中餐在英国的名声非常差，许多英国人认为中餐米饭含量太高，肉菜油腻，长期食用会导致心脏病，造成肥胖。但是英国中餐专家罗琳·克利索德却表示事实正相反：如果合理烹调，吃中餐不但健康，而且饱腹，还能防病和延寿。

这位专家在她的书《为什么中国人不计算卡路里》中坚称，真正的中餐不会让人肥胖。中国肥胖率上升，主要原因是摄取了太多含糖量高、过度加工的西方食物。以下是克利索德在书中揭示的中餐的奥秘，还有两位西方营养学专家帕特里克·霍福德和伊恩·马贝对中餐给出的评价。

1. Think of vegetables as dishes
在中国，蔬菜也是主菜

Rather than an uninspiring accompaniment to meat or fish, the Chinese treat vegetables as meals in their own right, rather than add-ons, as in the West.
在西方，蔬菜一般只作为肉类或鱼类的配菜，而在中餐里，蔬菜也被当成主菜来食用。

Holford says: "Vegetables should make up half of what's on your plate in any given meal, so this fits perfectly with the Chinese diet."
霍福德表示：“蔬菜应该占到每餐的一半，中餐在这点上做得很好。”

2. Fill up on staple foods
吃饱靠主食

Without rice, which is low in fat and high in nutrients and fibre, claims Clissold, it is impossible to eat until you are full. Low-carb diets promise to burn fat, but Clissold says that replacing carbs with food that is higher in fat and lower in nutrients is not a long-term answer to weight loss.
大米具有低脂高营养高纤维的特点，如果没有大米，你是不会吃到饱的。克利索德认为，虽然少吃碳水化合物据说能燃烧脂肪，但如果用高脂低营养食物来取代碳水化合物，长期看来不利于减轻体重。

3. Eat until you are full
吃吃吃，吃到饱。

The Chinese eat until they are full, and then stop. Westerners often take a feast-and-famine approach to eating– purging during the week and binging over the weekend, or skipping lunch to make room for cake, The Chinese tend to eat three good meals every day.
中国人在吃饱之前不会停下。西方人则是饥一顿饱一顿，他们在工作日吃得很少，在周末就放开了吃。还有些西方人不吃中饭，留着肚子吃蛋糕。而中国人一般每天三顿都要吃饱。

Holford says: "Provided that a meal has a high intake of fibre-rich vegetables and a balance of protein and carbohydrate, which a typical Chinese meal would, then you should eat until you are full. But the combination of high sugar, refined carbs and high fat allows for more food to be eaten in a short space of time before the body's 'appestat' kicks in and tells you to stop."
霍福德说：“中餐中富含纤维的蔬菜比例较高，兼顾了蛋白质和碳水化合物，而且中国人会吃到饱为止。而西方大量高糖食品、精制碳水化合物和高脂肪食品容易让人吃得过快，在大脑还没有接收到身体的吃饱信号前，西方人容易吃下更多食物。

4. Take liquid food
吃流食

Soup, or a soup-based dish, is present at every Chinese meal, often in the form of a watery porridge, zhou. Western diets can be very dry, and nutritionists compensate by urging us to drink more water, which the Chinese would never do with a meal. Instead, they make a nourishing liquid food part of the meal.
汤或粥等汤汤水水的食物，在中餐里很常见。西方人的饮食往往都很干，因此营养学家建议人们多喝水来弥补。中国人吃饭的时候就不喝水，他们喝有营养的汤。

Holford says: "Thirst is often confused with hunger. Also, drinking does tend to fill you up. So soups help you control your appetite."
霍福德说：“口渴经常和饥饿搞混。而且，喝汤能让人有饱腹感，所以有助于控制食欲。”

5. Bring yin and yang into your kitchen
厨房里的阴阳概念

A good Chinese diet balances yin (wet and moist) and yang (dry and crisp) ingredients. Yin foods cool the body down, while yang foods – meat, spicy dishes, wine, coffee – heat it up. The sharing, multi-dish approach to eating in China means most meals contain yin and yang in equilibrium.
中餐讲究阴（潮湿）和阳（干脆）的平衡。阴性食物让身体凉下来，阳性食物（肉类、辣菜、酒和咖啡）让身体温热起来。中国人会一起分享多盘菜，每种菜都吃一些会让身体达到阴阳平衡。

Holford says: "Most protein foods are seen as yang, carbohydrates as yin. The combination of these two helps stabilise blood sugar, which is the key to good energy and minimising weight gain."
霍福德说：“多数蛋白质食物都被归为阳性食物，而碳水化合物则被归为阴性食物。两者相结合有助于稳定血糖，这对于补充精力和控制体重增加很关键。”

6. Raw power? not necessarily
生吃食物最健康？不见得。

Chinese people don't eat raw salad. While raw food has a higher concentration of vitamins than cooked food, Clissold says experts ignore that lightly cooking food makes its nutrients easier for the body to take on. The stomach is unable to digest too much raw food; this can lead to bloating and weight gain.
中国人不吃生拌沙拉。虽然烹饪会降低食物中的维生素浓度，但克利索德表示，专家忽略了一点，那就是轻微烹饪过的食物的营养更容易被人体吸收。人的肠胃无法消化太多生食物，吃太多生食物会导致胀气和体重增加。

7. Use food to keep fit
食疗好

Chinese medicine prescribes various foods as medical treatments: chillies to promote digestion and dispel cold; garlic to counteract toxins. The ultimate purpose is to ensure all the organs are working correctly to allow energy, or chi, to circulate smoothly around the body.
中医认为许多食物都有各自的医用价值：辣椒帮助消化并能驱除寒冷，大蒜可以中和毒素。最终的目的是确保所有的器官都能正常运转，让体内气血可以通畅运行。

Holford says: "Two thousand years ago, Hippocrates said, 'Let food be your medicine.' But people in the West forgot. "
霍福德说：“两千年前，古希腊医生希波克拉底就认为应该用食物作为药物。但是西方人已经完全忘记了这点。”

8. Drink green tea
喝绿茶

Green tea eliminates toxins, aids digestion and allays hunger. Scientists have found that it also fights free radicals, which cause cancer and heart disease.
绿茶具有消除毒素、帮助消化和减缓饥饿的效果。科学家已经发现绿茶还具有消除自由基的效果，而自由基会引发癌症和心脏病。

Marber says: "I'm a great believer in green and herbal teas. Green tea is an important antioxidant, but it will only help you lose weight if you drink 40 cups a day. "
马贝说：“我认为喝绿茶和花草茶对身体很有好处。绿茶是重要的抗氧化剂，但一天得喝够40杯才能帮助人减肥。”

Holford says: "Traditionally, when the Chinese want another cup of tea, they'll keep the same leaves and add water to the pot. That's like only using one teabag a day – which means much less caffeine."
霍福德指出：“传统上，当中国人想再喝一杯茶时，他们会在茶壶里不断续水。他们每天通常只用一个茶袋，所以摄入的咖啡因也比较少。”