From time to time, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington-based advocacy group, prepares an updated "report card" on changes in the American diet. The latest, collated by the nutritionist Bonnie Liebman and published in the September issue of the center's Nutrition Action Newsletter, is not one Americans should be especially proud of.
公共利益科学中心(Center for Science in the Public Interest)是一个总部设在华盛顿的宣传组织，它常常对美国人饮食习惯的变化作出评价，并不时发布最新的“成绩单”。其中最近的一份由营养师邦妮·利布曼(Bonnie Liebman)负责整理，并发表在该中心《营养行动通讯》(Nutrition Action Newsletter)的9月号上。老实说，这份“成绩单”可不怎么能令美国人感到自豪。
The analysis of changes in food consumption from 1970 to 2010 reveals that we still have a long way to go before we come close to meeting dietary guidelines for warding off obesity and chronic health problems like diabetes and heart disease.
这项关于1970年至2010年间食品消费变化的分析表明，要达到可抵御肥胖和慢性健康问题（如糖尿病和心脏病）的膳食指南的要求，美国人还有很长的路要走。
The news isn't all bad. Our consumption of added sweeteners, though still significantly higher than it was in 1970, has come down from the "sugar high" of 1999 when the average was 89 pounds per person. Nonetheless, an average of 78 pounds per person in 2010, mostly as sugar and high-fructose corn syrup, is still too much, Ms. Liebman points out.
当然，这份报告里也不全是坏消息。例如，虽然美国人对添加甜味剂（即，并非食物本身天然含有的甜味成分）的消费量仍显著高于1970年，但已经从1999年的平均每人89磅（约40千克）的“高糖”水平有所下降。尽管如此，利布曼女士指出，2010年美国人的人均消费量（以糖和高果糖玉米糖浆为主）仍然达到了78磅（约35千克），这个数值依旧太高。

Even our B-plus for cutting back on fats and oils, the highest grade Ms. Liebman awarded, is a mixed bag. Yes, we've dramatically reduced consumption of heart-damaging trans fats and, to a lesser extent, saturated solid fats like margarine and shortening. But there's been a steady, steep climb in total fats added to the diet in the form of salad oils and cooking oils.
在这份“成绩单”中，利布曼女士给“控制脂肪和油”这一栏打分最高，为B+，但即使这方面的情况也是参差不齐。的确，美国人对有害心脏的反式脂肪的消费量已经大幅减少，对人造黄油和起酥油等饱和固体脂肪的消费量也有小幅降低。但以色拉油和烹调油的形式被加入膳食中的总脂肪量却出现了稳步急剧的攀升。
As a country, we have definitely not been on a "low-fat diet." The average person consumes 20 pounds more in total fat yearly than in 1970, which partly explains why the obesity rate among adults has more than doubled since then, when only 15 percent of Americans were obese.
就整个国家而言，美国绝对未达到“低脂饮食”的水平。与1970年相比，人均脂肪消费总量约增加了20磅（约9.1千克），这从一定程度上解释了为何自那时（美国人肥胖率只有15%）起，成年人的肥胖率已然翻了一番。
In 2005, the Agriculture Department has reported, the average American consumed 645 calories a day in added fats and oils, not counting the fats naturally present in foods like meats and dairy products.
2005年，美国农业部(Agriculture Department)报道，美国人在一天内消费的添加脂肪和油类中的热量平均可达645卡路里，而且这还是刨去了肉类和奶制品等食物中天然存在的脂肪后的数值。
Americans seem to think that if a food is considered a healthier alternative, it's O.K. to swallow as much of it as one might like. People forget, or never knew, that a tablespoon of olive oil or canola oil has about the same number of calories as a tablespoon of lard (about 115), and even more calories than a tablespoon of butter or margarine.
美国人似乎认为，如果某种食品是较为健康的替代品，就可以想吃多少吃多少。但人们忘记了，或者从来就不知道，一汤匙橄榄油或菜籽油中所含的热量与一汤匙猪油大致相当（约115卡路里），甚至还高于一汤匙黄油或人造黄油中所含的卡路里数。
"We never were on a low-fat diet," Ms. Liebman said in an interview. "We increased our fat intake from pizzas, burgers, French fries, baked goods and restaurant-prepared foods."
