给那些能吃超级辣椒的人
You may have seen one of these crazed contests on YouTube or at a fair where people "compete" to eat as many hot peppers as possible. For instance, in May 2017, a competitive eater who goes by the name LA Beast set a Guinness World Record for eating the most ghost peppers in two minutes — 13. Ghost peppers, for those of you that don't know, are some of the hottest in the world and rate 1 million per pepper on the Scoville heat scale (a scientific measure of how hot a pepper is). To put things in perspective, that's at least 100 times hotter than a jalapeño, which ranks anywhere between about 2,500 and 10,000 Scoville units.
你可能在网上或者什么地方看过吃辣椒比赛。例如，2017年5月，一个称自己为LA Beast的竞吃选手就以两分钟内吃下13个印度鬼椒的成绩创下了吉尼斯世界纪录。印度鬼椒(ghost pepper)是世界上最辣的辣椒之一，每个辣椒的斯科威尔辣度指数为100万。这个辣度至少个墨西哥辣椒的100倍，后者的斯科威尔指数是2500至10000。
But ghost peppers aren't even the hottest. That honor used to belong to the Carolina Reaper, which earned its title as the hottest pepper in the world — beating out a pepper called the Trinidad Scorpion — in 2013. Carolina Reapers rate 2.2 million on the Scoville heat scale.
但印度鬼椒还不是最辣的。2013年，最辣辣椒的头衔属于卡罗莱纳死神辣椒(Carolina Reaper)，斯科维尔辣度指数是220万。
But in 2017, a new pepper, known now only as Pepper X, became the hottest of them all, rating about 3.2 million Scoville units.
但在2017年，一种新的辣椒Pepper X击败了所有同类，以320万斯科维尔辣度指数荣登王座。
Which brings us to these questions: Why this pursuit of developing hotter and hotter peppers? And who is eating them?
这可能会让你很好奇：为什么要培植出越来越辣的辣椒呢?吃这些的到底是谁?
For answers, it makes sense to go to the man responsible for developing both Pepper X and The Smokin' Ed Carolina Reaper (that's a trademarked name, by the way): Ed Currie. He goes by Smokin' Ed, and he describes himself as owner, president, mad scientist and chef at PuckerButt Pepper Company in South Carolina.
要找到答案，我们不妨问问Pepper X和卡罗莱纳死神辣椒的培育者Ed Currie。他自称是南卡罗莱纳PuckerButt辣椒公司的所有者、总裁、疯狂科学家和主厨。
"For the general public, [hot sauce] is a condiment," Currie says. "People start with sauces like Tabasco, and they are good sauces, but they aren't really hot. People develop a tolerance for them, and they want something more."
Currie说，“对于大众来说，辣酱是一种佐料。人们一开始会食用塔巴斯科之类的辣酱，这些辣酱也很美味，但不是特别辣。渐渐地，他们对这些辣酱的耐受性越来越强，因此会想要更辣的。”
Who Eats This Stuff?
谁在吃这些东西?
Currie says there are three kinds of people who love eating super-hot sauces. The first includes the adventure seekers, people who see extreme eating as a kind of YOLO challenge. "Risk takers, extreme bikers, those people who perceive eating super-hot peppers as an extreme sport. It's a challenge of something they want to overcome," Currie says.
Currie说，吃超级辣椒的有三种人。第一种是爱找刺激的人，他们将极限饮食当做挑战的一部分。他说，“冒险者、极限骑手和那些将吃超级辣椒的人都将这些事情当成一种挑战。”
A second group is made of the challengers — the people you see on YouTube or drawing a crowd at a fair. You'll often see them throwing up at the end of their videos. "What's making them sick is the gallon of milk they're drinking too fast, not the pepper," Currie says, adding that a pepper can't directly hurt you. "There's no actual heat in a pepper. The heat is a result of a chemical reaction that happens in your body, triggered by capsaicinoids in the peppers reacting with sensory neurons. Our bodies perceive the heat."
第二种就是那些竞吃选手，比如视频网站上或集会上那些人。你经常可以在视频最后看到他们吐了。Currie说，其实辣椒本身并不会伤身体，“真正引起呕吐的原因是他们迅速喝下太多牛奶。辣椒本身并不会产生热量。热量的产生其实是因为身体里的化学反应，是辣椒素与感觉神经元之间的反应。我们的身体会感受到这种热量。”
The third group? Well they are often people who are actually recovering from drug addiction. Capsaicinoids, of which there are about 22 to 23 types, trigger your body to release dopamine and endorphins, both of which result in a sense of euphoria — a rush.
第三种人呢?他们通常是刚刚戒毒的人。辣椒素(capsaicinoids)大概有22至23种，它们会让身体释放多巴胺和内啡肽，这两者都会让人产生愉悦的感觉。
Hot Peppers for Your Health
辣椒有益健康
Helping people face medical challenges, like overcoming addiction, is what drives Currie's pursuit of peppers that contain more capsaicinoids. He started growing peppers in the '80s after learning that, in cultures where people eat hot peppers regularly with meals, there are lower incidences of diseases such as heart disease and cancer. "That would be awesome if peppers could help people through withdrawal," says Currie, who's been asked to provide peppers for medical research.
帮助人们对抗疾病，比如戒毒，是Currie培育超级辣椒的初衷。80年代，他听说在有定期吃辣椒习惯地方，人们患心脏病和癌症的几率更低，因此他开始培植辣椒。现在他也为科学家提供研究用的辣椒。
There are other potential medical benefits to hotter peppers, too, including improved sleep, vascular health, appetite control and improved metabolism. In fact, researchers in several countries are looking at how capsaicin and other compounds in peppers might even help fight obesity.
