原文標題：
World in a dish
Confronting the dangers of ultra-processed food
A cocktail of additives and preservatives poses a risk to people’s health
盤中世界
警惕超加工食品的危害
添加劑和防腐劑的混合物對人們的健康構成威脅

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WHICH IS HEALTHIER: a bag of crisps or a kale salad? That is easy.

一袋薯片和一份羽衣甘藍沙拉哪個更健康？這很容易回答。

Now which is healthier: a pizza made from scratch or one made from the same basic ingredients, with the same number of calories, pulled out of a box in the freezer?

現(xiàn)在再問一下：一個是親手做的披薩，另一個用相同食材做的、有相同熱量的、從冷凍箱里拿出來的披薩，哪個更健康？

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Many people concerned with what they eat would instinctively say the former, perhaps citing a vague concern with “processed food”. Such food can often be delicious. (This columnist has a particular weakness for salty potato crisps.)

許多關心飲食的人本能地會說前者更健康，也許是出于對“加工食品”的隱約擔憂。加工食物往往很美味。（本欄作家就偏愛咸薯片。）

And there is much to cheer about calories being cheap and abundant, when for most of human history they were neither.

而且加工食品含有又多又便宜的卡路里，相較人類歷史大部分時間里的食品稀缺，這確實值得歡呼雀躍。

But as Chris van Tulleken’s new book, “Ultra-Processed People”, explains, that cheapness and abundance come at a cost.
但正如克里斯·范·圖勒肯的新書《超加工人群》所解釋的那樣，又多又便宜是要付出代價的。

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Mr van Tulleken, a doctor and television presenter, draws a distinction between “ultra-processed food” (UPF) and “processed food”.

醫(yī)生兼電視節(jié)目主持人范·圖勒肯對“超加工食品”(UPF) 和“加工食品”進行了區(qū)分。

Almost everything people consume is processed in some form: rice is harvested and hulled, animals are butchered.

人們吃的幾乎所有食品都經過某種形式的加工：稻米收割后被去殼，動物被屠宰。

He uses a definition proposed by Carlos Monteiro, a food scientist, describing UPF as “formulations of ingredients, mostly of exclusive industrial use, made by a series of industrial processes, many requiring sophisticated equipment and technology”.

他使用了食品科學家卡洛斯·蒙泰羅提出的定義，“超加工食品是由一系列工業(yè)加工過程制成的食品配方，其中大多含工業(yè)用途成分，需要依靠復雜精致的設備和技術”。

A pizza made from scratch contains minimally processed food (wheat turned into flour, tomatoes into sauce, milk into cheese).

親自做的披薩包含的食品加工程度極低（小麥變成面粉，西紅柿變成番茄醬，牛奶變成奶酪）。

The one in the freezer, with its thiamine mononitrate and sodium phosphate, is UPF.
冰箱里的披薩是超加工食品，里面含有硝酸硫胺和磷酸鈉。

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The cocktail of additives and preservatives in UPF harm people in ways both known and unknown.

超加工食品中的添加劑和防腐劑混合物正以已知和未知的方式傷害人類健康。

It seems to affect the gut microbiome, the trillions of bacteria that contribute to health in a range of ways.

它似乎會影響腸道微生物菌群，這些數(shù)萬億種腸道細菌對人類健康有多種好處。

Calorie-rich but usually nutrient-poor, UPF contributes to obesity in part because its palatability and soft texture foster overconsumption, overriding satiety signals from the brain.
由于富含卡路里但通常缺乏營養(yǎng)，超加工食品會導致肥胖問題，一定程度上是因為它的美味口感和柔軟質地會使人們貪食，從而壓倒了大腦里的飽腹感信號。

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Because this frankenfood is cheap to produce and buy, UPF displaces healthier alternatives, particularly for poor people.

由于這種惡魔食品的生產和購買成本低廉，超加工食品替代了更健康的食品，對窮人來說尤其如此。

Extra weight was once a sign of wealth, but among British and American women today, obesity rates are higher at lower-income levels.

超重曾經是財富的標志，但在當今的英國和美國女性中，低收入群體的肥胖率更高。

(Curiously, rates do not vary for men, even though a greater share of American men than women are obese.)
（有趣的是，盡管美國男性的肥胖比例高于女性，但未出現(xiàn)女性那種“收入與體重呈反比”的現(xiàn)象。）

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The reasons why UPF can be harmful are not always clear, even to scientists.