“我们从未真正实现过低脂饮食，”利布曼在接受记者采访时表示。“我们从披萨、汉堡、炸薯条、烘焙食品和餐厅食品中摄入的脂肪量有所增加。”
Likewise, grain products. "There's been a huge increase in grains in the last 30 years — bread, cereal, pasta, rice, burritos, pizza crust, panini, muffins, scones — mostly made from white flour," she said. "We've been blaming the obesity epidemic on sweets, and we are eating too much sugar, but we need to pay more attention to grains.
同样，在谷物制品方面的情况也是如此。“在过去的30年中，人们对谷物制品——面包、麦片、意粉、米饭、墨西哥玉米煎饼、比萨饼、意式热三明治、松饼、烤饼——的消费量大幅增长，而这些食品大多由白面制成，”她说。“我们一直指责是糖果以及吃糖太多导致了肥胖的流行，但现在，我们需要更多地关注谷物制品。
"It would not be great to simply replace refined grains like white flour and white rice with whole grains," she added. "We need to cut back on grains, period."
“只是简单地将白面这类精制谷物替换为全谷物制品并非就万事大吉了，”她补充道。“我们需要减少所有谷物制品的消费量，至少在一段时间内是如此。”
Whether made from white flour or whole wheat, one unadorned New York-style bagel supplies about 500 calories, and a 21st century muffin often contains as many as 800 calories.
无论是由白面还是全麦制成，一个没有添加任何添料的纽约风格贝果的热量就可达到约500卡路里，而现在一个松饼所含的热量往往多达800卡路里。
For the average adult, who should aim for a daily intake of 2,000 calories, these grain foods displace far more nutritious (and relatively low-calorie) fruits and vegetables. Our consumption of those earned a B-minus on Ms. Liebman's report card.
对于应将每天摄入的热量控制在2000卡路里左右的普通成年人而言，谷物制品替代比其营养丰富得多，且热量也相对较低的水果和蔬菜，在膳食中的占有很大比例。在利布曼女士给出的“成绩单”上，美国人在此类食品消费方面的得分为B-。
"We need to replace sandwiches with salads, swap starches for veggies, and trade cookies, cupcakes and chips for fresh fruit," she wrote. "We started eating more vegetables, not counting potatoes, in the 1980s, but the rise has stalled."
“我们需要把三明治换成沙拉，把淀粉类食物换成蔬菜，并把纸杯蛋糕和薯条换成新鲜水果。”她写道。“在20世纪80年代，我们开始食用蔬菜（不包括土豆）的量开始增加，但现在这种上升趋势已经停滞。”
Ms. Liebman was surprised to find that combined consumption of beef and pork is still higher than that of chicken and fish. Although chicken itself is now slightly more popular than beef, our consumption of fish has remained relatively flat.
利布曼还惊讶地发现，牛肉和猪肉的总消费量仍然高于鸡肉和鱼。虽然现在鸡肉比牛肉略受消费者青睐，但美国人的鱼类消费量一直保持相对平稳。
In the July/August edition of the Nutrition Action Newsletter, Barton Seaver, the director of the Healthy and Sustainable Food Program at the Harvard School of Public Health, noted that Americans "eat only about 16 pounds of seafood per person per year, and about 95 percent of that comes from only 10 species."
在《营养行动通讯》的7月/8月版上，哈佛大学公共卫生学院(Harvard School of Public Health)健康和可持续食品计划(Healthy and Sustainable Food Program)的主任巴顿·西弗(Barton Seaver)指出，美国人“平均每人每年的海鲜消费量大概只有16磅（约7.3千克），且10种常见物种的总量就占其中的95%左右。”
Mr. Seaver, a former chef, encourages diners to stray from the familiar to more sustainable — and wholesome — species like pollock, sablefish, Spanish mackerel, haddock, and farm-raised barramundi and shrimp. He champions farm-raised mussels, clams and oysters as sources of "fabulous" lean protein that clean the aquatic environment.
