【精英翻譯】的部落格

Why Veggies Can Be Hard to Stomach

不愛吃蔬菜跟基因有關？

精英翻譯社轉自https://paper.udn.com/udnpaper/POH0058/353506/web/

We’ve all heard that we must eat vegetables to stay healthy. The rainbow of produce available from a garden provides many of the nutrients that our bodies need to grow, repair, protect, and clean themselves. Then why do some people run for the hills every time they see a piece of broccoli? Recent research into our sense of taste may help cast some light on this.

我們都聽過必須要吃蔬菜才能維持身體健康。從菜園取得的五顏六色的農產品提供我們身體生長、修復、保護和清理所需的許多營養素。那為什麼有些人每次看到一塊青花菜就逃之夭夭呢？最近針對我們味覺的研究也許有助於釐清這一點。

The human mouth has more than 25 taste receptors, which register flavors in our food within the five basic tastes: sweetness, saltiness, sourness, bitterness, and umami. The taste receptor called TAS2R38 influences how we sense the bitter flavor. Genetic differences in TAS2R38 make a quarter of the population “super-tasters,” which is not as appealing as it might sound. These people are particularly sensitive to bitterness in ordinary foods like spinach and cabbage and tend to eat far less vegetables as a result. This, in turn, may lead to heart or weight problems and other kinds of diseases.

人類的口腔有超過二十五種味覺接收器，能夠感受到我們食物中的五種基本味道：甜、鹹、酸、苦和鮮味。這個稱作TAS2R38的味覺接收器影響我們如何感覺苦味。TAS2R38的基因差異讓四分之一的人口成為「超級品嚐者」，這並不像聽起來那樣吸引人。這些人對菠菜和高麗菜等普通食物中的苦味特別敏感，結果往往蔬菜就吃得很少。進而就可能導致心臟或體重問題以及其他種類的疾病。

Scientists are currently trying to come up with less bitter varieties of garden favorites. For now, super-tasters can try different cooking methods and spices to make those all-important vegetables easier to swallow.

科學家現在正努力培育受歡迎的菜園蔬菜中比較不苦的品種。目前，超級品嚐者可以試不同的烹飪方法和香料來使那些非常重要的蔬菜更容易下嚥。