6月18日午間英語(yǔ)新聞：木糖醇等甜味劑或引發(fā)心臟病和中風(fēng)

>Common low-calorie sweetener linked to heart attack and stroke

研究：木糖醇等甜味劑或引發(fā)心臟病和中風(fēng)

A low-calorie sweetener called xylitol used in many reduced-sugar foods and consumer products such as gum and toothpaste may be linked to nearly twice the risk of heart attacks, stroke and death in people who consume the highest levels of the sweetener, a new study found.

一項(xiàng)新研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，木糖醇攝入量最大的人群心臟病發(fā)作、中風(fēng)和死亡的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)比其他人群高出近兩倍，而木糖醇可能就是幕后元兇。木糖醇是一種被用于口香糖和牙膏等許多低糖食品和消費(fèi)品中的低熱量甜味劑。

Lab and animal research revealed low-calorie sweeteners such as erythritol and xylitol may cause blood platelets to clot more readily. Clots can break off and travel to the heart, triggering a heart attack, or to the brain, triggering a stroke.

實(shí)驗(yàn)室和動(dòng)物研究顯示，像赤蘚糖醇和木糖醇這樣的低熱量甜味劑可能會(huì)導(dǎo)致血小板更容易凝結(jié)成血塊。凝結(jié)的血塊（血栓）可能會(huì)脫落并沿著血流進(jìn)入心臟，引發(fā)心臟病發(fā)作，或者進(jìn)入大腦，引發(fā)中風(fēng)。

Some 61% of American adults will have cardiovascular disease by 2050, according to a recent prediction by the American Heart Association. Reducing clotting activity is a key treatment used by cardiologists, so any additional clotting in platelets is a bad sign, said Dr. Andrew Freeman, director of cardiovascular prevention and wellness at National Jewish Health in Denver.

根據(jù)美國(guó)心臟協(xié)會(huì)最近的預(yù)測(cè)，到2050年，約有61%的美國(guó)成年人將患有心血管疾病。位于丹佛市的美國(guó)國(guó)立猶太健康中心心血管預(yù)防與健康部主任安德魯·弗里曼博士說(shuō)，減少血栓是心臟病學(xué)家使用的一個(gè)關(guān)鍵療法，因此血小板中增加的任何血栓都是一個(gè)不好的信號(hào)。

"When someone has a heart attack, we give them aspirin or drugs like clopidogrel, [PID] or Plavix, to counter platelet activity. These sugar alcohols appear to be enhancing platelet activity, which is concerning,” said Freeman, who was not associated with the new research.

弗里曼說(shuō)："當(dāng)某人心臟病發(fā)作時(shí)，我們給患者服用阿司匹林或類(lèi)似氯吡格雷或波立維的藥物來(lái)對(duì)抗血小板活動(dòng)。這些糖醇似乎在增強(qiáng)血小板活動(dòng)，令人擔(dān)憂。"弗里曼并未參與這項(xiàng)新研究。

"This is another warning we ought to switch to water, with a close second being unsweetened tea or coffee,” he said.

他說(shuō)："這又是在警告我們應(yīng)該改為喝水，其次是不加糖的茶或咖啡?！?/p>

 As sweet as sugar with less than half the calories, xylitol is often used in sugarless gum, breath mints, toothpaste, mouthwash, cough syrup and chewable vitamins. It is frequently added in larger quantities to candy, baked goods, cake mixes, barbecue sauces, ketchup, peanut butter, puddings, pancake syrup and more.

木糖醇和糖一樣甜，但熱量不到糖的一半，常被用于無(wú)糖口香糖、薄荷糖、牙膏、漱口水、咳嗽糖漿和維生素咀嚼片。木糖醇經(jīng)常以更大的劑量被添加到糖果、烘焙食品、蛋糕混合粉、燒烤醬、番茄醬、花生醬、布丁、煎餅糖漿等產(chǎn)品中。

Xylitol is a sugar alcohol, a carbohydrate found naturally in foods such as cauliflower, eggplant, lettuce, mushrooms, spinach, plums, raspberries and strawberries. However, the amount of xylitol found in such natural sources is tiny, said senior study author Dr. Stanley Hazen, director of the Center for Cardiovascular Diagnostics and Prevention at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute.木糖醇是一種糖醇，是一種在花椰菜、茄子、生菜、蘑菇、菠菜、李子、覆盆子和草莓等食物中天然存在的碳水化合物。然而，哈森指出，這些天然來(lái)源的木糖醇含量極低。

 "If you actually do the calculation, it literally takes a tonnage of fruit to be equivalent to one diabetic cookie that can have like nine grams of xylitol, which is a typical label amount,”Freeman said.

