Not only is vinegar good for descaling kettles, cleaning windows and pickling onions, but it seems that it could help you to keep the weight off, too.

    醋的用處多多，不但能清除壺上的水垢、擦去玻璃窗上的污跡和拌洋蔥，還可能幫你瘦身呢。

    An old housewives' tale has it that cider vinegar is good for the waistline. The supermodels Cindy Crawford and Heidi Klum seem to be on to it too and have been known to take a swig of vinegar before a meal, believing that it helps them to maintain their figures. Researchers in Japan have now found some evidence that vinegar does, indeed, appear to have a fat-burning effect after all.

    長久以來主婦間們流傳著一個秘方：食用蘋果醋可以讓腰變細。超模辛迪·克勞馥和海蒂·克拉姆看來就是深諳此道，她們在每餐之前喝上一大口蘋果醋，深信這樣有助于保持曼妙身材。現在日本的研究者們發現了一些證據，表明醋確能起到燃燒體內脂肪的奇效。

    Before you rush out to buy a bottle of Sarson's, it is worth noting that the scientists carried out their study on laboratory mice rather than on human beings. Nevertheless, they found that when the mice were fed a high-fat diet along with vinegar, they developed up to 10 per cent less body fat than mice that were fed a high-fat diet and just water. It seems that the acid in vinegar--acetic acid--switches on genes that make certain fat-burning enzymes spring into action, helping to suppress the accumulation of body fat.

    請先別急著沖下樓買醋，有必要提醒您現在的研究成果還僅限于實驗室而非我們人類。小白鼠們在享用了一頓高脂肪大餐后，那些邊吃邊佐以醋飲的小家伙們比邊吃邊喝點白開水的同伴們確實要少長點膘，差別最多可達10%.學者們覺得是醋里面的酸物質--醋酸--接通了小鼠體內的某些基因，這些基因轉成許多專管燃燒脂肪的蛋白酶，而這些活躍的酶有助于抑制脂肪的堆積。

    What's more, two other studies have shown that vinegar-taking mice also had lower cholesterol levels and blood pressure compared with those on water. Somewhat tantalisingly, Tomoo Kondo, from the Central Research Institute in Handa, Japan, reveals that further research, this time on people, also looks promising. It seems that subjects who were given 15ml of vinegar daily lost fat, particularly around their stomachs.

    此外，喝醋對于小鼠們還有另兩項好處。比起喝水的同伴來，喝醋的膽固醇水平和血壓都要更低些。來自日本半田中央研究所的近藤君還做了更進一步的人體實驗，其結果也很鼓舞人心。數據顯示，每天攝入15毫升醋的受測者們都變瘦了，特別是在胃和腹部的位置。

    Research has also shown that it takes the edge off appetite by slowing the speed at which our stomachs empty. This means that you probably eat less during a meal and feel full for longer after it, so you are less likely to snack in between meals. Thankfully, you need only about four teaspoons of vinegar to slow down stomach-emptying--an amount that can be found in a generous serving of French-style salad dressing. Lemon juice, which contains citric acid, has a similar effect, and it is likely that lime juice does as well.

    研究還揭示了醋能減緩胃清空的速度，從而使人的食欲下降。這就意味著您可以正餐吃得少些，飽脹感卻比以前維持得更久，因此不大會在兩餐間忍不住大嚼零食了。謝天謝地，怕酸的人只需要喝下四調羹的醋就能起到減緩胃排空的效果，這點醋也就是一道普通的法式色拉的醬料的水平。能和醋媲美的還有檸檬汁，其中的檸檬酸也有和醋酸相似的效用。

    The natural acids known as lactic and propionic acid, produced during the fermentation of sourdough breads, have also been shown to make people feel more full for longer and to reduce the rate of digestion compared with other breads, making Mediterranean-style diets, which often feature salad with a vinegar-based dressing and sourdough bread, particularly good for your waistline.

    酸面包在發酵的過程中會產生的乳酸和丙酸，也能使食用的人有更久的飽脹感，和別的面包比起來，酸面包能減緩消化的速度。地中海風味的食譜，常常有一道用醋醬澆頭的色拉和幾片酸面包，因而對那些在意自己小蠻腰的女士來說特別值得推薦。

    The bottom line is that adding vinegar, lemon or lime juice to your meals will do no harm and may help a bit in the battle of the bulge. Just don't think that you will lose much weight by sprinkling extra vinegar on your chips.

    退一步來講，在飲食中添加醋、檸檬汁或酸橙汁無礙健康，還有助于瘦身。但請記得不要在你的薯條上狂灑酸醋，然后一廂情愿地等著體重降下來。