Why do we eat spicy food? 我们为什么喜欢吃辣?

时间:2023-04-05 16:20:15

(单词翻译:单击)

Why do we eat spicy1 food? 我们为什么喜欢吃辣?

虽然辛辣食物会刺激口内黏膜,让人舌头发麻、嘴巴冒火,浑身冒汗,但很多人认为吃辣是 “痛并快乐的”,甚至 “无辣不欢”。辣椒是世界各地许多菜肴中的关键成分。本期节目从科学和历史两方面分析人们热衷吃辣的原因。

词汇:sensation 感受

You know the feeling – your ears start to warm up, your tongue goes numb2, you start sweating and taking deep breaths. You've just eaten something spicy knowing it would be painful, and, yet, you chose to do it anyway. Are humans just masochistic, or is there something else going on? The answer lies in both science and history.

Let's start with the science. Spicy isn't actually a taste like salty, sweet, sour and bitter – it’s a sensation. This sensation is triggered by a chemical compound found in chilli peppers called 'capsaicin'. When we eat foods containing capsaicin, our bodies are tricked into thinking the temperature is actually rising. In trying to temper the burning sensation, our bodies release endorphins which control pain and, at the same time, give a feeling of pleasure – like painkillers3.

This is what is happening chemically, but there is also a conscious side to choosing spicy food. Dr Tamara Rosenbaum, Cognitive4 Neuroscientist at the National Autonomous5 University of Mexico, explains in an interview with the BBC that this is because we are rational beings – we know that the burning sensation of chilli does not physically6 harm us. Furthermore, we derive pleasure from the other ingredients chilli is generally cooked and eaten with – including fat, sugar and salt. So – like skydiving – eating chilli is a form of thrill-seeking or 'benign masochism', where we get pleasure from a seemingly negative sensation.

This masochistic relationship with capsaicin has been a long one, starting in the Andes of South America, where chilli peppers originate. Humans were one of the few mammals on Earth that developed a taste for capsaicin so, archaeological evidence suggests, they started cultivating chilli peppers about six thousand years ago. Human intervention changed the chilli pepper to suit human tastes and needs – including the pepper's colour, size and capsaicin content – helping7 to explain the many different types of chilli peppers now available.

Fast-forward to today, and our love affair with the chilli pepper is going strong. We eat around 57.3 million tons of peppers globally each year, and chilli is a key ingredient in traditional dishes from Mexico to Korea. Maybe we are masochistic after all.

词汇表

go numb 发麻
masochistic 自讨苦吃的,自找罪受的
taste 味道
sour 酸的
bitter 苦的
sensation 感觉
trigger 引发,触发
chemical compound 化合物
capsaicin 辣椒素
contain 含有
trick 使产生错觉
temper 使缓和
release 释放
endorphin 内啡肽
conscious 有意的
rational being 理性的动物
derive 获得,得到
thrill-seeking 寻求刺激的
benign masochism 良性自虐,从不适中得到享受
develop a taste for 养成吃…的习惯
cultivate 种植
intervention 干预
content 含量
going strong 依旧强烈


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1 spicy zhvzrC     
adj.加香料的;辛辣的,有风味的
参考例句:
  • The soup tasted mildly spicy.汤尝起来略有点辣。
  • Very spicy food doesn't suit her stomach.太辣的东西她吃了胃不舒服。
2 numb 0RIzK     
adj.麻木的,失去感觉的;v.使麻木
参考例句:
  • His fingers were numb with cold.他的手冻得发麻。
  • Numb with cold,we urged the weary horses forward.我们冻得发僵,催着疲惫的马继续往前走。
3 painkillers 1a67b54ddb73ea8c08a4e55aa1847a55     
n.止痛药( painkiller的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The doctor gave him some painkillers to ease the pain. 医生给了他一些止疼片以减缓疼痛。 来自辞典例句
  • The primary painkillers - opiates, like OxyContin - are widely feared, misunderstood and underused. 人们对主要的镇痛药——如鸦片剂奥施康定——存在广泛的恐惧、误解,因此没有充分利用。 来自时文部分
4 cognitive Uqwz0     
adj.认知的,认识的,有感知的
参考例句:
  • As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大,他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
  • The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。
5 autonomous DPyyv     
adj.自治的;独立的
参考例句:
  • They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
  • This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。
6 physically iNix5     
adj.物质上,体格上,身体上,按自然规律
参考例句:
  • He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服,心绪也很乱。
  • Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。
7 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

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