作者：Kris Gunnars，
Bachelor of Medicine
醫學學士
翻譯：李翔琪
10 Evidence-Based Health Benefits of Intermittent Fasting
Numerous studies show that it can have powerful benefits for your body and brain.
Here are some of the changes that occur in your body during fasting:
When you fast, insulin levels drop and human growth hormone increases. Your cells also initiate important cellular repair processes and change which genes they express.
當你禁食時，胰島素水平下降，人類生長激素增加。你的細胞也會啟動重要的細胞修復過程並改變它們所表達的基因。
Intermittent Fasting Can Help You Lose Weight and Belly Fat
間歇性禁食可以幫助你減肥和腹部脂肪
Many of those who try intermittent fasting are doing it in order to lose weight
許多嘗試斷斷續續禁食的人都是為了減肥
Unless if you compensate by eating much more during the other meals, you will end up taking in fewer calories.
除非你在其他的一餐中吃得更多，否則你攝入的卡路裡就會減少。
Additionally, intermittent fasting enhances hormone function to facilitate weight loss.
此外，斷斷續續的禁食增強了荷爾蒙的功能，有助於減肥。
Lower insulin levels, higher growth hormone levels and increased amounts of norepinephrine (noradrenaline) all increase the breakdown of body fat and facilitate its use for energy.
較低的胰島素水平，較高的生長激素水平和增加的去甲腎上腺素（去甲腎上腺素）都會增加體內脂肪的分解，促進其能量的利用。
For this reason, short-term fasting actually increases your metabolic rate by 3.6-14%, helping you burn even more calories
因此，短期禁食實際上會提高你的代謝率3.6-14%，幫助你燃燒更多的卡路裡
In other words, intermittent fasting works on both sides of the calorie equation. It boosts your metabolic rate (increases calories out) and reduces the amount of food you eat (reduces calories in).
換言之，間歇性禁食對熱量等式的兩邊都起作用。它能提高你的新陳代謝率（增加熱量輸出），減少你吃的食物量（減少卡路裡的攝入）。
According to a 2014 review of the scientific literature, intermittent fasting can cause weight loss of 3-8% over 3-24 weeks (12). This is a huge amount.
根據2014年對科學文獻的回顧，斷斷續續的禁食可以在3-24周內使體重減輕3-8%（12）。這是一筆巨大的數目。
The people also lost 4-7% of their waist circumference, which indicates that they lost lots of belly fat, the harmful fat in the abdominal cavity that causes disease.
這些人的腰圍也減少了4-7%，這表明他們損失了大量的腹部脂肪，腹部的有害脂肪會導致疾病。
One review study also showed that intermittent fasting caused less muscle loss than continuous calorie restriction
一項回顧性研究還表明，間歇性禁食比持續限制熱量攝入造成的肌肉損失要少
All things considered, intermittent fasting can be an incredibly powerful weight loss tool. More details here: How Intermittent Fasting Can Help You Lose Weight.
綜上所述，斷斷續續的禁食是一個非常強大的減肥工具。這裡有更多細節：間歇性禁食如何幫助你減肥。
Intermittent fasting helps you eat fewer calories, while boosting metabolism slightly. It is a very effective tool to lose weight and belly fat.
斷斷續續的禁食可以幫助你攝入更少的卡路裡，同時稍微促進新陳代謝。這是一個非常有效的減肥和腹部脂肪的工具。
Intermittent Fasting Can Reduce Insulin Resistance, Lowering Your Risk of Type 2 Diabetes
間歇性禁食可以減少胰島素抵抗，降低患2型糖尿病的風險
Type 2 diabetes has become incredibly common in recent decades.
近幾十年來，2型糖尿病變得異常普遍。
Its main feature is high blood sugar levels in the context of insulin resistance
其主要特點是胰島素抵抗時血糖水平高。
Anything that reduces insulin resistance should help lower blood sugar levels and protect against type 2 diabetes.
任何能降低胰島素抵抗的藥物都有助於降低血糖水平和預防2型糖尿病。
Interestingly, intermittent fasting has been shown to have major benefits for insulin resistance and lead to an impressive reduction in blood sugar levels
有趣的是，間歇性禁食已被證明對胰島素抵抗有很大的好處，並能顯著降低血糖水平
In human studies on intermittent fasting, fasting blood sugar has been reduced by 3-6%, while fasting insulin has been reduced by 20-31%
在間歇性禁食的人體研究中，空腹血糖降低了3-6%，而空腹胰島素下降了20-31%
One study in diabetic rats also showed that intermittent fasting protected against kidney damage, one of the most severe complications of diabetes
一項對糖尿病大鼠的研究還表明，間歇性禁食可以防止腎臟損傷，這是糖尿病最嚴重的併發症之一
What this implies, is that intermittent fasting may be highly protective for people who are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
這意味著，間歇性禁食可能對有發展2型糖尿病風險的人有很高的保護作用。
However, there may be some differences between genders. One study in women showed that blood sugar control actually worsened after a 22-day long intermittent fasting protocol
然而，性別之間可能存在一些差異。一項針對女性的研究顯示，在長達22天的間歇性禁食後，血糖控制實際上惡化了
Intermittent fasting can reduce insulin resistance and lower blood sugar levels, at least in men.
