There's Actually a Huge Limitation to The Mediterranean Diet

　　事实上，地中海饮食的局限性非常大

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

　　如果你曾经花时间读过关于那些有益身心健康的食物的文章，那你几乎肯定读到过地中海饮食。

　　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.

　　这种著名又好吃的饮食方式，主要由蔬菜、水果、鱼和完整的谷物，吃的时候还要加上不少橄榄油;它在地中海沿岸的文明中很常见，长久以来一直被认为有很高的营养价值。

　　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.

　　但是现在，科学家们的一个新发现却给地中海饮食的健康价值敲响了警钟——那就是，能从这种饮食方式中获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.

　　意大利的一项研究追踪了19,000个人对地中海饮食习惯的贯彻程度，这项研究隶属于一个叫莫里-萨尼的健康研究项目，研究人员发现：这种饮食方在心血管健康上的益处基本只出现在更有钱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."

　　“换句话说，一个社会经济地位更低但却进行地中海饮食的人，不太可能获得和高收入人群同样的好处，虽然他们的饮食方式一样。”

　　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.

　　研究人员对莫里-萨利项目中的人进行了4年的跟踪研究，发现地中海饮食可以让心血管疾病的发病率降低约60%，但这种效果仅限于那些有高中以上教育程度或者家庭年收入高于4万欧元(32万人民币)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，即使进行地中海饮食，也没有表现出更好的心血管健康状况。

　　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.

　　研究人员发现，虽然这些人基本上吃的都是“地中海饮食”，但他们具体吃的东西却根据他们的社会经济状况而有不同。

　　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.

　　那些社会经济地位更高的受试者吃的鱼更多，有机食品和完整谷物的量也更多——这意味着他们的饮食中的抗氧化剂和多元酚更多，另外蔬菜和水果的种类也更多。

　　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.

　　不过，在没有更进一步发现的情况下，其他科学家认为我们还不能把地中海饮食一棒子打死——因为造成这个结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.

　　“虽然这个研究报告的作者说地中海饮食在心血管健康上的益处对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区别造成了这个现象。”谢菲尔德大学的心血管医药研究者提姆·契克这样说，他并没有参与这项研究。