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英语口语·吉米老师说
味精吃多了让人变傻还致癌，是真的吗？
英语·食物真相
本文来源：TED英语演说优选（ID: tedtalks1984）
版权归原作者所有
1968年，罗伯特·何文国博士在一家中餐馆吃过晚饭后感到不适，并给一家医学杂志写了一封信，将他的症状与味精联系起来。他的信将改变世界与味精的关系，在未来40年内引发国际恐慌、科学偏见和耸人听闻的新闻报道。那么，这种调味品是什么？它对你真的有害吗？
演讲者：Sarah E. Tracy
演讲题目: What is MSG, and is it actually bad for you?
In 1968, Dr. Robert Ho Man Kwok felt ill after dinner at a Chinese restaurant. He wrote a letter detailing his symptoms to a prestigious medical journal, pondering whether his illness had resulted from eating monosodium glutamate— also known as MSG. Kwok’s connection between his headache and this common seasoning in American Chinese cuisine was just a hunch.
1968年，何文国博士在一家中餐馆吃过晚饭后感到不舒服。他给一家著名的医学杂志写了一封信，详细描述了他的症状，思考他的疾病是否是由于食用味精引起的。郭的头痛和这种美式中餐中常见的调味品之间的联系只是一种预测。
But his letter would dramatically change the worlds relationship with MSG, inspiring international panic, biased science, and sensationalist journalism for the next 40 years. So what is this mysterious seasoning? Where does it come from, and is it actually bad for you?
但他的信将极大地改变世界与味精的关系，在未来40年内引发国际恐慌、科学偏见和耸人听闻的新闻报道。那么这种神秘的调味品是什么呢？它是从哪里来的？它真的对你有害吗？
MSG is a mixture of two simple molecules. Sodium, which is well-established as an essential part of our diet, and glutamate, a very common amino acid found in numerous plant and animal proteins. Glutamate plays a key role in our digestion, muscle function, and immune system. Around the time of Dr. Kwoks letter, it had been identified as an important part of our brain chemistry.
味精是两个简单分子的混合物。钠是我们日常饮食的重要组成部分，谷氨酸是许多植物和动物蛋白质中常见的氨基酸。谷氨酸在我们的消化、肌肉功能和免疫系统中起着关键作用。在郭博士写这封信的时候，它被认为是我们大脑化学的重要组成部分。
Our body produces enough glutamate for all these processes, but the molecule is also present in our diet. You can taste its signature savory flavor in foods like mushrooms, cheese, tomatoes, and broth.
我们的身体为所有这些过程产生足够的谷氨酸，但这种分子也存在于我们的饮食中。你可以在蘑菇、奶酪、西红柿和肉汤等食物中品尝到它特有的风味。
Chasing this rich flavor is what led to MSG’s invention in 1908. A Japanese chemist named Dr. Ikeda Kikunae was trying to isolate the molecule responsible for a unique flavor he called “umami,” meaning “a pleasant, savory taste.”
1908年，一位名叫池田菊奈博士的日本化学家试图分离出一种独特风味的分子，他称之为“鲜味”，意思是“一种令人愉悦的美味”
Today, umami is recognized as one of the five basic tastes in food science. Each basic taste is produced by unique molecular mechanisms that can’t be replicated by combining other known tastes. In the case of umami, those mechanisms arise when we cook or ferment certain foods, breaking down their proteins and releasing amino acids like glutamate. But Ikeda found a savory shortcut to producing this chemical reaction.
如今，鲜味被公认为食品科学的五大基本口味之一。每一种基本的味道都是由独特的分子机制产生的，这种机制无法通过结合其他已知的味道来复制。就鲜味而言，当我们烹调或发酵某些食物，分解它们的蛋白质并释放谷氨酸等氨基酸时，这些机制就产生了。但池田找到了一条产生这种化学反应的捷径。
By isolating high quantities of glutamate from a bowl of noodle broth and combining them with another flavor enhancer like sodium, he created a seasoning that instantly increased the umami of any dish.
