读者文摘:牛油果的营养价值(1)

The plant kingdom contains a staggering array of fruits, nearly every one trading in the same old thing: sweetness.

植物王国有着惊人的水果种类，几乎每一种水果都在以同样的东西做着交易：甜味。

My fruit brethren whisper sugary promises to coax¹ animals into eating their flesh and spreading their seeds.

我的水果同胞们低声说着甜言蜜语的承诺，哄骗动物吃它们的肉，播撒它们的种子。

Their offer is understandably appealing—eating simple carbs is the fastest way for any creature on the move to get the burst of energy it needs.

他们提供的东西是很有吸引力的，这可以理解-对于任何行动的生物来说，吃简单的碳水化合物是获得所需能量爆发的最快方式。

But me? I'm the oddball that plies² my charms not with sugar but with rich, silky fat.

但是我呢?我是一个奇怪的家伙，我的魅力不在于糖，而在于丰富的，柔滑的脂肪。

Once a nutritional³ pariah⁴, that fat is largely what earned me my current spot as an American health darling,

曾经排名底下的营养脂肪让我成为现在美国的健康宠儿，

chunked into almost every salad and mashed⁵ into guacamole as if every day were Super Bowl Sunday.

几乎每一份沙拉都有切成块的我，还有捣碎成牛油果酱，就好像每天都是超级碗星期天。

You'll get up to 30 grams of fat from each of me, and 20 of those are the monounsaturated kind credited with raising "good" HDL cholesterol⁶ and lowering heart disease risk.

一个我可以给你们每人提供30克脂肪，其中20克是单不饱和脂肪，它被认为能提高“有益的”高密度脂蛋白胆固醇，降低心脏病风险。

I'm also great for weight control, since I'm high in fiber⁷ and abundantly satiating.

我也很擅长控制体重，因为我富含纤维，而且非常饱腹。

What's good for the heart and belly⁸ is also good for the mind.

对心脏和腹部有益处的东西对大脑也有益处。

Researchers recently found that people over 50 who ate one of me a day for six months improved their cognition.

研究人员最近发现，50岁以上的人如果连续6个月每天吃一颗“我”，他们的认知能力会有所提高。

That's likely courtesy of a pigment⁹ I carry called lutein.

这可能是由于我携带的一种叫做叶黄素的色素。

You'll find it in leafy greens, too—in greater quantities, in fact—but in me the built-in presence of my monounsaturates helps the body absorb it, eventually shuttling it to the brain.

绿色蔬菜中也含有叶黄素，且含量更多。但在我体内，单不饱和脂肪酸的存在帮助身体吸收它，最终把它运送到大脑。

With greens, you need to add olive oil to get the same effect.

而绿色蔬菜得需要添加橄榄油才能得到同样的效果。

As health experts began emphasizing good fats, their wish became your desire.

随着健康专家开始强调有益脂肪，他们的愿望变成了你的愿望。

In 1985, America ate about 4 million pounds of me per week; that figure is projected to be 50 million in 2019.

1985年，美国人每周食用大约400万磅的我，2019年，这个数字预计将达到5000万。

In other countries, I've been wildly popular for decades: In Brazil, I'm mashed with condensed milk, cream, and lime juice;

在其他国家，几十年来我都非常受欢迎：在巴西，人们把我和炼乳、奶油和酸橙汁捣成泥；

in Indonesia, I'm whipped into a shake with chocolate syrup¹⁰; in Morocco, I'm blended with milk, sugar, and orange-flower water.

在印度尼西亚，我被搅成加了巧克力糖浆的奶昔；在摩洛哥，人们把我和牛奶，糖和橙花水混在一起食用。

1 coax   

v.哄诱，劝诱，用诱哄得到，诱取

参考例句：

• I had to coax the information out of him.我得用好话套出他掌握的情况。
• He tried to coax the secret from me.他试图哄骗我说出秘方。

2 plies   

v.使用（工具）( ply的第三人称单数 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意

参考例句：

• The ship plies between London and Sydney. 这船常航行于伦敦与悉尼之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The bus plies from the station to the hotel. 这辆公共汽车往来于车站和旅馆之间。 来自辞典例句

3 nutritional   

adj.营养的，滋养的

参考例句：

• A diet lacking in nutritional value will not keep a person healthy.缺乏营养价值的饮食不能维持人的健康。
• The labels on food products give a lot of information about their nutritional content.食品上的标签提供很多关于营养成分的信息。

4 pariah   

n.被社会抛弃者

参考例句：

• Shortly Tom came upon the juvenile pariah of the village.不一会儿，汤姆碰上了村里的少年弃儿。
• His landlady had treated him like a dangerous criminal,a pariah.房东太太对待他就像对待危险的罪犯、对待社会弃儿一样。

5 mashed   

a.捣烂的

参考例句：

• two scoops of mashed potato 两勺土豆泥
• Just one scoop of mashed potato for me, please. 请给我盛一勺土豆泥。

6 cholesterol   

n.（U）胆固醇

参考例句：

• There is cholesterol in the cell of body.人体细胞里有胆固醇。
• They are determining the serum-protein and cholesterol levels.他们正在测定血清蛋白和胆固醇的浓度。

7 fiber   

n.纤维，纤维质

参考例句：

• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
• The material must be free of fiber clumps.这种材料必须无纤维块。

8 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

9 pigment   

n.天然色素，干粉颜料

参考例句：

• The Romans used natural pigments on their fabrics and walls.古罗马人在织物和墙壁上使用天然颜料。
• Who thought he might know what the skin pigment phenomenon meant.他自认为可能知道皮肤色素出现这种现象到底是怎么回事。

10 syrup   

n.糖浆，糖水

参考例句：

• I skimmed the foam from the boiling syrup.我撇去了煮沸糖浆上的泡沫。
• Tinned fruit usually has a lot of syrup with it.罐头水果通常都有许多糖浆。