斷斷續續的禁食可以減少胰島素抵抗和降低血糖水平，至少對男性來說是這樣。
Intermittent Fasting Can Reduce Oxidative Stress and Inflammation inThe Body
斷斷續續的禁食可以減少體內的氧化應激和炎症
Oxidative stress is oneof the steps towards aging and many chronic diseases (14Trusted Source).
氧化應激是導致衰老和許多慢性病的一個步驟（14可靠來源）。
It involves unstablemolecules called free radicals, which react with other important molecules(like protein and DNA) and damage them .
它涉及到稱為自由基的不穩定分子，自由基與其他重要分子（如蛋白質和DNA）發生反應並破壞它們。
Several studies show thatintermittent fasting may enhance the body's resistance to oxidative stress (16, 17Trusted Source).
幾項研究表明，斷斷續續的禁食可以增強機體對氧化應激的抵抗力（1617可靠來源）。
Additionally, studiesshow that intermittent fasting can help fight inflammation, another key driverof all sorts of common diseases (17Trusted Source, 18Trusted Source, 19Trusted Source).
此外，研究表明，斷斷續續禁食有助於對抗炎症，炎症是導致各種常見疾病的另一個關鍵因素（17個可信來源，18個可信來源，19個可信來源）。
Studies show thatintermittent fasting can reduce oxidative damage and inflammation in the body.This should have benefits against aging and development of numerous diseases.
研究表明，間歇性禁食可以減少氧化損傷和炎症身體。這個應具有對抗衰老和多種疾病發展的功效。
Intermittent Fasting May be Beneficial For Heart Health
間歇性禁食對心臟健康有益
Heart disease iscurrently the world's biggest killer (20Trusted Source).
It is known that varioushealth markers (so-called "risk factors") are associated with eitheran increased or decreased risk of heart disease.
心臟病目前是世界上最大的殺手（20個可信來源）。
眾所周知，各種健康標誌物（所謂的「危險因素」）與心臟病風險的增加或降低有關。
Intermittent fasting hasbeen shown to improve numerous different risk factors, including bloodpressure, total and LDL cholesterol, blood triglycerides, inflammatory markersand blood sugar levels (12, 21Trusted Source, 22, 23).
間歇性禁食已經被證明可以改善許多不同的危險因素，包括血壓、總膽固醇和低密度脂蛋白膽固醇、血甘油三酯、炎症標誌物和血糖水平（12，21可靠來源，22，23）。
However, a lot of this isbased on animal studies. The effects on heart health need to be studied a lotfurther in humans before recommendations can be made.
然而，其中很多都是基於動物研究。在提出建議之前，還需要進一步研究人類對心臟健康的影響。
Studies show thatintermittent fasting can improve numerous risk factors for heart disease suchas blood pressure, cholesterol levels, triglycerides and inflammatory markers.
研究表明，間歇性禁食可以改善許多心臟病的危險因素，如血壓、膽固醇水平、甘油三酯和炎症標誌物。
Intermittent Fasting Induces Various Cellular Repair Processes
斷續禁食誘導多種細胞修復過程
When we fast, the cellsin the body initiate a cellular "waste removal" process calledautophagy (7Trusted Source, 24Trusted Source).
當我們禁食時，體內的細胞會啟動一個細胞「廢物清除」過程，稱為「吞噬」（7個可信來源，24個可信來源）。
This involves the cellsbreaking down and metabolizing broken and dysfunctional proteins that build upinside cells over time.
這包括細胞分解和代謝破壞和功能失調的蛋白質，這些蛋白質在細胞內隨著時間的推移而積累起來。
Increased autophagy mayprovide protection against several diseases, including cancer and Alzheimer'sdisease (25Trusted Source, 26Trusted Source).
增加的自噬作用可能對多種疾病提供保護，包括癌症和阿爾茨海默病（25個可信來源，26個可信來源）。
Fasting triggers ametabolic pathway called autophagy, which removes waste material from cells.
