你为什么要把整个香蕉都吃掉呢—果肉和皮
你为什么要把整个香蕉都吃掉呢—果肉和皮
Peeling a banana doesn't require the nimblest of fingers. It's basically Nature's version of a twist-off bottle cap. Anyone with any kind of digits can get to the tasty slip of sweetness inside. But what if even that was too much of a bother? Why not just chomp right through the skin and be done with it?
剥香蕉不需要灵巧的手指。本质上，这是一个拧开的瓶盖的自然版本。任何一个有任何手指的人都可以品尝到里面美味的甜味。但如果这也太麻烦呢?为什么不直接咬破它的皮，然后结束它呢?
An uncooked banana peel can be tough and bitter tasting. (Photo: Jamesiez/Shutterstock)
Well, some experts suggest you can do just that. As Australian dietitian Susie Burrell notes on her blog, eating the whole banana may go a long towards reducing food waste and upping your nutritional intake.
一些专家建议你可以这样做。正如澳大利亚营养学家苏茜·伯勒尔在她的博客中指出的那样，吃整个香蕉对减少食物浪费和增加营养摄入大有裨益。
But the real question is, would you like to bite into a whole banana? Or does the idea of eating a banana peel sound more like an insult you might sling at someone? Maybe you're face is all puckered up right now at the very thought of it.
但真正的问题是，你愿意咬下一整根香蕉吗?还是说吃香蕉皮听起来更像是对别人的侮辱?也许你现在一想到它就会皱起眉头。
There's an important caveat. Burrell, mercifully, doesn't advise hunkering down on the whole banana. Instead, you're going to want to remove that skin and cook it on its own — breaking down the tough cellular walls and making those nutrients more readily absorb-able (and the whole affair, perhaps a little less gag-able.)
这里有一个重要的警告。幸运的是，伯勒尔并不建议你把整根香蕉都吞下去。相反，你会想要去皮，然后自己把它煮熟——打破坚硬的细胞壁，让那些营养物质更容易吸收(整个过程可能会让人不那么恶心)。
Burrell is hardly alone in endorsing whole-banana consumption. As our sister site, Treehugger, points out, Americans devour 12 billion bananas per year. That's 12 billion banana peels needless discarded — and maybe even 12 billion opportunities someone will slip and have a terrible accident.
伯勒尔并不是唯一支持食用整根香蕉的人。正如我们的姐妹网站Treehugger所指出的，美国人每年吃掉120亿只香蕉。那就是120亿个没必要丢弃的香蕉皮——甚至可能有120亿个机会，有人会滑倒，发生可怕的事故。
Just think about all the accidents we might prevent if people ate their peels more often. (Photo: Levent Konuk/Shutterstock)
It also represents a lot of nutrients and other potential benefits being chucked to the curb. According to a study published in the Journal of Immunology Research by scientists at Seoul National University, a typical yellow peel packs substantial amounts of potassium, dietary fiber, polyunsaturated fats and essential amino acids.
它也代表了大量的营养和其他潜在的好处被扔到路边。首尔国立大学的科学家在《免疫学研究杂志》上发表的一项研究表明，一块典型的黄皮含有大量的钾、膳食纤维、多不饱和脂肪和必需氨基酸。
Those nutrients do a lot of good for a body — particularly all that potassium, which can regulate blood pressure and keep hearts and kidneys healthy.
这些营养物质对身体有很多好处，尤其是钾，它可以调节血压，保持心脏和肾脏健康。
Sure, there's plenty of potassium already in nature's sweetest candy — about 422 milligrams in the average serving. But with an added 78 milligrams of the stuff — along with so many other nutrients — why not eat the wrapper too?
当然，自然界最甜的糖果中已经含有大量的钾元素——平均每份含有422毫克。但是加上78毫克的这种东西——还有这么多其他的营养成分——为什么不把包装纸也吃了呢?
Well, aside from a banana peel needing a little preparation to be fully digestible, there are also those agricultural ne'er-do-wells known as pesticides. The outer layers of fruits and vegetables tend to stockpile somewhat worrisome levels of pesticide residue, although federal bodies like the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) were established to keep undue amounts of pesticides out of the food chain.
好吧，除了香蕉皮需要一点准备才能完全消化外，还有那些被称为“农药”的农业“不速之井”。尽管美国农业部(USDA)和食品药品管理局(FDA)等联邦机构的建立是为了防止过多的农药残留进入食物链，但水果和蔬菜的外层往往储存着多少令人担忧的农药残留水平。
Still, as with just about anything you aim to put in your mouth, a banana peel needs careful washing. That's likely to minimize any potential pesticide menace. Even better, if you're going to try eating the skin, consider picking up the organic variety at your local farmers market.
不过，就像你打算放进嘴里的任何东西一样，香蕉皮也需要仔细清洗。这可能会使任何潜在的农药威胁最小化。更棒的是，如果你想尝试吃香蕉皮，可以考虑在当地农贸市场购买有机品种。
If you happen to like the taste — it can be a little bitter — congratulations. You're making a more positive impact on your body, and the world.
如果你碰巧喜欢它的味道——可能有点苦——恭喜你。你对你的身体和世界产生了更积极的影响。
