新知:爱吃甜食的人,通常更笨

为什么?因为主流的甜食里面都放了很多糖,正是糖让你变笨了。

你可能已经知道摄入太多糖对你的身体有害,而且还让你长胖、让你得糖尿病(diabetes)、提升你患心脏病的风险、甚至还提升你患癌症的风险。

但很多人却不知道糖也会损害动物的大脑。

加州大学洛杉矶分校(University of California at Los Angeles)的研究人员之前就用老鼠做过一次实验,在实验的第一阶段,他们给3组老师都喂食同样的食物,并训练它们去走同样一个迷宫(maze)。

然后,在实验的第二阶段,研究人员在其中一组老鼠喝的水里加了糖;换句话说这些老鼠不喝水了,变成和很多人一样喝含糖饮料了。这个阶段的时长为6周,在这6周里这些老鼠摄入了大量的糖。

6周过后,这一组老鼠的变得更慢了,而且比其他不吃糖的老鼠更难找到迷宫的出口。

According to one of the researchers, "Their brains showed a decline in synaptic activity. Their brain cells had trouble signaling each other, disrupting their ability to think clearly and recall the route they'd learned six weeks earlier."

根据其中一名研究人员说:“它们大脑里突触的活跃程度下降了。它们的大脑细胞变得更难向其他大脑细胞发送信息,这妨碍了它们清晰思考的能力,让它们没法想起自己6周以前摸清的迷宫。”

这一组老鼠还出现了一种叫“胰岛素耐受”的现象。研究者们说这不光会妨碍它们的学习过程,还会造成记忆丧失,也会破会大脑处理思维和情绪的能力。

"Insulin is important in the body for controlling blood sugar, but it may play a different role in the brain, where insulin appears to disturb memory and learning. Our study shows that a high-fructose diet harms the brain as well as the body. This is something new."

“胰岛素在身体里起着控制血糖的重要作用,而它可能还在大脑里起着重要的作用,因为它似乎会妨碍记忆和学习的过程。我们的研究显示,高糖的饮食不光会损伤你的身体,还会损伤你的大脑,这是以前没有发现过的。”

不过我们还有一点没有说,你可能还记得,他们把这堆老鼠分成了3组,一组喝糖水,一组继续喝不含糖的水,而第三组呢?

第三组也喝糖水,但它们同时还摄入欧米伽-3脂肪(Omega-3 fat),这是一种健康的脂肪,常见于三文鱼(salmon)、核桃(walnut)等等。

这一组老鼠与只吃糖的那一组相比,走迷宫的能力要强得多。

换句话说,Omega-3脂肪能在一定程度上对抗糖的那些不健康作用。

Study subjects who expressed a preference for sweet over spicy tastes also tended to be more agreeable.

研究表明,爱吃甜食的人比爱吃辛辣食物的人更讨人喜欢。

Parents are often fretting over what all that candy will do to their children. Well, it might just make them sweeter, because people who prefer sugary snacks actually seem to be more kind. So says a study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

父母总是担心糖果等甜食对孩子不好,事实上,甜食可能会使孩子变得更“甜”。一本名为《个性与社会心理》的杂志认为,喜欢吃甜食的人更友善。

We often describe personality or behavior with taste-related terms. Think of someone who’s bitter, or sour or maybe even a little picante. But do our tastes in food really reflect who we are?

我们常常用表示味道的词来形容人的性格与行为,比如,我们会说某人很苦闷,也会用尖酸、泼辣等词来描述别人。那么,食物的味道真的可以反应出我们是什么样的人吗?

Scientists looked for a link between a love of sweet things and the tendency to be generous or generally agreeable. College students answered a series of questions about their character—whether, for example, they’re soft-hearted or enjoy insulting people. Then they rated their liking for a variety of foods, from cake and ice cream to cranberries, sauerkraut and salsa. And it turns out that kids with a sweet tooth see themselves as sweet.

科学家在研究后发现,爱吃甜食的人似乎更加慷慨大度,真诚友善。研究者让学生们回答一系列与性格相关的问题,比如,是否为人心肠软?喜不喜欢挖苦别人?然后,研究者又让学生们根据自己的喜好将各种食物排序,从蛋糕、冰淇淋到小红莓、泡菜和辣椒酱。得出的结果是,爱吃甜食的孩子都把自己当成是“小甜甜”。

And maybe they are. Those that liked candy more than crackers were more likely to volunteer around campus or for additional studies. So if you’re looking to score a little milk of human kindness, try putting out a plate of cookies.

这种说法可能有点道理。爱吃糖果的孩子比爱吃咸饼干的孩子更愿意在学校里当志愿者或参加其它活动。如果你不想孩子成为善良慷慨的人,你就尽管拿走那盘曲奇饼干吧。

新知:爱吃甜食的人,通常更笨


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