超加工食品為何有害的原因并不總是清晰明了，甚至連科學家也不清楚。

Additives that may be safe in isolation or small quantities may be harmful in combination with other chemicals or when consumed regularly.

一些添加劑在單獨使用或少量使用時可能無害，但與其他化學物質混合或經常攝入時可能會有害。

If we are what we eat, considering the impact of UPF is essential, but too often Mr van Tulleken’s case for clean food is accompanied by anti-capitalist preening: for instance, he nonsensically calls corporate-tax minimisation “part of ultra-processing”.
如果人們吃什么像什么，那么考慮到超加工食品的影響就非常重要，但范圖勒肯對清潔食品的主張常常伴隨著反資本主義的戲謔：例如，他戲稱企業(yè)避稅為“超加工的一部分” 。

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Environment matters, too. People who live in what the author calls “food swamps”, where “UPF is everywhere but real food is harder to reach”, could spend large amounts of time and money seeking out fresh food, but that is not how most people live.

環(huán)境也很重要。生活在作者所說的“食物沼澤”中的人們，那里的“超加工食品無處不在，但真正的健康食物卻很難獲得”，人們可能要花費大量的時間和金錢去尋找新鮮食物，但這并不是大多數(shù)人的生活方式。

There is nothing wrong with the odd fast-food trip, but anyone who can afford to eat less UPF probably should.
偶爾吃快餐沒有什么問題，但任何有經濟條件的人都應該盡量減少超加工食品的攝入。

（恭喜讀完，本篇英語詞匯量501左右）
原文出自：2023年7月29日《The Economist》Culture版塊

精讀筆記來源于：自由英語之路

本文翻譯整理: Irene本文編輯校對: Irene
僅供個人英語學習交流使用。

【補充資料】（來自于網絡）
《超加工人群》Ultra-Processed People是一本關于現(xiàn)代工業(yè)化食品對人類健康的影響的書籍。作者探討了工業(yè)化食品的制造過程，揭示了其中使用的添加劑和防腐劑的危害。書中還討論了工業(yè)化食品與肥胖、糖尿病、心血管疾病等健康問題之間的關聯(lián)。作者呼吁讀者重新審視自己的飲食習慣，并提供了從零開始親手制作健康食品的建議。

"企業(yè)稅收最小化"corporate-tax minimisation是指通過合法利用漏洞、減稅措施和有利的稅收法規(guī)來減少企業(yè)需要支付的稅款的做法。它涉及戰(zhàn)略性的財務規(guī)劃和結構設計，以優(yōu)化公司的稅收負擔。這可以包括將利潤轉移至低稅收管轄區(qū)、利用稅收激勵和抵免措施，以及采用各種會計技術來最小化應稅收入。其目的是合法減少企業(yè)的總體稅負，從而最大化利潤和股東價值。然而，企業(yè)稅收最小化的程度和道德標準可能存在差異，有些做法可能受到審查，涉嫌避稅或逃稅。

食物沼澤Food Swamps是指在某些社區(qū)或地區(qū)，人們容易獲得不健康的食物，而很難獲得健康的食物。這些地區(qū)通常有大量的便利店、快餐店和飲料自動售貨機，但缺乏健康食品零售店或農貿市場。食物沼澤對人們的健康產生負面影響。高鹽、高糖、高脂肪的便利食品容易導致肥胖、糖尿病和心血管疾病等健康問題。食物沼澤還可能導致社區(qū)居民的飲食習慣惡化，缺乏必要的營養(yǎng)，降低整個社區(qū)的整體健康水平。

【重點句子】（3個）
And there is much to cheer about calories being cheap and abundant, when for most of human history they were neither.
而且加工食品含有又多又便宜的卡路里，相較人類歷史大部分時間里的食品稀缺，這確實值得歡呼雀躍。

Calorie-rich but usually nutrient-poor, UPF contributes to obesity in part because its palatability and soft texture foster overconsumption, overriding satiety signals from the brain.
由于富含卡路里但通常缺乏營養(yǎng)，超加工食品會導致肥胖問題，一定程度上是因為它的美味口感和柔軟質地會使人們貪食，從而壓倒了大腦里的飽腹感信號。

Additives that may be safe in isolation or small quantities may be harmful in combination with other chemicals or when consumed regularly.
一些添加劑在單獨使用或少量使用時可能無害，但與其他化學物質混合或經常攝入時可能會有害。