经济学人下载:长寿的秘诀 日本健康零食

Healthy snacks in Japan
日本健康零食

The joy of soy
黄豆欢歌

Defying Western food imperialism
小黄豆不畏西餐帝国主义

If you want to learn how to live longer, look at the people of Okinawa, a string of islands in south-western Japan. Raised on a diet of fish and soyabeans, their life expectancy is among the highest on Earth. There is a natural control group; many Okinawans fled to Brazil and Hawaii after the second world war, where they switched to a meatier diet of steaks and burgers. All have been studied regularly by Japanese researchers over the past three decades to prove that a soya-rich diet can prolong life. Now it is time for the taste test: can a healthy bag of soya nibbles sweep the fatty potato snack off the table?
想知道延缓衰老的秘籍，不妨学学冲绳岛的原住民。冲绳岛群岛位于日本西南部，岛上居民自古以鱼和大豆为食，平均期望寿命居全球之首。二战结束后，许多冲绳人逃亡至巴西和夏威夷，饮食习惯也入乡随俗，改为以牛排和汉堡为主的肉食；这些冲绳人便成了天然的对照组。日本研究学家为证明富含黄豆的饮食能延缓衰老，在过去的30年里一直对两组人群做定期研究。如今到了测试口味的时候：健康小黄豆是否能取代高脂土豆零食，成为桌上新宠？

Kaoru Yamada, a young food specialist at Otsuka Pharmaecutical, a Japanese drug company, has risen to the challenge. She dislikes the taste of soya, so she invented a lightly baked soya pastry that tastes of cheese, is crispy, has soyabeans rattling inside it and can sit on a desk—or even on a bar—for months without going soggy. Called SoyCarat, her creation went on sale in Japan this month. Otsuka, which also produces a big-selling health drink called Pocari Sweat, sees it as part of a counter-offensive against Western snacks that are making Asians fatter.
日本大冢制药株式会社的青年食物专家山田薰已着手应战。山田小姐因为不喜欢黄豆的味道，故特意研发出了一款奶酪味黄豆酥。这款名为SoyCarat的黄豆酥经低温烘焙而成，内含嘎吱黄豆，口感松脆。在台面或柜台上存放数月也不会受潮变软。山田小姐的新发明将于本月在日本上市。亚洲人在西式零食的影响下日趋肥胖，生产热销运动饮料宝矿力的大冢制药则将SoyCarat视作西式零食大反攻行动的一部分。

The science is compelling: research, albeit part-sponsored by Otsuka, suggests that eating soya protein quickly lowers blood pressure, reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. The company notes that the average American eats less soya in a year than the average Japanese eats in a day. Otsuka is not alone in Japan in trying to use science to sell consumer products: for instance, Uniqlo, a clothes retailer, sells hi-tech underwear that it says makes sweat dry quicker.
科学研究显示，摄入大豆蛋白能迅速降低血压、减少心血管疾病发病率。虽然大冢制药是该研究发起人之一，但科学研究总能令人信服。公司指出，日本人日均大豆食用量高于美国人年均摄入量。在日本，利用科学研究推销产品的公司大有人在，大冢制药绝非独家——服装零售商优衣库就在推销一款号称能超速吸汗的高科技内衣。

But the marketing may be a problem. Sophisticated diners insist that soya is scrumptious, but others vehemently disagree. Gary Larson, a cartoonist, once drew three disgusted lionesses spitting out the wobbly flesh of “a tofudebeest—one of the Serengeti’s obnoxious health antelopes”. It struck a chord.
然而，将新产品推向市场或将不会一帆风顺。精明的食客们坚称豆制品美味至极，但其他人却强烈反对。漫画家加里.拉尔森（Gary Larson）画过这样一幅漫画：三头母狮们厌恶的相继吐出口中摇晃着的块块鲜肉，因为它们捕到的是“塞伦盖蒂最令人作呕的健康羚羊——豆腐羚”。该漫画引发了公众的强烈共鸣。

SoyCarat’s brand name is tricky: whatever the spelling, it evokes the idea of two things children shun and adults munch only reluctantly. Perhaps it should be portrayed as something laid back and Okinawan instead, like a bar snack. After all, what could be better than a life-enhancing glass of Orion beer in one hand, and a life-extending bag of soya snacks in the other?
SoyCarat这个品牌名本身就很复杂——无论soy和carat怎样组合，总会让人想起“黄豆”和“克拉”这两种小孩避而远之，大人勉强食之的东西。或许应该将它描述成具有冲绳风情，在酒吧吃的那种休闲小零食。毕竟，还有什么能比一杯增加生命宽度的Orion啤酒，一袋增加生命长度的黄豆小食更惬意的呢？