禁食會觸發稱為自噬的變形蟲途徑，它能清除細胞中的廢物。
Intermittent Fasting May Help Prevent Cancer
間歇性禁食有助於預防癌症
Cancer is a terribledisease, characterized by uncontrolled growth of cells.
Fasting has been shown tohave several beneficial effects on metabolism that may lead to reduced risk ofcancer.
癌症是一種可怕的疾病，其特徵是細胞生長失控。
禁食已經被證明對新陳代謝有一些有益的影響，可以降低患癌症的風險。
Although human studiesare needed, promising evidence from animal studies indicates thatintermittent fasting may help prevent cancer (27Trusted Source, 28Trusted Source, 29Trusted Source, 30Trusted Source).
There is also someevidence on human cancer patients, showing that fasting reduced various sideeffects of chemotherapy (31Trusted Source).
雖然需要進行人體研究，但動物研究的有希望的證據表明，斷斷續續禁食可能有助於預防癌症（27個可信來源，28個可靠來源，29個可信來源，30個可信來源）。
在人類癌症患者身上也有一些證據表明，禁食減少了化療的各種副作用（31可靠來源）。
Intermittentfasting has been shown to help prevent cancer in animal studies. One paper inhumans showed that it can reduce side effects caused by chemotherapy.
在動物實驗中，間歇性進食有助於預防癌症。一篇《不人道》的論文表明，它可以減少化療引起的副作用。
Intermittent Fasting is Good For Your Brain
斷斷續續的禁食對你的大腦有好處
What is good for the bodyis often good for the brain as well.
Intermittent fastingimproves various metabolic features known to be important for brain health.
對身體有益的東西往往對大腦也有好處。間歇性禁食改善了對大腦健康很重要的各種代謝特徵。
This includes reducedoxidative stress, reduced inflammation and a reduction in blood sugar levelsand insulin resistance.
這包括減少氧化應激，減少炎症，降低血糖水平和胰島素抵抗。
Several studies in ratshave shown that intermittent fasting may increase the growth of new nervecells, which should have benefits for brain function (32Trusted Source, 33).
ratshave的幾項研究表明，間歇性禁食可能會增加新神經細胞的生長，這對大腦功能有好處（32可靠來源，33）。
It also increases levelsof a brain hormone called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) (32Trusted Source, 34Trusted Source, 35Trusted Source),a deficiency of which has been implicated in depression and various other brainproblems (36Trusted Source).
它還增加了一種名為腦源性神經營養因子（BDNF）的腦激素水平（32個可信來源，34個可信來源，35個可信來源），這種激素的缺乏與抑鬱症和其他各種腦問題有關（36個可信來源）。
Animal studies have alsoshown that intermittent fasting protects against brain damage due to strokes (37Trusted Source).
動物研究也表明，斷斷續續禁食可以防止中風引起的腦損傷（37可靠來源）。
Intermittentfasting may have important benefits for brain health. It may increase growth ofnew neurons and protect the brain from damage.
間歇性的進食對大腦健康有重要的好處。它可以增加新神經元的生長，保護大腦免受損傷。
Intermittent Fasting May Help Prevent Alzheimer's Disease
間歇性禁食可能有助於預防老年痴呆症
Alzheimer's disease isthe world's most common neurodegenerative disease.
阿爾茨海默病是世界上最常見的神經退行性疾病。
There is no cureavailable for Alzheimer's, so preventing it from showing up in the first placeis critical.
預防阿爾茨海默病的關鍵是要先把它擺出來。
A study in rats showsthat intermittent fasting may delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease or reduceits severity (38Trusted Source).
一項在大鼠身上的研究表明，間歇性禁食可以延緩阿爾茨海默病的發病或降低EITS的嚴重程度（38個可信來源）。
In a series of casereports, a lifestyle intervention that included daily short-term fasts was ableto significantly improve Alzheimer's symptoms in 9 out of 10 patients (39).
在一系列的病例報告中，包括每日短期禁食在內的生活方式幹預能夠顯著改善9/10的老年痴呆症症狀（39）。
Animal studies alsosuggest that fasting may protect against other neurodegenerative diseases,including Parkinson's and Huntington's disease (40Trusted Source, 41Trusted Source).
動物研究還表明，禁食可以預防其他神經退行性疾病，包括帕金森氏症和亨廷頓病（40個可信來源，41個可信來源）。
However, more research inhumans is needed.
然而，還需要更多的非人道主義研究。
Studies in animalssuggest that intermittent fasting may be protective against neurodegenerativediseases like Alzheimer's disease.
對動物的研究表明，間歇性禁食可以預防像阿爾茨海默病這樣的神經退行性疾病。