西弗先生曾是一名厨师，他鼓励食客们避开熟悉的食物物种，去选择更具有可持续性且更有益健康的物种，如青鳕鱼、裸盖鱼、鲅鱼、黑线鳕以及农场养殖的澳洲肺鱼和虾等。他提倡以农场养殖的可清洁水环境的贻贝、蛤和牡蛎作为“顶级”瘦蛋白的来源。
Contrary to popular thought, frozen fish is "comparable to, if not better than, fresh fish," because it is frozen on ships within hours of being caught, Mr. Seaver said.
与流行观点相反，速冻鱼其实“并不逊于鲜鱼"，因为它们在捕获后的几小时内就已在渔船上被冷冻了，西弗先生说。
Ms. Liebman applauded the steady, precipitous decline in whole milk consumption and the booming popularity of mostly low-fat yogurt. But she noted that consumption of low-fat and fat-free milk has remained low (displaced by sugary soft drinks) and that our consumption of cheese, rich in dairy fat, is at an all-time high, up threefold since 1970 and still climbing.
利布曼女士对全脂牛奶消费量的稳步陡降以及以低脂为主的酸奶日益广受欢迎表示赞许。但她指出，低脂和脱脂牛奶的消费量仍然较低（其在膳食比例中应占的地位被含糖软饮料所占据），而美国人对富含乳脂肪的奶酪的消费量一直较高，目前已经达到1970年的三倍，且仍在攀升。
"And we're not just eating more sweets, grains, meat and cheese. We're eating more, about 500 more calories a day per person than in 1970," Ms. Liebman said. "We've lost track of what a normal portion of food should look like."
“我们的问题不仅在于在膳食比例中，甜食、谷物、肉类和奶酪偏多。除此之外，我们的总食量也有所增加，与1970年相比，平均每人每天约多摄入了500卡路里，”利布曼女士说。“我们已经丧失了对正常膳食份额的概念。”
She blamed restaurants for portion distortion. "If you eat what restaurants serve, you will end up like two-thirds of Americans, overweight or obese," she said. "People should assume that restaurants serve double what you should be eating and either share a meal or take half of it home to eat the next day."
她指责餐厅对这种膳食份额的扭曲负有部分责任。“如果您总是将餐厅供应的食物一扫而光，那么您最后就会变得像三分之二的美国人那样超重或肥胖，”她说。“人们应该假设餐厅提供的食物是应摄入份量的两倍，您可以与他人分享，或者把其中一半打包回去第二天再吃。”
While some restaurants have added lean or light meals to their menus, "those should be the standard because that's what we all should be eating, not just dieters," Ms. Liebman said. "And vegetables and fruits should fill up half the plate, not just be treated as a little side dish."
虽然有些餐厅已在他们的菜单中加入了简餐或轻食，“但这应成为我们所有人每天食用的标准食物，而不是在节食减肥时才偶尔一试，”利布曼女士说。“此外，不应将蔬菜和水果作为配菜，其份量至少应占到盘中食物的一半。”
Take or order a salad instead of a sandwich for lunch. And try cut vegetables with a yogurt dip for a munch between meals or before dinner.
在午餐时，点一份沙拉来代替三明治。也可以试试在两餐之间或晚饭前用沾酸奶的新鲜蔬菜作为点心。
This summer I discovered a great new way to enhance the family's fruit intake. It's a gadget called Yonanas: using frozen, slightly overripe bananas as a base and other frozen fruits for color and flavor (like strawberries, pineapple, or mango), it produces a sweet, creamy dessert or snack with the consistency of frozen yogurt but no added sugar or cream. With a 20-percent off coupon from Bed Bath & Beyond, this tool costs $40 and — who knows? — could ultimately save hundreds in medical bills.
今年夏天，我发现有一个绝佳的方法可以提高家庭中的水果摄入量。这是一个名为Yonanas的小工具：它使用略微熟过头的香蕉作为基底，加入其他冷冻水果（如草莓、菠萝或芒果）来调色和调味，可以制成类似于冷冻酸奶的甜点或点心，味道甜甜的，质地光滑细腻，却没有添加任何糖份或奶油。使用Bed Bath & Beyond（美国一家主营家居用品及饰品的连锁零售商）的20%折扣优惠券时，这个小工具的价格是40美元——谁知道呢？——说不定最后它能帮你节约数以百计的医疗费。