他說(shuō)："如果你真的去算一算，實(shí)際上需要成噸的水果才能提取出一塊糖尿病患者專(zhuān)用餅干中所含的木糖醇，一般標(biāo)注為9克。"

For commercial use, however, xylitol is made from corncobs, birch trees or genetically engineered bacteria.

然而，用于商業(yè)化生產(chǎn)的木糖醇是從玉米芯、樺樹(shù)或基因工程菌中提取的。

"It’s sold as a so-called natural sweetener, and because xylitol doesn’t spike blood sugar levels, it’s also marketed as low carb and keto friendly,” Hazen said. 

該研究的資深作者、克利夫蘭診所勒納研究所心血管疾病診斷與預(yù)防中心主任斯坦利·哈森博士說(shuō)："它在出售時(shí)號(hào)稱(chēng)天然甜味劑，而且因?yàn)槟咎谴疾粫?huì)導(dǎo)致血糖水平飆升，它也被作為低碳水化合物和生酮友好產(chǎn)品進(jìn)行營(yíng)銷(xiāo)。"

Many professional associations also recommend xylitol as a sugar substitute for patients with obesity, diabetes or prediabetes to improve glycemic control, he added.

哈森補(bǔ)充道，許多專(zhuān)業(yè)協(xié)會(huì)還推薦木糖醇作為肥胖、糖尿病或糖尿病前期患者的糖替代品，以更好地控制血糖。

 "Yet people at risk for diabetes are among the most vulnerable for clotting events,” he said. “We’re targeting the wrong people.”

哈森說(shuō)："然而，有糖尿病風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的人是最容易發(fā)生血栓的。我們將木糖醇推薦給了錯(cuò)誤的人群。"

重點(diǎn)詞匯：

erythritol

英/ ??r?θr??t?l / 美/ e?r?θr??to?l /

n.赤蘚糖醇

xylitol

英/ ?z??l?t?l / 美/ ?za?l?tɑ?l; ?za?l??to?l /

n.[有化] 木糖醇

keto

英/ ?ki?t?? / 美/ ?ki?to? /

adj.酮類(lèi)的

> Word of the day丨Chang'e-6

每日一詞丨嫦娥六號(hào) 

The ascender of China's Chang'e-6 probe lifted off from the lunar surface on June 4, carrying samples collected from the moon's far side, an unprecedented feat in human lunar exploration history. The ascender has entered a preset orbit around the moon.

6月4日，嫦娥六號(hào)上升器攜帶月球樣品自月球背面起飛，隨后成功進(jìn)入預(yù)定環(huán)月軌道。嫦娥六號(hào)完成世界首次月球背面采樣和起飛。

【知識(shí)點(diǎn)】

6月2日至3日，嫦娥六號(hào)順利完成在月球背面南極—艾特肯盆地的智能快速采樣，并將珍貴的月球背面樣品封裝存放在上升器攜帶的貯存裝置中，完成了這份宇宙快遞的“打包裝箱”。

月球背面南極—艾特肯盆地，被公認(rèn)為月球上最大、最古老、最深的盆地。在這里開(kāi)展世界首次月背采樣，對(duì)進(jìn)一步認(rèn)識(shí)月球意義重大。

受限于月球背面中繼通信時(shí)長(zhǎng)，嫦娥六號(hào)采用快速智能采樣技術(shù)，將月面采樣的有效工作時(shí)間縮短至不到20個(gè)小時(shí)；同時(shí)，探測(cè)器經(jīng)受住了月背溫差考驗(yàn)，克服了測(cè)控、光照、電源等難題，通過(guò)鉆具鉆取和機(jī)械臂表取兩種方式，分別采集了月球樣品。

“挖寶”完成后，起飛分“三步走”。在鵲橋二號(hào)中繼星輔助下，嫦娥六號(hào)上升器借助自身攜帶的特殊敏感器實(shí)現(xiàn)自主定位、定姿。上升器點(diǎn)火起飛后，先后經(jīng)歷垂直上升、姿態(tài)調(diào)整和軌道射入三個(gè)階段，順利進(jìn)入了預(yù)定環(huán)月飛行軌道。

后續(xù)，月球樣品將轉(zhuǎn)移到返回器中，由返回器帶回地球。