时差N小时 食物与情绪

When we think about a pill that helps an overweight person take off the pounds, we usually think of an appetite suppressant. But suppressing your appetite will only help you lose weight if the reason you eat is because you are hungry. Some people eat because they are depressed¹ rather than because they're hungry. When these people want to lose weight, doctors may prescribe, not traditional diet pills, but antidepressants.

谈到一种能帮助超重者减肥的药物，我们通常会想起食欲抑制剂。你会因为饥饿而吃饭，只有在这时抑制食欲才能帮你减轻体重。有些人吃东西是因为他们患有抑郁症，而不是因为他们感到饥饿。当这些人想要减肥时，医生会为他们开抗抑郁药，而不是传统的减肥药。

These antidepressants have helped many overweight people stop craving² high-calorie carbohydrates³. Depressed people often crave⁵ carbohydrates because eating carbohydrate⁴-rich food lifts their mood. As a side effect, they gain weight. Though scientists are not exactly sure how carbohydrate intake⁶ influences mood, they do know that it has to do with the chemical messengers, called neurotransmitters, that allow two areas of the brain to communicate: the area responsible for appetite and the area responsible for mood.

这些抗抑郁药能够帮助超重者抵制贪吃高热量碳水化合物的行为。患有抑郁症的人往往会贪吃糖类食物，因为含糖量高的食物可以提升他们的情绪。但副作用会导致体重上升。尽管科学家们不清楚摄入碳水化合物会如何影响情绪，不过可以肯定这与一种叫做“神经递质”的化学信使有关，这种物质能够在大脑负责食欲和负责情绪的区域之间传递信息。

More specifically, an intake of carbohydrates increases the levels of the neurotransmitter responsible for mood, called serotonin. Though only a small percentage of the brain's neurotransmitters are made up of serotonin, if this small amount is even minutely tinkered with, a patient can experience fairly drastic mood shifts.

更具体地说，摄入碳水化合物会使大脑中负责情绪的神经递质——血清素的含量增多。虽然大脑中只有一小部分的神经递质是由血清素组成，但如果血清素每分钟都得到少量补充，病人还是会感受到剧烈的情绪变化。

A patient taking antidepressants may stop craving carbohydrates because these drugs function like carbohydrates. They alter the serotonin that communicates messages between the mood and appetite centers of the brain. Once an antidepressant drug begins to work, the abnormal craving for carbohydrates is interrupted and the patient can start losing weight.

服用抗抑郁药物的病人可能不会再贪食，因为这些药物的功能和碳水化合物一样。它们能控制血清素的变化，从而影响大脑中负责情绪和食欲区域之间的信息传递。一旦抗抑郁药物开始起作用，就会切断病人对糖类食物的异常渴望，于是就开始减肥。

1 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

2 craving   

n.渴望,热望

参考例句：

• a craving for chocolate 非常想吃巧克力
• She skipped normal meals to satisfy her craving for chocolate and crisps. 她不吃正餐，以便满足自己吃巧克力和炸薯片的渴望。

3 carbohydrates   

n.碳水化合物，糖类( carbohydrate的名词复数 )；淀粉质或糖类食物

参考例句：

• The plant uses the carbohydrates to make cellulose. 植物用碳水化合物制造纤维素。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All carbohydrates originate from plants. 所有的碳水化合物均来自植物。 来自辞典例句

4 carbohydrate   

n.碳水化合物；糖类；(plural)淀粉质或糖类

参考例句：

• You should not have too much carbohydrate in your diet.你日常饮食中不该有过多碳水化合物。
• Cashew nuts are rich in carbohydrate.腰果含丰富碳水化合物。

5 crave   

vt.渴望得到，迫切需要，恳求，请求

参考例句：

• Many young children crave attention.许多小孩子渴望得到关心。
• You may be craving for some fresh air.你可能很想呼吸呼吸新鲜空气。

6 intake   

n.吸入，纳入；进气口，入口

参考例句：

• Reduce your salt intake.减少盐的摄入量。
• There was a horrified intake of breath from every child.所有的孩子都害怕地倒抽了一口凉气。