每天要面对来自生活、工作的压力对于很多现代人来说已是家常便饭，但随之而来的是由压力引起的健康隐患，包括睡眠不足和心脏疾病等。你知道吗，除此之外，压力还可以使人的体重增加，甚至导致肥胖？本集《随身英语》讨论压力可能让人变胖的原因。

课文内容

Vocabulary: nutrition and health 词汇：营养和健康

Have you ever had a stressful day? Many people do in the course of their daily lives. And on these high-pressure days, they might find themselves reaching for a sugary snack. Perhaps this is part of their daily routine. Or perhaps on this particular day, their self-control is a bit low and they feel compelled to take a sugar hit.

Stress is natural. That feeling of strain or pressure is a biological response, and under the right circumstances can be a great source of motivation. However, too much stress, especially chronic stress, has been linked to sleep disruption, a higher likelihood of a stroke, heart-attack, ulcer or depression, among other things. But why should stress make a person comfort eat?

Dr Giles Yeo, a member of the BBC’s Trust Me, I’m a Doctor team, got together with scientists from Leeds University to conduct an experiment into the effect of stress on blood sugar. Dr Yeo was subjected to a stress test. In the first stage, he was forced to answer mathematical questions rapidly. In the second, he had to immerse his hand in a bath of ice-cold water for a period of time.

Before and after these tests, the Leeds scientists would measure Dr Yeo’s blood sugar levels. These are the levels which rise when we eat as our body takes in the energy of the food. In a healthy person, these levels quickly return to normal. However, when Dr Yeo was being deliberately subjected to stress, his blood sugar took six times longer to drop than on a stress-free day.

When we become stressed, our bodies enter ‘fight or flight’ mode. Because our body believes it’s under attack, it releases glucose into the blood to provide energy for muscles. However, if we don’t use that energy, our body then releases insulin to make the blood sugar levels drop. This drop causes a hunger response: you want to eat. And what you particularly crave is sugary food, which rapidly replenishes the energy you have lost. If this happens repeatedly, over a long enough period, these high-calorie foods can lead to obesity.

So what can we do to combat the stress? In an article for the BBC, Dr Michael Mosley recommends ‘stress-busting’ techniques, like exercise, gardening, mindfulness or another activities that you enjoy. But his strongest recommendation is trying to get a good night’s sleep. A recent study carried out by researchers at King's College, London found that if you deprived people of sleep, they would consume, on average, an extra 385kcal per day, which is equivalent to the calories in a large muffin. So, try sleeping to decrease stress, and as a result make it easier to keep yourself a little trimmer.

词汇表

sugary snack 含糖的零食
self-control 自控力
compelled 不得不地
a sugar hit 由糖带来的一时的刺激
chronic stress 慢性压力，长期不断的压力
sleep disruption 睡眠中断
stroke 中风
heart-attack 心脏病发作
ulcer 溃疡
depression 抑郁，忧郁
comfort eat 安慰性饮食
blood sugar 血糖
stress-free 无压力的
glucose 葡萄糖
insulin 胰岛素
high-calorie 高热量的
obesity 肥胖
combat stress 克服、对抗压力
stress-busting 减压的
keep yourself trimmer 使你保持苗条身材

测验与练习

1. 阅读课文并回答问题。

1. True or false: Stress is always negative.

2. What has chronic stress been linked to?

3. How much longer did it take Dr Yeo’s blood sugar to drop after the stress test than on a stress-free day?

4. Why do we crave sugary food in particular when our blood sugar is low?

5. How can we best combat stress?

2. 请在不参考课文的情况下完成下列练习。选择一个意思合适的单词填入句子的空格处。

1. John! That’s more than enough chocolate now. You’ll be ill. Have some ______.

sugary snack self-control blood sugar high-calorie

2. He’s a kleptomaniac. It means he’s ______ to steal. He can’t help it. It’s biological.

compelled chronic disruption stress-free

3. When my mother was pregnant, she really ______ figs.

stroke depression craved combatted

4. With the availability of cheap high-calorie foods, the UK now has a problem with ______.

chronic stress sleep disruption depression obesity

5. Since he broke up with her, Jane hasn’t stopped ______. She’s getting really big.

sugar hitting heart-attacking comfort eating combatting stress

答案

1. 阅读课文并回答问题。

1. True or false: Stress is always negative.
False. That feeling of strain or pressure is a biological response, and under the right circumstances can be a great source of motivation.

2. What has chronic stress been linked to?
It has been linked to sleep disruption, a higher likelihood of a stroke, heart-attack, ulcer or depression, among other things.

3. How much longer did it take Dr Yeo’s blood sugar to drop after the stress test than on a stress-free day?
When Dr Yeo was being deliberately subjected to stress, his blood sugar took six times longer to drop than on a stress-free day.

4. Why do we crave sugary food in particular when our blood sugar is low?
Sugary food rapidly replenishes the energy you have lost.

5. How can we best combat stress?
We can best combat stress by trying to get a good night’s sleep.