为什么泰国要让佛教僧侣节食

为什么泰国要让佛教僧侣节食

It's 6 a.m. on a Monday morning, and Bangkok is just starting to wake up. Street food vendors begin to serve breakfast as the streets, and sidewalks fill with morning commuters.

现在是周一早上6点，曼谷刚刚开始苏醒。街上的小吃摊开始供应早餐，人行道上也挤满了早起的上班族。

Behind the gates of Wat Yannawa temple, barefoot monks emerge, their saffron robes a pop of color in the early morning light. From the youngest to the oldest, they do this same routine every day: collect alms, or offerings, from the Buddhist faithful.

赤脚的僧侣们从龙船寺的门后出现了，他们的藏红花长袍在清晨的阳光下闪闪发光。从最年轻的到最老的，他们每天都做同样的事情:从佛教信徒那里收集施舍物。

They pray with the person who offers it, and then return home to prepare the meal with what they've been given.

他们为寺庙收集食物、饮料和偶尔的现金捐赠。他们向提供食物的人祈祷，然后回家准备食物。

More than 90% of Thailand's population follows Buddhism and the monks here are held in high regard, but there is growing concern about their health: Thailand's monks are gaining too much weight.

泰国90%以上的人口信奉佛教，这里的僧侣受到高度重视，但人们越来越担心他们的健康:泰国僧侣太胖了。

Restrictive diet

限制饮食

Thailand's National Health Commission Office says there are nearly 349,000 monks in Thailand, and almost half are considered overweight or obese.

泰国国家卫生委员会办公室说，泰国有将近349,000名僧侣，其中将近一半超重或肥胖。

The monks aren't able to control their own diet -- it's at the mercy of the offerings they receive each morning. Traditionally, those alms are calorie-rich foods, either processed or homemade -- with the Buddhist faithful wanting to offer something of high value and taste.

僧侣们无法控制自己的饮食——这完全取决于他们每天早上收到的食物。传统上，这些施舍是富含高热量的食物，要么是加工过的，要么是自制的——僧侣们希望收到一些高价值和高品味的东西。

The monks are also forbidden from eating anything after 12 p.m., having only one or two meals a day between the hours of 6 a.m. and noon.

僧侣们也禁止在晚上12点以后吃任何东西。在美国，每天从早上6点到中午只有一到两顿饭。

This means it's hard for monks to change their diet.

这意味着和尚很难改变他们的饮食。

Professor Jongjit Angkatavanich, a pharmacist, dietician, and nutritionist who has been studying the health of Thailand's monks for the past eight years, describes the situation as a "ticking time bomb."

药剂师、营养师和营养学家宗集德教授在过去八年里一直在研究泰国僧侣的健康状况，他把这种情况描述为“一颗定时炸弹”。

The monks are experiencing conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, eye issues and osteoarthritis in knees, but they know very little about them.

僧侣们正经历着糖尿病、高血压、眼部疾病和膝盖关节炎等疾病，但他们对这些疾病知之甚少。

For example, one of the most shocking things Jongjit has seen is monks with amputated toes and feet because of diabetes, but the monks had no knowledge of the condition -- many had never even heard of diabetes.

例如，宗集德所观察到的最令人震惊的事情之一就是和尚因为糖尿病而被截肢，但是和尚们对这种情况一无所知——很多人甚至从未听说过糖尿病。

A taste for soda

喜欢喝苏打水

Obesity rates among Thailand's monks are higher than the wider population -- 48% of them are obese compared to 39% of the Thai male population, according to Jongjit's research. While people might think the monks are simply eating more, Jongjit said that isn't the case. The monks consume 150 less calories than Thai men.

宗集德的研究显示，泰国僧侣的肥胖率高于整体人口的肥胖率——僧侣肥胖率为48%，而泰国男性的肥胖率为39%。虽然人们可能认为僧侣们只是吃得更多了，但宗集德说事实并非如此。僧侣们摄入的热量比泰国人少150卡路里。

So what's happening to Thailand's monks?

那么泰国的僧侣们到底怎么了?

"After midday, they have to rely on a drink or beverage," Jongjit explained. "It has changed over time, from the ancient time -- right now, it is a soda, a soft drink, a sweetened beverage."

宗集德解释说:“中午过后，他们就会喝饮料。“从古代开始，随着时间的推移而改变，到现在，变成一种苏打水，一种软饮料，一种甜味饮料。”

What's more, she said, is the monks often consume the sugary drinks on an empty stomach. "The sugar in the liquid is absorbed faster," she said.

她说，更重要的是，这些和尚经常空腹喝含糖饮料。“液体中的糖被吸收得更快，”她说。