In fact, research shows that low-fat diets don't seem to aid in weight loss or in reducing risk of disease compared to high-fat diets, and all those refined carbs that you've been eating to replace that fat might be the real issue.

事實上研究顯示，相較於高脂飲食，低脂飲食看來無法幫助減重或是減少疾病發生機率，你吃的那些代替脂肪的精緻碳水化合物才可能帶來問題。

To understand how fat can be healthy, it's helpful to first understand what's going on with carbs in your body.

要了解脂肪何以健康，首先知道碳水化合物在你的體內會發生什麼事會有助於了解。

When you eat a simple carbohydrate, like a slice of bread, enzymes in your saliva immediately start breaking that food down into sugar.

當你攝取了簡單的碳水化合物，好比一片麵包，你唾液中的酶會立即開始把食物分解為糖類。

That surge of sugar triggers a hormone called insulin, which tells your body to store available energy in the bloodstream, in fat tissue and in other forms, and the later surge crash makes you feel hungry,

突湧的糖類會觸發一種叫做胰島素的荷爾蒙，它會告訴你的身體將血液中有用的能量儲存成脂肪組織和其他形式，當糖類的刺激不再，你會感到飢餓。

encouraging you to eat more, but fats are another story.

促使你吃更多，但是脂肪則是另一回事。

Fat isn't processed the same way as carbs.

脂肪被分解的方式和糖類不同。

It can't be broken down with saliva, or fully digested by stomach acid.

它無法被唾液分解或是被胃酸徹底消化。

Instead, your small intestines, with the aid of bile secreted by your liver, break it down.

而是你的小腸會藉著你的肝臟分泌的膽汁分解油脂。

This happens much later in the digestive process, so fat digestion is much slower.

這在消化過程的後階段才會發生，所以油脂消化慢得許多。

The different fats interact with your hormones in complex ways that, unlike carbs, don't cause a massive spike in insulin and good fats are really important for your body to function properly.

不同的油脂和你的荷爾蒙以複雜的方式相互作用，不像碳水化合物，它不會招致胰島素的大量突增，而且好的油脂對於你的身體適當運作 起到非常重要的作用。

Monounsaturated fats can be found in olive oil and avocados.

單元不飽和脂肪在橄欖油和牛油果中都有。

This good fat helps reduce inflammation and levels of LDL, or bad cholesterol, in the blood.

這種好油脂幫助降低血液中低密度脂蛋白，也就是壞膽固醇的發炎程度。

Polyunsaturated fats in foods like sunflower seeds, walnuts and fish, also have significant health benefits.

多元不飽和脂肪存在於葵花籽、胡桃和魚，對健康也帶來很大的助益。

Fish oil, for example, consists of one type of polyunsaturated fat called Omega-3 fatty acids, which have been found to decrease blood pressure, increase HDL, or good cholesterol, and may also protect against heart disease,

舉例來說，魚油由一種稱為 Omega-3的不飽和脂肪酸所組成，研究發現它可以降低血壓，增加高密度脂蛋白，或稱為好膽固醇，而且或許也可以幫助預防心臟疾病。

but saturated fats, found in red meat and dairy, are a different story.

但是在紅肉和乳製品中的飽和脂肪則是另一回事了。

An extensive study found that replacing a small percentage of calories coming in from saturated fats with calories from unsaturated fats,

一項廣泛研究發現，將飽和脂肪帶來的卡路里中的一小部分替換成來自不飽和脂肪的卡路里的話，

reduce the risk of death, heart disease, and a number of neurodegenerative diseases.

就能降低死亡、心臟疾病和其他神經變性疾病的風險。

At the same time, studies show that full-fat dairy is healthier than reduced-fat dairy.

除此之外，研究顯示全脂牛奶比減脂牛奶還健康。

One recent study found that drinking full-fat dairy was associated with a lower risk of diabetes, so while unsaturated fats are better, saturated fats aren't entirely useless.

一項近期研究發現，飲用全脂牛奶和較低的糖尿病罹患風險有關，所以雖然不飽和脂肪比較好，飽和脂肪也並非一無是處。

Not only are unsaturated fats essential for your body, avoiding them in the name of weight loss isn't actually a helpful way to shed unwanted pounds.

不飽和脂肪不僅是你的身體不可或缺的，以減重的名義避開它們其實並不是甩掉贅肉的有效方法。

A study by the Women's Health Initiative assigned women to low-fat diets for eight years.

來自婦女健康關懷倡導的一項研究指派女性攝取為期八年的低脂飲食。

They found the participants didn't seem to gain protection against breast cancer, colorectal cancer, or cardiovascular disease.

他們發現，參與者罹患乳癌、大腸癌或是心臟血管疾病的風險並沒有因而減少。

And in the carb versus fat debate, an extensive 2017 study found no association between dietary fat and heart disease.

而在碳水化合物和脂肪較勁方面，一項 2017 年的廣泛研究發現脂肪和心臟疾病並沒有關聯。

In fact, the researchers found that high carb diets were linked to a higher risk of death.

事實上，研究人員發現大量的碳水化合物攝取和較高的死亡風險有關。

So, if studies show that fat doesn't make us fat or doesn't increase our risk of heart disease and carbs make us hungry and are linked to a higher risk of death, should we all just ditch carbs altogether?

所以，要是研究都告訴我們脂肪並不會讓我們肥胖或是增加我們罹患心臟疾病的風險，而碳水化合物會使我們飢餓，並且與較高的死亡機率有關，那我們應該乾脆摒棄所有碳水化合物嗎？

Probably not.

或許不是。

Recent research seems to advocate a balanced diet that includes a combination of healthy fats and complex carbs.

近期研究看似在倡導一種均衡的飲食，包含健康脂肪和複合式碳水化合物的混合。

Researchers found that diets high in fiber and low in refined grains, meat and sugars, resulted in less weight gain.

研究人員發現，含有高纖維、低精緻穀物、少肉和少糖的飲食會減少體重增加。

So what should you eat?

所以你應該吃什麼呢？

The good news is you can find healthy fats and complex carbs in a variety of tasty foods.

好消息是，你在多種好吃的食物中都能找到健康脂肪和複合式碳水化合物。

You can find unsaturated fats in fish, olives, nuts and seeds and still have a place on your plate for so-called good carbs.

你可以從魚類攝取不飽和脂肪或是橄欖油、堅果和種子，然後還有空間放俗稱的好碳水化合物。

Although you should probably avoid eating lots of refined carbs, like white bread and rice.

雖然你或許應該避開攝取大量精緻碳水化合物，像是白麵包和米飯。

Foods like sweet potatoes, raw apples and legumes are a different story.

但像是番薯、蘋果和豆類則是另一回事。

These foods don't cause the same sudden peaks in blood sugar and, like healthy fats, they contribute to a balanced diet to keep your body running.

這些食物不會導致血糖突升而且，和健康脂肪一樣，他們組成一種均衡的飲食，幫助你的身體持續運作。

So go forth and toss some oil on that salad.

所以儘管撒一些油到你的沙拉吧。