英国卫报：此时蜜糖,彼时砒霜(3)

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The critical question, as the journalist and historian Charles C Mann has elegantly put it, "is whether (sugar) is actually an addictive¹ substance, or if people just act like it is".

正如记者兼历史学家查尔斯·C·曼恩优雅说过的那句优美的话：“问题的关键是，糖真的是一种会令人上瘾的物质还是人们在假装上瘾？”

This question is not easy to answer.

这个问题不好回答。

Certainly, people and populations have acted as though sugar is addictive, but science provides no definitive² evidence.

当然，是人们自己表现得好像吃糖会上瘾一样，但科学无法提供明确的证据。

Until recently, nutritionists studying sugar did so from the natural perspective of viewing it as a nutrient³ – a carbohydrate⁴ – and nothing more.

直到最近，营养学家开始从自然的角度来研究糖，把它看作一种营养物质——一种碳水化合物——仅此而已。

They occasionally argued about whether or not it might play a role in diabetes⁵ or heart disease,

他们偶尔会就“糖在糖尿病或心脏病中是否起了一定的作用”进行争论，

but not about whether it triggered a response in the brain or body that made us want to consume it in excess. That was not their area of interest.

但不会涉及“糖是否引发了大脑或身体的反应使得我们想要过量摄入它”这一话题，这并非他们的兴趣领域。

The few neurologists and psychologists interested in probing the sweet-tooth phenomenon, or why we might need to ration⁶ our sugar consumption so as not to eat too much of it,

有少数对探究甜食现象或者对“为何我们需要摄入定量的糖以免摄入太多”感兴趣的神经学家和心理学家们

did so typically from the perspective of how these sugars compared with other drugs of abuse, in which the mechanism⁷ of addiction⁸ is now relatively⁹ well understood.

通常是从糖与其他滥用药物作对比的角度来研究的，如今人们对成瘾的机制已经了解得比较清楚了。

Lately, this comparison has received more attention as the public-health community has looked to ration our sugar consumption as a population,

最近这一比较受到了更多的关注，因为公共卫生界希望定量控制我们的糖消费

and has thus considered the possibility that one way to regulate these sugars – as with cigarettes – is to establish that they are, indeed, addictive.

并因此考虑了一种可能性，即一种控制糖的方式——就像控制香烟一样——就是确定它们确实会上瘾。

These sugars are very probably unique in that they are both a nutrient and a psychoactive substance with some addictive characteristics.

这些糖很可能是独一无二的，因为它们既是一种营养物质，又是一种精神活性物质，具有一些上瘾的特征。

Historians have often considered the sugar-as-a-drug metaphor¹⁰ to be an apt one.

历史学家们通常认为“糖就像毒品”的比喻是恰当的。

"That sugars, particularly highly refined sucrose, produce peculiar¹¹ physiological¹² effects is well known," wrote Sidney Mintz, whose 1985 book Sweetness and Power is one of two seminal¹³ English-language histories of sugar.

西德尼·明茨在1985年出版的《甜蜜与力量》一书中写道：“众所周知，糖，尤其是高度精炼的蔗糖，会产生特殊的生理效应。”

But these effects are neither as visible nor as long-lasting as those of alcohol or caffeinated drinks, "the first use of which can trigger rapid changes in respiration¹⁴, heartbeat, skin colour and so on".

但它的影响既不像酒精或咖啡因饮料那样明显，也不像它们那样持久，“首次使用糖会引发呼吸、心跳、肤色等方面的快速变化”。

1 addictive   

adj.(吸毒等)使成瘾的，成为习惯的

参考例句：

• The problem with video game is that they're addictive.电子游戏机的问题在于它们会使人上瘾。
• Cigarettes are highly addictive.香烟很容易使人上瘾。

2 definitive   

adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样，还没有人给出明确的答复。

3 nutrient   

adj.营养的，滋养的；n.营养物，营养品

参考例句：

• Magnesium is the nutrient element in plant growth.镁是植物生长的营养要素。
• The roots transmit moisture and nutrient to the trunk and branches.根将水分和养料输送到干和枝。

4 carbohydrate   

n.碳水化合物；糖类；(plural)淀粉质或糖类

参考例句：

• You should not have too much carbohydrate in your diet.你日常饮食中不该有过多碳水化合物。
• Cashew nuts are rich in carbohydrate.腰果含丰富碳水化合物。

5 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

6 ration   

n.定量(pl.)给养，口粮；vt.定量供应

参考例句：

• The country cut the bread ration last year.那个国家去年削减面包配给量。
• We have to ration the water.我们必须限量用水。

7 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

8 addiction   

n.上瘾入迷，嗜好

参考例句：

• He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
• Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。

9 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

10 metaphor   

n.隐喻，暗喻

参考例句：

• Using metaphor,we say that computers have senses and a memory.打个比方，我们可以说计算机有感觉和记忆力。
• In poetry the rose is often a metaphor for love.玫瑰在诗中通常作为爱的象征。

11 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

12 physiological   

adj.生理学的，生理学上的

参考例句：

• He bought a physiological book.他买了一本生理学方面的书。
• Every individual has a physiological requirement for each nutrient.每个人对每种营养成分都有一种生理上的需要。

13 seminal   

adj.影响深远的；种子的

参考例句：

• The reforms have been a seminal event in the history of the NHS.这些改革已成为英国国民保健制度史上影响深远的一件大事。
• The emperor's importance as a seminal figure of history won't be diminished.做为一个开创性历史人物的重要性是不会减弱的。

14 respiration   

n.呼吸作用；一次呼吸；植物光合作用

参考例句：

• They tried artificial respiration but it was of no avail.他们试做人工呼吸，可是无效。
• They made frequent checks on his respiration,pulse and blood.他们经常检查他的呼吸、脉搏和血液。