Did last night’s dinner make you drool with anticipation? Did lunch have you licking your chops? According to research by teams from Thailand and Sweden, enjoying your food increases the nourishment your body receives from it.
昨天的晚餐有没有让你垂涎三尺、充满期待？你的午餐是否让你意犹未尽？一项来自泰国和瑞典的研究小组的研究显示，尽情享用食物会增加机体对营养物质的吸收。
The Experiment
实验
Imagine a bowl of Thai vegetables and rice in coconut milk, seasoned with hot chili paste. Sound scrumptious? Or too spicy for your palate? The researchers served this dish to Thai women accustomed to such fare, then measured how much iron they absorbed.
准备一碗用非常辣的辣椒酱调味的泰式蔬菜米饭椰子汁。听起来很可口吧？或者对于你的口味来说太辣了？研究人员向已经适应了这种口味的泰国女性提供这道菜，然后测试她们吸收了多少铁。
Next, the researchers served the same meal to Swedish women accustomed to less spice. Guess what happened? The Swedish women absorbed significantly less iron than their Thai counterparts.
然后，研究人员向不太能吃辣的瑞典女性提供了同一道菜。猜猜发生了什么？相对泰国女性而言，这些瑞典女性吸收的铁明显少了很多。
Going further, the researchers served the Thai women the same ingredients, processed into an unappetizing, goopy puree. This time, the Thai women absorbed 70% less iron than they had before.
更进一步地，研究人员向泰国女性提供了一种相同成分的，但是制作成毫无吸引力的，泥糊状的浓汤。这次，泰国女性吸收的铁仅为之前的30%。
How Can This Be?
这是怎么回事？
The researchers believe the answer’s in the brain. Before you eat a bite, there’s a brain phase of digestive secretion. Seeing, smelling, or just anticipating a good meal prompts the brain to send messages to glands along the digestive tract. “Hey you guys!
研究人员认为答案在于大脑。当我们吃一口食物时，大脑里有一个消化分泌阶段。视觉，嗅觉，或者仅仅是对美食的期待，会促使大脑传递信号到消化道的腺体。“嗨，伙计们，美食就要来啦！”
Yummy morsels coming!” These happy thoughts prompt secretion of saliva, gastric juices and enzymes for digestion. In particular, acidic gastric juices are key to iron absorption. Without the acid, the body absorbs little iron.
这些愉悦的思想促进唾液，胃液和消化酶的分泌来帮助消化。特别要说的是，酸性的胃液是铁吸收的关键物质。没有酸，机体几乎不能吸收铁。
When you’re relaxed and enjoying your food, your brain primes your gut to absorb the most nutrients. So there’s scientific evidence for something we’ve suspected all along-an appealing, leisurely meal is a lot more nutritious than unappetizing grub!
但当你放松下来并且享用食物时，大脑会促使你的肠道吸收最大化的营养。因此，该实验结果也成了支持我们猜想的论据，即一餐令人食指大动，逍遥自在的美食，远比毫无吸引力的食物要有营养得多。 |