BBC Take Away English (Ultra-pro

食物在经过加工后所包含的营养成分会有所降低，这也是为什么人们普遍认为经过加工后的食品不如新鲜食材营养丰富。科学家发现，被经过 “超级加工” 的食品对人体健康带来了新的威胁。超加工食品是一种经过大量工业加工的食品，包装上通常有很长的成分表。科学家对超加工食品进行了研究，他们发现了什么？本集Take Away English讨论食用超加工食品可能对人体健康产生的影响。

Ultra-processed food---from BBC
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article

It’s good to enjoy food, but sometimes stories about the dangers of eating certain things can be hard to digest. I love to tuck into to a pepperoni pizza or munch on a jam doughnut, even though I know the dangers that lurk in their ingredients. It’s clear that processed foods are not the most nutritious things; but there now comes a new threat - from ultra-processed foods.

Scientists have now discovered that eating these types of food - such as chicken nuggets, ice cream and breakfast cereals - have been linked to early death and poor health. This is the stuff that has been through more substantial industrial processing and often has long ingredient lists on the packet, including added preservatives, sweeteners or colour enhancers.

Knowing that your bowl of cornflakes could be bad for you might be hard to swallow, but two studies have shown that people eating more ultra-processed food had worse heart health. Dr Mathilde Touvier from the University of Paris, who conducted one of the studies, told the BBC: "The rapid and worldwide increasing consumption of ultra-processed foods, to the detriment of less processed foods, may drive a substantial burden of cardiovascular diseases in the next decades."

But it might not be completely necessary to change your diet just yet as there is still some uncertainty about the results of the study and questions still to answer. Kevin McConway, a professor of statistics at The Open University, told the BBC: "These studies do increase my confidence that there's something real behind these associations - but I'm still far from sure."

Maybe we should follow the advice of The US National Institutes of Health, which found that ultra-processed foods lead people to eat more and put on more weight. It suggests avoiding food containing ingredients you cannot pronounce or anything your grandmother would not recognise as food! The obvious thing to do seems to be to feast on more unprocessed foods, such as fruit, vegetables, fish, nuts and seeds, beans, lentils and wholegrains, often called a Mediterranean-style diet. After all, we are what we eat!

vocabulary

hard to digest 难以（让人）接受
hard to swallow 令人难以置信
tuck into 尽情地吃，痛快地吃
munch on 津津有味地咀嚼
lurk (v.) 潜伏，埋伏
lurker (n.) 潜水者
ingredient 成分，配料
processed foods 经过加工的食品
chicken nuggets [ˈnʌɡɪt] 鸡块
nutritious 营养丰富的
preservative 防腐剂
sweetener 甜味剂
colour enhancers 色素
consumption 食用
cardiovascular disease [ˌkɑːdiəʊˈvæskjələ(r)] 心血管疾病
diet 饮食
detriment (n.) 损害，危害
detrimental (adj.) 有害的
feast on 尽情享用，大吃大喝
unprocessed 未经加工的
lentils 扁豆
wholegrain 全谷物的
Mediterranean-style diet 地中海式饮食
we are what we eat 人如其食

make sentences

1. When I’m on holiday I like to tuck into a nice plate of bacon and eggs for my breakfast!

2. Consumption of coffee has increased considerably. Now there seems to be a shop selling it on every street corner.

3. After being ill for several weeks, my doctor has recommended I eat some nutritious meals to improve my health.

4. Getting poor grades in my exams was hard to swallow - but I guess I can try again next year.

5. The bread tasted awful! I think it was full of preservatives, which is why it stayed fresh for a week!

question

According to one study, what should you do if your grandmother doesn’t recognise what you’re eating?

answer

The US National Institutes of Health suggests avoiding or cutting down on anything your grandmother would not recognise as food!

@BBC Learning English