全球社会热点新闻 吃番茄能永葆青春（在线收听）

Eating tomatoes can keep you young

吃番茄能永葆青春

Tomatoes were first cultivated in 700 AD by Aztecs and Incas. Explorers returning from Mexico introduced the tomato into Europe, where it was first mentioned in 1556. The French called it “the apple of love“,the Germans "the apple of paradise,"

番茄是在公元700年由阿兹特克人和印加人首先种植的。番茄第一次被提到是在1556年，由从墨西哥归来的探险家介绍到欧洲的。在法国，番茄被称为“爱情果”，德国称之为“天堂的苹果”。

Tomatoes are rich in vitamins A and C and fiber, and are cholesterol free. An average size tomato (148 gram or 5 oz) boasts only 35 calories. Furthermore, new medical research suggests that the consumption of lycopene-the stuff that makes tomatoes red may prevent cancer. Lycopene is part of the family of pigments called carotenoids, which are natural compounds that create the colours of fruits and vegetables. For example, beta carotene is the orange pigment in carrots. As with essential amino acids, they are not produced by the human body. Lycopene is the most powerful antioxidant in the carotenoid family and, with vitamins C and E, protects us from the free radicals that degrade many parts of the body.

番茄富含维生素A、C和纤维，且无胆固醇。一个中等大小的番茄（148克或5盎司）只有35卡路里热量。此外,新的医学研究表明，摄入那些能使番茄呈红色的番茄红素可以预防癌症。番茄红素是类胡萝卜素家族的一员，类胡萝卜素是生成果蔬颜色的天然复合剂。例如P胡萝卜素就是存在于胡萝卜的橘色色素。如同人体不能合成必需氨基酸一样,类胡萝卜素也不能在人体内合成。番茄红素是类胡萝卜素家族中最强的抗氧化剂，它与维生素C、E可以保护 我们免受自由基对机体降解的破坏。

While it has long been credited with cutting cholesterol and preventing some cancers, the fruit now appears to have two more health giving benefits.

番茄一直以能够降低胆固醇和预防一些癌症而著称,而现在它又多了两个新的保健功效。

Protection against sunburn and helping keep the skin looking youthful are the latest pluses, a study has found.

一项最新研究发现，番茄能够增强皮肤防晒能力，并有助于保持肌肤年轻。

Professor Mark Birch-Machin said tomatoes could provide a cheap and easy way of improving health.

马克?伯齐麦辰教授说,番茄是一种简单经济的保健食品。

"I went into the study as a skeptic" he added. “But I was quite surprised with the significance of the findings.”

他说；“我是抱着怀疑的态度进行这项研究的。但研究结果让我十分惊讶。”

Researchers at Manchester and Newcastle universities recommend two tomato-based meals a day for optimum health.

曼彻斯特和纽卡斯尔大学的研究人员们建议，每天吃两顿番茄最有益于身体健康。

Possible menus include a glass of tomato juice with breakfast and a salad later or tomato soup for lunch and pasta with a tomato sauce for dinner.

比如，早餐可以喝杯番茄汁,之后吃份沙拉或者午餐喝点番茄汤，晚餐吃番茄酱通心粉。

To test the fruit’s ability to protect the skin, ten volunteers were asked to eat five tablespoons of tomato paste mixed with olive oil every day for three months.

为了检验番茄的护肤功效，研究人员让10位志愿者连续3个月每天食用5汤匙拌有橄榄油的番茄酱。

Another ten had a daily dose of olive oil-minus the tomato paste.

另外10名志愿者只吃橄榄油，不加番茄酱。

Tests using ultra-violet lamps showed the tomato-eaters were a third better protected against sunburn at the end of the study than at the start, the British Society for Investigative Dermatology's annual conference heard.

使用紫外线灯的检测结果显示,吃番茄酱的那组研究对象的皮肤防晒能力在研究结束时比开始时增强了1/3。该研究结果在英国皮肤病学研究学会的年度研讨会上公布了。

Other tests suggested the tomato-based diet had boosted production of collagen，the protein that keeps skin supple.

其他一些测试表明,含有番茄的饮食能够促进人体内胶原质的产生，胶原质是一种能够保持皮肤柔滑细腻的蛋白质。

If that were not enough, the fruit also protects our mitochondria—the elements of cells which turn the food we eat into energy.

如果这些功效还不足以说明问题，番茄还可以保护我们体内的线粒体。线粒体是一种能够把我们摄人的食物转化为能量的细胞因子。

Professor Birch-Machin, of Newcastle University, said: “Being kind to our mitochondria is likely to contribute to improved skin health, which in turn may have an anti-aging effect.’，

纽卡斯尔大学的伯齐麦辰教授说:“保护线粒体有助于促进皮肤健康,从而达到抗衰老的效果。”

The researchers stressed, however, that their findings were not an excuse to throw away the sun cream. Professor Lesley Rhodes, a Manchester University dermatologist，said: “People should not think tomatoes in any way can replace sun creams but they may be a good additive.'’

然而,研究人员强调，这一研究结果并不是说你可以不用防晒霜了。曼彻斯特大学皮肤病学家莱斯利罗德教授说认为番茄可以取代防晒霜的想法是错误的,不过番茄可以起到很好的补充作用。”

The fruit’s benefits are credited to lycopene, the pigment behind its distinctive red skin.

番茄的这些功效都要归功于番茄红素,也就是那些藏在番茄鲜亮的红色表皮下的色素。

Lycopene, a powerful antioxidant capable of mopping up free radicals—the harmful molecules linked to cancer is made easier for the body to absorb when tomatoes are cooked or processed.

番茄红素是一种能够清除自由基这种有害的致癌分子的强抗氧化剂，它在番茄被烹制或加工后更容易被人体吸收。