Dieters have long sworn that grapefruit helps them lose weight。

長期以來節(jié)食者們一直信誓旦旦地宣稱葡萄柚有助減肥。

Now, scientists are beginning to believe them。

如今科學(xué)家們也開始相信他們的論斷。

A study has found that drinking grapefruit juice when eating fatty food lowers the amount of weight put on by up to a fifth。

一項研究表明食用油脂食物時飲用西柚汁最多可以減少五分之一的增重。

The research also suggested that grapefruit could be as good as prescription drugs at keeping blood sugar levels under control – a key part of managing diabetes。

該研究還指出，在維持血糖處于正常水平方面，葡萄柚可與處方藥媲美，而這正是控制糖尿病病發(fā)的關(guān)鍵。

The experiments were conducted on mice – but researchers say the results justify studies on humans. Professor Joseph Napoli, of the University of California, Berkeley, said: ‘We see all sorts of scams about nutrition. But these results, based on controlled experiments, warrant further study of the potential health-promoting properties of grapefruit juice.’

雖然試驗對象為老鼠，但研究人員表示結(jié)果仍適用于人群。加州大學(xué)伯克利分校的約瑟夫·那不勒斯教授說：“我們看過形形色色有關(guān)營養(yǎng)品的騙局。但這些控制試驗的試驗結(jié)果已經(jīng)向我們證明，我們有必要對西柚汁提高人體健康方面的潛力作進一步的研究。”

The Grapefruit Diet, also called the Hollywood Diet, dates back to the 1930s and has a host of celebrity fans including singer Kylie Minogue. It involves having grapefruit or grapefruit juice with every meal while cutting back on calories。

葡萄柚減脂法也稱好萊塢減脂法，最早可追溯到20世紀40年代，受到歌手凱莉·米洛等眾多好萊塢明星的熱烈追捧。那時人們便開始通過每餐食用葡萄柚或飲用西柚汁減低卡路里。

The researchers found that when the mice were fed fatty food for three months, those given grapefruit juice to drink gained up to 18 per cent less weight than those given water。

研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)同樣食用了三個月油脂食物的老鼠，與只喝水的老鼠相比，喝過西柚汁的老鼠的增重僅為前者的82%。

They also had lower blood sugar and insulin levels – despite eating the same number of calories and doing the same amount of exercise as the mice who drank water. In fact, grapefruit juice was as good at controlling insulin as the widely used diabetes drug metformin, the journal PLOS ONE reports。

不僅如此，后者的血糖指數(shù)和胰島素指標也相對較低，盡管其卡路里攝入量和運動量與前者沒什么區(qū)別。據(jù)科學(xué)公共圖書雜志報道，實際上，西柚汁在控制胰島素方面的作用也不亞于廣泛使用的糖尿病藥物二甲雙胍。

However, the fruit juice only had an effect on weight when the animals ate fatty food.The researchers said they did not know how grapefruit stops the pounds from piling on。

但實驗中只有在老鼠食用油脂食物時飲用西柚汁才對減肥有效。研究人員表示他們也不知道為什么葡萄柚能夠阻止脂肪的形成。

The British Dietetic Association said the fruit now needs to be thoroughly tested in humans to see if it could help with weight loss and stem the rise of obesity and diabetes。

英國飲食健康協(xié)會聲稱，還需在人體上進行大量試驗，以判斷葡萄柚是否真的有助于減肥，是否真的能夠阻止肥胖和糖尿病的產(chǎn)生。

Spokesman Mariette Abrahams, a dietician, said until then it is too early for people to try grapefruit diets. ‘Grapefruit should be part of a healthy balanced diet, but it shouldn’t be the focus of the diet,’ she said。

反對此做法的代表飲食專家瑪麗埃塔·亞伯拉罕曾表示，至少在當時，把食用西柚當作減脂良方還為時過早。“ 食用葡萄柚可以作為健康均衡飲食的一部分，但不能成為節(jié)食菜單的主要部分，”瑪麗埃塔說道。