健康风险，但是生酮饮食对减肥的功效已经是没有什么好争的了，尤其是对于那些很难减肥而且总是有饥饿感的人。
By far the biggest reason people try keto is to lose weight. Of course there are other benefits research has shown it can provide, but weight management is the biggest motivator for a lot of people. You could argue whether there may be long term health risks or not, but the effectiveness of keto diet for weight loss is proven, especially for people who have a very hard time losing weight and who are always hungry.
鉴于现代科学对激素的了解，生酮饮食对于减肥的高效其背后的原理不难理解：生酮饮食严格限制碳水化合物的摄入量，这降低了体内葡萄糖的水平，并提⾼了胰岛素敏感性。胰岛素是⼀种防止脂肪从脂肪细胞中释放出来的看守。（参照我们的历史文章“你还在靠节食减肥吗”？）胰岛素下降则为释放身体储藏的脂肪用做身体的燃料铺平了道路。
The science behind it is also quite straightforward given what we now know about hormones: keto limits carbohydrates intake to a very low level, to about 5 to 10% of the total calories. This drives down the glucose level, and drives insulin sensitivity. Insulin, as the guard that prevents fat from being released from the fat cells to provide energy, drops. (Refer to our article “Are you still counting calories?”) This paves the way for stored fat to be released and burned as fuel.
生酮饮食还强调脂肪的摄⼊量，至少是整个卡路里的70％。脂肪比碳水化合物更有饱腹感，而且不会引起摄⼊碳水化合物时的血糖忽高估低的现象。所以，你的饥饿感会大大减少，摄入的整个卡路里有可能反而更少，而且也不需要⼀直吃东西。
Keto also emphasizes a very high intake of fat, at least 70%. Fat is much more satiating than carbohydrates, and also does not cause the yo-yo-like glucose level that is associated with eating carbs. As a result, you get hungry much less often, and could even end up eating less in both amount and number of times.
我读了许多有关通过生酮饮食而成功减肥的案例，包括我所关注的⼀些非常顶尖的专家。我的生活⾥其实也有⼀个活生生的案例。去年，我老公因为总是差几公斤而达不到他的理想体重目标而决定尝试低碳饮食。（低碳和生酮并不完全⼀样，但有着相似的原理）。结果，奇迹发生了， 他总也甩不掉的那几公斤终于被甩掉了。
In addition to loads of cases I read about keto-induced weight loss, including some of the very bright experts I follow, I also have a live case right by my side. Last year, frustrated with being unable to lose the last few pounds, my husband decided to try low-carb for some time. (Low-carb is not exactly keto, but has similar principles). It worked like magic. He finally lost the few pounds he had carried around for years.
我原来从来没有关注过生酮饮⻝，因为我从来不相信任何特定的饮⻝规则，减肥也不是我的目标，直到有⼀天，戴尔• 布勒森（Dale Bredesen)，美国著名的神经病学专家，在给我开具的脑健康规划里建议我达到轻度的酮症状态，以保护我的大脑健康并预防阿尔茨海默氏病。
I never paid any attention to keto, as I don’t believe in dietary fads, and weight loss is not a goal of mine, and I never tried to follow any specifific diet, until, the well known and well respected neurologist Dale Bredsen, whose protocol I follow, suggested I should put myself in a mild ketosis to protect my brain health and prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
什么？生酮？脑健康？我从来没有把这两个东西放在⼀起过。
What? Keto and brain? I never put these two things together.
结果我发现它们之间其实有很大的关系。实际上，在生酮流行之前，它是癫痫患者的⼀种饮食疗法。当其他所有的药物都无效时，医生会尝试这种饮食方法，通常会减少甚至完全消除癫痫的发作。这些记录完整而且被主流医学完全认可的案例激发了我的好奇。研究的越多我就越发现，有⼤量的脑部健康专家倡导和生酮非常相近的原则：低碳水，大量有益脂肪。
Turns out they are very much related. In fact, before keto became popular, it was a dietary treatment for people with epilepsy. When everything else fails, the doctors will try this diet, and it often works in either reducing or completely eliminating the seizures. This is well documented and recognized by main stream medicine, and got me curious. The deeper I dig in my research, the more I realize just how many brain health experts are behind the same principle that keto advocates: low carbs, lots of good fats.
⾄于⽣酮本身，尽管它具有短期卓越的减肥功效，但我对它的⻓期安全性还是有⼀些疑虑，因为有很多未知数。但是，随着我对生酮的各种益处有所了解，尤其是在脑健康⽅⾯，我确实想尝试⼀下。于是开始了两周的生酮体验。
As for keto itself, I am not completely convinced about its long term safety in spite of its short term weight loss effectiveness. There are too many unknowns. However, as I read more and more about its various benefits, especially in terms of brain health, I do want to give it short-term try: two weeks.
说回我老公，在终于实现了自己的体重⽬标⼀段之间之后，不断的旅⾏，各方的压力，碳水的回归，让他再次踏上减肥的道路。所以，开始一样的饮食来给他一些支持也是我的另⼀个动力。
Back to my husband who gloriously reached his weight goal last year. With all the travel, stress and adding more and more carbs back to his diet, he is once again in pursuit of losing a few pounds. So being on this diet together to support him is another motivation for me.
最后，我也确实想知道深度酮症是什么感觉。我想知道所有的这些赞誉和热情背后到底是什么的体验。我要亲⾃经历⼀下。在我不吃小⻨并开始间歇性禁⻝后，实际上我⼀直都处于轻度的酮症。但我很好奇我是不是可以达到更深的状态。
And, lastly, I do want to know how it FEELS. With all the enthusiasm around it, I want to see for myself. I have actually been in a consistent mild ketosis for quite some time after I cut out wheat and start intermittent fasting. But I am curious to see what a deeper ketosis feels like.
体验过后我再来报告。
I will report back when my experiment is over.
