日本的健康零食：黃豆歡歌

　　IF YOU want to learn how to live longer, look at the people of Okinawa, a string of islands in south-western Japan. Raised on a diet of fish and soyabeans, their life expectancy is among the highest on Earth. There is a natural control group; many Okinawans fled to Brazil and Hawaii after the second world war, where they switched to a meatier diet of steaks and burgers. All have been studied regularly by Japanese researchers over the past three decades to prove that a soya-rich diet can prolong life. Now it is time for the taste test: can a healthy bag of soya nibbles sweep the fatty potato snack off the table?

　　想知道延緩衰老的秘籍，不妨學(xué)學(xué)沖繩島的原住民。沖繩島群島位于日本西南部，島上居民自古以魚和大豆為食，平均期望壽命居全球之首。二戰(zhàn)結(jié)束后，許多沖繩人逃亡至巴西和夏威夷，飲食習(xí)慣也入鄉(xiāng)隨俗，改為以牛排和漢堡為主的肉食;這些沖繩人便成了天然的對(duì)照組。日本研究學(xué)家為證明富含黃豆的飲食能延緩衰老，在過去的30年里一直對(duì)兩組人群做定期研究。如今到了測(cè)試口味的時(shí)候：健康小黃豆是否能取代高脂土豆零食，成為桌上新寵?

　　Kaoru Yamada, a young food specialist at Otsuka Pharmaecutical, a Japanese drug company, has risen to the challenge. She dislikes the taste of soya, so she invented a lightly baked soya pastry that tastes of cheese, is crispy, has soyabeans rattling inside it and can sit on a desk—or even on a bar—for months without going soggy. Called SoyCarat, her creation went on sale in Japan this month. Otsuka, which also produces a big-selling health drink called Pocari Sweat, sees it as part of a counter-offensive against Western snacks that are making Asians fatter.

　　日本大塚制藥公司的青年食物專家山田薰已著手應(yīng)戰(zhàn)。山田小姐因?yàn)椴幌矚g黃豆的味道，故特意研發(fā)出了一款奶酪味黃豆酥。這款名為SoyCarat的黃豆酥經(jīng)低溫烘焙而成，內(nèi)含嘎吱黃豆，口感松脆。在桌上或柜臺(tái)上存放數(shù)月也不會(huì)受潮變軟。山田小姐的新發(fā)明將于本月在日本上市。亞洲人在西式零食的影響下日趨肥胖，生產(chǎn)熱銷運(yùn)動(dòng)飲料寶礦力的大塚制藥則將SoyCarat視作西式零食大反攻行動(dòng)的一部分。

　　The science is compelling: research, albeit part-sponsored by Otsuka, suggests that eating soya protein quickly lowers blood pressure, reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. The company notes that the average American eats less soya in a year than the average Japanese eats in a day. Otsuka is not alone in Japan in trying to use science to sell consumer products: for instance, Uniqlo, a clothes retailer, sells hi-tech underwear that it says makes sweat dry quicker.

　　科學(xué)研究顯示，攝入大豆蛋白能迅速降低血壓、減少心血管疾病發(fā)病率。雖然大塚制藥是該研究發(fā)起人之一，但科學(xué)研究總能令人信服。公司指出，日本人日均大豆食用量高于美國人年均攝入量。在日本，利用科學(xué)研究推銷產(chǎn)品的公司大有人在，大塚制藥絕非獨(dú)家——服裝零售商優(yōu)衣庫就在推銷一款號(hào)稱能超速吸汗的高科技內(nèi)衣。

　　But the marketing may be a problem. Sophisticated diners insist that soya is scrumptious, but others vehemently disagree. Gary Larson, a cartoonist, once drew three disgusted lionesses spitting out the wobbly flesh of “a tofudebeest—one of the Serengeti’s obnoxious health antelopes”. It struck a chord.

　　然而，將新產(chǎn)品推向市場(chǎng)或?qū)⒉粫?huì)一帆風(fēng)順。精明的食客們堅(jiān)稱豆制品美味至極，但其他人卻強(qiáng)烈反對(duì)。漫畫家加里拉爾森(Gary Larson)畫過這樣一幅漫畫：三頭母獅們厭惡的相繼吐出口中搖晃著的塊塊鮮肉，因?yàn)樗鼈儾兜降氖恰叭麄惿w蒂最令人作嘔的健康羚羊——豆腐羚”。該漫畫引發(fā)了公眾的強(qiáng)烈共鳴。

　　SoyCarat’s brand name is tricky: whatever the spelling, it evokes the idea of two things children shun and adults munch only reluctantly. Perhaps it should be portrayed as something laid back and Okinawan instead, like a bar snack. After all, what could be better than a life-enhancing glass of Orion beer in one hand, and a life-extending bag of soya snacks in the other?

　　SoyCarat這個(gè)品牌名本身就很復(fù)雜——無論怎么拼寫soy和carat，聽上去總會(huì)讓人想起“黃豆(soy)”和“胡蘿卜(carrot)”這兩種小孩避而遠(yuǎn)之，大人勉強(qiáng)食之的東西�；蛟S應(yīng)該將它描述成具有沖繩風(fēng)情，在酒吧吃的那種休閑小零食。畢竟，還有什么能比一杯增加生命寬度的Orion啤酒，一袋增加生命長度的黃豆小食更愜意的呢?

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