(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
What's So Bad about Processed Foods?
Processed foods like chips, soda and frozen pizzas are full of salt, sugar and fat. Now, scientists are trying to understand if there is something else about such foods that may be bad for humans.
Scientists have already linked low-cost, packaged foods to rising obesity rates around the world. Obesity is a condition involving too much body fat. It increases the risk of many health problems.
Three recent studies offer more clues on how our increasingly industrialized food supply may be affecting our health.
What does processed mean?
The researchers created a system that places foods into four groups. The system says highly processed foods are made mostly of industrialized materials and additives.
Sodas, packaged cookies, instant noodles and chicken nuggets are some examples of highly processed foods. But also included are products that can seem healthy, such as morning cereals, energy bars and some kinds of yogurt.
What's wrong with processed foods?
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health conducted a four-week study involving 20 people. They found that people eat about 500 more calories a day when fed mostly processed foods. That is compared to when the same people were given less processed foods.
The researchers permitted the 20 participants to eat as much or as little as they wanted. They were taken to a medical center so their health and behavior could be observed.
In another study, researchers in France found people who ate more processed foods were more likely to have heart disease. A similar study in Spain linked eating more processed foods to a higher risk of death in general.
What is it about processed foods?
When fed less processed foods, people in the study produced more of a hormone that controls hunger, and less of a hormone that causes hunger. The reason for the reaction is not clear. The scientists also found that people ate processed foods more quickly.
Kevin Hall is one of the researchers who led the study. He told the AP that processed foods are usually "softer and easier to chew and swallow."
Hall noted the source of nutrients might make a difference. For example, fibers from whole fruits and vegetables may be better for making people feel full than fiber added to packaged foods such as energy bars and yogurt.
What should you eat?
Avoiding processed foods can be hard, especially for people with limited time and money.
Processed foods can also take many forms. In addition, companies continually re-engineer products to make them seem healthier.
The newest studies may provide more reasons to avoid processed foods. But, they also call attention to the difficulty of coming up with ways to do that.
I'm Jonathan Evans.
重点解析
重点讲解：
1. be made of （由…）构成的；（由…）制成的；
The prison was made of reinforced concrete.
监狱是钢筋混凝土结构的。
2. in general 通常；大体上；
In general, Japanese cars are very reliable and breakdowns are rare.
日本汽车通常是很可靠的，发生故障的情况极少。
3. in addition 另外；加之；除…之外；
In addition, the respondent disclosed professional confidences to one of the patients.
另外，被告还向其中一位病人透露了行业机密。
4. come up with 想出，提出(计划、想法等)；
No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.
对于为什么应该是这样，还没有人想出最终确定的答案。
参考译文
加工食品有哪些坏处？
薯条、苏达水和冷冻比萨等加工食品中含有大量的盐、糖和脂肪。现在，科学家正在尽力了解这类食物是否还含有其他对人类有害的物质。
科学家已经确定，廉价的包装食品与全球不断上升的肥胖率有关。肥胖指体内脂肪堆积过多的一种状态。肥胖导致许多健康问题的风险增加。
最近的三项研究为日益增加的工业化食品供应可能对人类健康产生何种影响提供了更多线索。
什么是加工食品？
研究人员创建了一个系统，将食品分为四组。这一系统指出，高度加工食品主要由工业材料和添加剂组成。
苏打水、包装饼干、方便面和炸鸡块都是高度加工食品。另外，早餐麦片、能量棒以及某些类型的酸奶等看起来健康的产品也是高度加工食品。
加工食品有什么问题？
美国国立卫生研究院的研究人员进行了一项为期四周的研究，这项研究有20人参与。他们发现，饮食以加工食品为主的参与者每天会多摄入约500卡路里。这是与同一个参与者食用较少加工食品的情况进行比较后得出的结论。
研究人员允许20名参与者想吃多少吃多少。参与者被带到医疗中心，对他们的健康和行为进行观察。
在另一项研究中，法国研究人员发现，食用更多加工食品的人更可能患上心脏疾病。西班牙进行的一项类似研究指出，一般情况下，食用更多加工食品会导致死亡风险增加。
加工食品与什么有关？
食用少量加工食品时，研究参与者会分泌更多控制饥饿的激素，而引发饥饿的激素则会减少。这一反应的原因还不得而知。科学家发现，人们在食用加工食品时，吃饭速度会更快。
凯文·霍尔是领导这项研究的其中一名研究人员。他对美联社表示，加工食品通常“更软、更容易咀嚼和吞咽。”
霍尔指出，营养来源可能有所不同。举例来说，与能量棒和酸奶等包装食品中添加的纤维相比，来自完整水果和蔬菜的纤维可能更容易使人们有饱腹感。
应该吃什么？
不食用加工食品可能很难做到，对时间和金钱有限的人来说尤其如此。
加工食品可以有多种形式。另外，企业可以继续重新调整产品，让产品看起来更健康。
最新研究可能提出了更多避免食用加工食品的理由。但是，研究同时呼吁人们注意想出相关方法的难度。
乔纳森·埃文斯报道。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