另外，更辣的辣椒还能改善睡眠、促进心血管健康、帮助控制胃口和提高新陈代谢率。在某些国家，科学家还在研究辣椒素与辣椒中的其它物质是否能够帮助减肥。
你可能在网上或者什么地方看过吃辣椒比赛。例如，2017年5月，一个称自己为LA Beast的竞吃选手就以两分钟内吃下13个印度鬼椒的成绩创下了吉尼斯世界纪录。印度鬼椒(ghost pepper)是世界上最辣的辣椒之一，每个辣椒的斯科威尔辣度指数为100万。这个辣度至少个墨西哥辣椒的100倍，后者的斯科威尔指数是2500至10000。
But ghost peppers aren't even the hottest. That honor used to belong to the Carolina Reaper, which earned its title as the hottest pepper in the world — beating out a pepper called the Trinidad Scorpion — in 2013. Carolina Reapers rate 2.2 million on the Scoville heat scale.
但印度鬼椒还不是最辣的。2013年，最辣辣椒的头衔属于卡罗莱纳死神辣椒(Carolina Reaper)，斯科维尔辣度指数是220万。
But in 2017, a new pepper, known now only as Pepper X, became the hottest of them all, rating about 3.2 million Scoville units.
但在2017年，一种新的辣椒Pepper X击败了所有同类，以320万斯科维尔辣度指数荣登王座。
Which brings us to these questions: Why this pursuit of developing hotter and hotter peppers? And who is eating them?
这可能会让你很好奇：为什么要培植出越来越辣的辣椒呢?吃这些的到底是谁?
For answers, it makes sense to go to the man responsible for developing both Pepper X and The Smokin' Ed Carolina Reaper (that's a trademarked name, by the way): Ed Currie. He goes by Smokin' Ed, and he describes himself as owner, president, mad scientist and chef at PuckerButt Pepper Company in South Carolina.
要找到答案，我们不妨问问Pepper X和卡罗莱纳死神辣椒的培育者Ed Currie。他自称是南卡罗莱纳PuckerButt辣椒公司的所有者、总裁、疯狂科学家和主厨。
"For the general public, [hot sauce] is a condiment," Currie says. "People start with sauces like Tabasco, and they are good sauces, but they aren't really hot. People develop a tolerance for them, and they want something more."
Currie说，“对于大众来说，辣酱是一种佐料。人们一开始会食用塔巴斯科之类的辣酱，这些辣酱也很美味，但不是特别辣。渐渐地，他们对这些辣酱的耐受性越来越强，因此会想要更辣的。”
Who Eats This Stuff?
谁在吃这些东西?
Currie says there are three kinds of people who love eating super-hot sauces. The first includes the adventure seekers, people who see extreme eating as a kind of YOLO challenge. "Risk takers, extreme bikers, those people who perceive eating super-hot peppers as an extreme sport. It's a challenge of something they want to overcome," Currie says.
Currie说，吃超级辣椒的有三种人。第一种是爱找刺激的人，他们将极限饮食当做挑战的一部分。他说，“冒险者、极限骑手和那些将吃超级辣椒的人都将这些事情当成一种挑战。”
A second group is made of the challengers — the people you see on YouTube or drawing a crowd at a fair. You'll often see them throwing up at the end of their videos. "What's making them sick is the gallon of milk they're drinking too fast, not the pepper," Currie says, adding that a pepper can't directly hurt you. "There's no actual heat in a pepper. The heat is a result of a chemical reaction that happens in your body, triggered by capsaicinoids in the peppers reacting with sensory neurons. Our bodies perceive the heat."
第二种就是那些竞吃选手，比如视频网站上或集会上那些人。你经常可以在视频最后看到他们吐了。Currie说，其实辣椒本身并不会伤身体，“真正引起呕吐的原因是他们迅速喝下太多牛奶。辣椒本身并不会产生热量。热量的产生其实是因为身体里的化学反应，是辣椒素与感觉神经元之间的反应。我们的身体会感受到这种热量。”
The third group? Well they are often people who are actually recovering from drug addiction. Capsaicinoids, of which there are about 22 to 23 types, trigger your body to release dopamine and endorphins, both of which result in a sense of euphoria — a rush.
第三种人呢?他们通常是刚刚戒毒的人。辣椒素(capsaicinoids)大概有22至23种，它们会让身体释放多巴胺和内啡肽，这两者都会让人产生愉悦的感觉。
Hot Peppers for Your Health
辣椒有益健康
Helping people face medical challenges, like overcoming addiction, is what drives Currie's pursuit of peppers that contain more capsaicinoids. He started growing peppers in the '80s after learning that, in cultures where people eat hot peppers regularly with meals, there are lower incidences of diseases such as heart disease and cancer. "That would be awesome if peppers could help people through withdrawal," says Currie, who's been asked to provide peppers for medical research.
帮助人们对抗疾病，比如戒毒，是Currie培育超级辣椒的初衷。80年代，他听说在有定期吃辣椒习惯地方，人们患心脏病和癌症的几率更低，因此他开始培植辣椒。现在他也为科学家提供研究用的辣椒。
There are other potential medical benefits to hotter peppers, too, including improved sleep, vascular health, appetite control and improved metabolism. In fact, researchers in several countries are looking at how capsaicin and other compounds in peppers might even help fight obesity.
另外，更辣的辣椒还能改善睡眠、促进心血管健康、帮助控制胃口和提高新陈代谢率。在某些国家，科学家还在研究辣椒素与辣椒中的其它物质是否能够帮助减肥。
