超加工食品对身体有害吗？(3)

There’s one really important study from a few years ago that made a big splash in the research world because it actually compared the effects of an ultra-processed diet to a minimally processed one in a controlled setting.

几年前，一项非常重要的研究在学界引起了巨大轰动，因为这项研究是在控制环境下对比了超加工饮食和低限度加工饮食的影响。

Kevin Hall, a scientist at the National Institutes of Health recruited 20 volunteers and confined them to a hospital-like area in Maryland to study the effects of different diets.

美国国立卫生研究院的科学家凯文·霍尔为研究不同饮食的影响，招募了20名志愿者，并将他们关在马里兰州一个类似医院的地方。

Wait, wait, wait. They confined them there?!

等等，等等，等等，他们把志愿者关在那里?!

Yeah! I mean they could talk to one another and to the staff at the facility, but the idea was to prevent people from running off to the cafeteria to get food.

是啊! 我是说，志愿者之间可以互相交谈，他们也可以和场所里的工作人员交谈，这个主意是为了防止志愿者跑到自助餐厅吃饭。

For two weeks, some of them were given only minimally processed foods – so they would start their day with things like greek yogurt and fruit.

在两周的时间里，一些志愿者只会被提供经过最低限度加工的食品--他们会以希腊酸奶、水果等食物开始一天的生活。

Others got only ultra-processed foods, so things like a bagel with cream cheese, turkey bacon, and sugary breakfast cereals.

另一些志愿者只会被提供超加工食品，比如奶油芝士贝果、火鸡培根以及含糖早餐麦片。

And when each group finished those two weeks, they would switch to the other diet.

当每组志愿者这么吃了两周后，会切换到另一种饮食。

Participants were given as much food as they wanted.

实验参与者想要多少食物就提供多少。

And what’s interesting is that, on the ultra-processed diet, people actually ate about 500 calories more per day and ended up gaining about two pounds.

有趣的是，在超加工饮食组中，志愿者实际上每天会多摄入大概500卡路里，最终体重增加了大概2磅。

On the other hand, on the less processed meal plan it was the opposite: people tended to eat less and lost about two pounds as well.

另一方面，在较少加工饮食组中，情况正好相反：志愿者往往会吃得更少，体重也减轻了大概2磅。

Wow. So it seems like eating ultra-processed foods made people gain weight—even if the foods contained the same amount of nutrients as uNPRocessed foods. Why would that be?

哇。似乎吃超加工食品会让人发胖，即使这些食品含有与未加工食品相同的营养成分。为什么会这样?

Researchers aren’t really sure why, but there are a whole lot of theories.

研究人员并不确定是什么原因，但有很多解释的理论。

One is that ultra-processed foods tend to be more energy dense, meaning there are more calories per bite.

一是超加工食品往往能量密度更高，也就是说，每一口含有更多的卡路里。

Another possibility is we don’t feel as satiated by ultra-processed foods.

另一种可能性是，我们对超加工食品不会感到满足。

Right, they tend to have less fiber and protein – the things that fill us up and make food take longer to digest.

是的，超加工食品往往含有更少的纤维和蛋白质——这些物质饱腹感强，需要花更长时间才能消化掉。

They might also be harder to resist.

超加工食品可能也更难以抗拒。

Many ultra-processed foods contain a lot of fat, sugar, salt and carbs.

许多超加工食品含有大量糖、盐、脂肪和碳水化合物。

And that combination makes them hyperpalatable – basically, so tempting to us that we find it really hard to stop eating.

这种组合使得超加工食品变得无比美味——基本上可口诱人，我们会发现一吃就停不下来。

Those ingredients don’t exist together in nature – and some research has shown that the combination of fat and carbohydrates are better at activating the brain’s reward system compared to foods with just one of those things alone.

这些成分在自然界中并不会同时存在——一些研究表明，脂肪和碳水化合物的组合比单独含有其中一种成分的食物更能激活大脑的奖励系统。

And there’s newer research that’s finding ultra-processed food might be addictive.

最新研究发现，超加工食品可能会让人上瘾。

That all makes sense. But Lori, why are these foods so addictive? Is it even possible to be addicted to food?

这都有道理。但是洛莉，为什么这些食物会让人上瘾? 人们有可能对食物上瘾吗?

Yep. Think about it — you don’t lose control over eating bananas, but when was the last time you just ate ONE chip?

是的。想想看——你不会无法控制地吃香蕉，但你上次只吃了一片薯片是什么时候？

Basically never.

基本上没有只吃一片薯片的时候。

Right! That might be because of a dopamine spike it causes, similar to addictive substances like nicotine and alcohol.

没错! 这可能是因为它会引起多巴胺激增，类似于尼古丁和酒精等成瘾物质。

So are all ultra-processed foods really equivalent to one another, health-wise? Are canned vegetables really as bad for you as a glazed donut?

从健康的角度看，所有的超加工食品真的都一样? 罐装蔬菜真的和糖霜甜甜圈一样对人体有害吗?

It’s a little more complicated than that.

实际情况比这更复杂。

The reason some canned veggies are considered ultra-processed is because they might contain thickeners or firming agents like calcium chloride.

一些罐装蔬菜之所以被认为是超加工食品的原因是它们可能含有像氯化钙一样的增稠剂、固化剂。

But it’s probably not as unhealthy as, say, a sugary pastry.

但罐装蔬菜可能不会像含糖糕点那样不健康。