VOA慢速英语2017--烤吐司会致癌吗？

 

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.

Many Americans have toasted bread first thing in the morning. For some, the morning meal also includes hash browned potatoes. Or later in the day, they might enjoy potato chips or crispy French fries.

But if you like any of these foods cooked until they are dark brown in color, you might want to limit how much of them you eat.

That is the finding of a British government agency. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is urging people to avoid eating burnt or very well toasted bread and deeply browned potatoes.

The danger, the agency says, is when starchy foods are cooked until they are very firm or even burnt.

The concern is a chemical called acrylamide. Acrylamide is produced naturally in food during cooking at high temperatures. It has been identified as a possible cancer-causing substance.

New Scientist magazine reports that high levels of acrylamide are present in starchy foods, like potatoes, when they are cooked at temperatures over 120 degrees Celsius². British researchers note that acrylamide can also be present in breakfast cereals, cookies and coffee.

Steve Wearne is the Director of Policy at the FSA. He says most people do not know that the chemical exists or that it could create a health hazard.

The FSA launched a study to identify acrylamide exposure in the British population. Researchers found that most people are exposed to too much of the chemical. They said this contact could increase their overall risk of getting cancer.

How to avoid the risk

The agency even created an expression to help people remember. The FSA suggests people should "Go for the Gold!" when they prepare starchy foods. Heating bread or potatoes to a golden brown, they claim, is healthier than over-cooking them or burning them.

Wearne says the agency is not saying that people should worry “about the occasional meal that’s a bit overcooked.” He said these suggestions are about controlling risk during one’s lifetime.

The agency is also urging people to eat fewer high-calorie foods like potato chips, French fries and cookies -- all of which have acrylamides.

There are other things you can do to limit your exposure to acrylamides.

Experts at New Scientist suggest that you not keep potatoes in the refrigerator. They explain that “at low temperatures, an enzyme³ breaks down” the sugars in the potato. These sugars can form acrylamide during cooking. They add that frozen foods don’t have this risk. Sugars, like sucrose, do not break down at low temperatures.

Another cooking tip is you can also blanch⁴ potatoes before frying. Blanching⁵ is heating food briefly⁶ in water. This will remove the potato skin and half the sugar, resulting in lower levels of acrylamide.

Scientists have launched other studies to better understand how acrylamide forms in some overcooked foods and how cooking traditions may affect people.

Words in This Story

crispy – adj. appealingly crunchy

starch¹ – n. a substance that is found in certain foods (such as bread, rice, and potatoes) : starchy – adj. containing, consisting of, or resembling starch

acrylamide – n. an amide C3H5NO that is derived⁷ from acrylic acid, that polymerizes readily, and that is used in the manufacture of synthetic⁸ textile fibers⁹

exposure – n. the condition of being subject to some effect or influence : expose – v. to cause (someone) to experience something or to be influenced or affected¹⁰ by something

occasional – adj. happening or done sometimes but not often : not happening or done in a regular or frequent way

calorie – n. a unit of heat used to indicate the amount of energy that foods will produce in the human body

hazard – n. a source of danger

1 starch   

n.淀粉；vt.给...上浆

参考例句：

• Corn starch is used as a thickener in stews.玉米淀粉在炖煮菜肴中被用作增稠剂。
• I think there's too much starch in their diet.我看是他们的饮食里淀粉太多了。

2 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

3 enzyme   

n.酵素，酶

参考例句：

• Above a certain temperature,the enzyme molecule will become unfolded.超过一定温度，酶分子将会展开。
• An enzyme that dissolves the fibrin of blood clots.能溶解血凝块中的纤维的酶。

4 blanch   

v.漂白；使变白；使(植物)不见日光而变白

参考例句：

• We blanch almonds by soaking off their skins in boiling water.我们把杏仁泡在沸水中去皮弄成白色。
• To blanch involves plunging food into boiling water,usually very quickly.漂白是将食物放进开水里，通常非常快。

5 blanching   

adj.漂白的n.热烫v.使变白( blanch的现在分词 )；使（植物）不见阳光而变白；酸洗（金属）使有光泽；用沸水烫（杏仁等）以便去皮

参考例句：

• Finally, blanching enhances the color of most vegetables and fruits. 最后热烫增强了大部分水果和蔬菜的颜色。 来自互联网
• Presently, Peroxidase is employed as indicator for blanching treatments of vegetables. 目前蔬菜的热烫终点以过氧化物酶作为指示剂来确定。 来自互联网

6 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

7 derived   

vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 synthetic   

adj.合成的，人工的；综合的；n.人工制品

参考例句：

• We felt the salesman's synthetic friendliness.我们感觉到那位销售员的虚情假意。
• It's a synthetic diamond.这是人造钻石。

9 fibers   

光纤( fiber的名词复数 )； （织物的）质地； 纤维，纤维物质

参考例句：

• Thesolution of collagen-PVA was wet spined with the sodium sulfate as coagulant and collagen-PVA composite fibers were prepared. 在此基础上，以硫酸钠为凝固剂，对胶原-PVA共混溶液进行湿法纺丝，制备了胶原-PVA复合纤维。
• Sympathetic fibers are distributed to all regions of the heart. 交感神经纤维分布于心脏的所有部分。

10 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。