通过从一碗面条汤中分离出大量谷氨酸盐，并将其与另一种增味剂（如钠）结合，他创造了一种调味品，可以立即增加任何菜肴的鲜味。
The result was a major success. By the 1930s, MSG was a kitchen staple across most of Asia; and by the mid-20th century, it could be found in commercial food production worldwide. So when Dr. Kwoks letter was published, the outrage was immediate. Researchers and citizens demanded a scientific enquiry into the popular additive.
结果是取得了重大成功。到了20世纪30年代，味精已成为亚洲大部分地区厨房的主食；到了20世纪中叶，它可以在全世界的商业食品生产中找到。因此，当郭博士的信发表时，人们立即感到愤怒。研究人员和市民要求对这种流行的添加剂进行科学调查。
On one hand, this wasn’t unreasonable. The substance hadn been tested for toxicity, and its health impacts were largely unknown. However, it’s likely many people weren’t responding to a lack of food safety regulation, but rather the letter’s title: “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome.”
一方面，这并不是不合理的。该物质尚未进行毒性测试，其对健康的影响也基本未知。然而，很可能许多人并没有对食品安全监管的缺失做出回应，而是对信的标题“中餐馆综合症”做出了回应
While MSG was commonly used in numerous cuisines, many Americans had longstanding prejudices against Asian eating customs, labeling them as exotic or dangerous. These stigmas fueled racially biased journalism, and spread fear that eating at Chinese restaurants could make you sick.
虽然味精在许多菜肴中被广泛使用，但许多美国人对亚洲的饮食习惯有着长期的偏见，将其贴上“异国情调”或“危险”的标签。这些污名助长了带有种族偏见的新闻报道，传播了人们对在中国餐馆吃饭会让人生病的恐惧。
This prejudiced reporting extended to numerous studies about MSG and umami, the results of which were much less conclusive than the headlines suggested. For example, when a 1969 study found that injecting mice with MSG caused severe damage to their retina and brain, some news outlets jumped to proclaim that eating MSG could cause brain damage. Similarly, while some studies reported that excess glutamate could lead to problems like Alzheimer’s, these conditions were later found to be caused by internal glutamate imbalances, unrelated to the MSG we eat.
这种偏见的报道延伸到了许多关于味精和鲜味的研究，其结果远不如标题所暗示的结论性。例如，当1969年的一项研究发现给老鼠注射味精会对他们的视网膜和大脑造成严重损害时，一些新闻媒体跳出来宣称食用味精会导致大脑损害。类似地，尽管一些研究报告过量的谷氨酸可能导致类似阿尔茨海默病的问题，但后来发现这些疾病是由内部谷氨酸失衡引起的，与我们吃的味精无关。
These headlines weren just a product of prejudiced reporters. Throughout the late 60s and early 70s, many doctors also considered “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome” to be a legitimate ailment. Fortunately, today’s MSG researchers no longer see the additive in this discriminatory way.
这些头条新闻不仅仅是偏见记者的产物。在整个60年代末70年代初，许多医生还认为“中国餐馆综合症”是一种合法的疾病。幸运的是，今天的味精研究人员不再以这种歧视性的方式看待添加剂。
Recent studies have established the vital role glutamate plays in our metabolism, and some researchers even think MSG is a healthier alternative to added fat and sodium. Others are investigating whether regular consumption of MSG could be linked to obesity, and it is possible that binging MSG produces headaches, chest pains, or heart palpitations for some people. But for most diners, a moderate amount of this savory seasoning seems like a safe way to make life a little tastier.
最近的研究证实了谷氨酸盐在我们的新陈代谢中起着至关重要的作用，一些研究人员甚至认为味精是补充脂肪和钠的更健康的替代品。其他人正在调查是否经常食用味精可能与肥胖有关，对一些人来说，大量食用味精可能会导致头痛、胸痛或心悸。但对大多数食客来说，适量的这种美味的调味品似乎是让生活更美味的安全方法。
结论就是味精不会致癌。
