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Pink Biscuits and Char Siu Pork 养生吹起红麴风

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Unless you’ve just arrived in Taiwan, you can’t have helped but notice those pink Anka biscuits on the shelves of convenience stores and supermarkets everywhere. Among their ingredients is something called red yeast rice, which is added to everything from wine to sausages. It’s getting so popular that now it’s even being used to enrich cosmetic facial masks.

除非你才刚到台湾，否则无法不注意到在各地便利商店和超市架上那些粉红色的红麴饼干。饼干里头有某种称为红麴的原料，它可以加进从酒到香肠等各种产品里。现在红麴大为风行，所以甚至被用于美容面膜中，使其更具滋养功效。

Despite the sudden popularity, red yeast rice, made by growing a type of yeast on rice kernels, is not a new invention. In fact, it’s been around for a long time, and it’s actually the ingredient traditionally used to give Char Siu Pork its characteristic red coloring.

红麴米是以在米粒上培养红麴菌所制成，虽然突然爆红，但却不算是什么新发明。其实，红麴的存在由来已久，而且实际上，它就是传统上用来替叉烧肉增添特有艳红色泽的原料。

Historically, red yeast rice was known for its medicinal properties, and it was taken to improve circulation and combat indigestion. It is listed in the famous 16th-century guide to Chinese medicine, the Bencao Gangmu, and its use has been documented even far back as A.D. 800 during China’s Tang Dynasty. Today, the medicinal properties of red yeast rice have been gaining more attention, with a number of scientific studies suggesting that taking it as an extract can significantly lower cholesterol levels. In health food stores and pharmacies around the world, the extract is sold as a dietary supplement in capsule form.

在历史上，红麴米以其药用价值着称，用来改善气血循环，还能健胃整肠助消化（消食活血，健脾燥胃）。它被列入16世纪著名的中医药典《本草纲目》中，且其功用早在公元800年时的唐代就有记载。如今，红麴米的药效更受瞩目，许多科学研究指出，服用红麴萃取物能使胆固醇明显降低。在世界各地的健康食品店及药房中，胶囊状的红麴萃取物被当作保健食品（或称「膳食补充剂」）贩卖。

Whatever benefits red yeast rice might have, if you’re hoping that pink Anka biscuits are the crispy key to a healthier lifestyle, think again. Crucially, cholesterol-lowering health benefits are dependent on the amount of the rice present in the product. In the case of the Anka biscuits, if the amount isn’t high enough, the rice acts as little more than food coloring. So, eating boxes of red yeast rice biscuits is more likely to expand your waistline than lower your cholesterol.

无论红麴米有何功效，如果你指望这些粉红色红麴饼干能为你带来更健康的生活形式，那你可得再想一想。是否能达到降低胆固醇的保健功效，关键在于产品中的红麴含量。就红麴饼干而言，如果红麴含量不够高，那它充其量不过是食用色素罢了。因此，狂吃几大盒的红麴饼干比较可能让你的腰围增加，而不是让你的胆固醇下降。

−by Andrew Crosthwaite

Vocabulary

单词发音

unless [ʌnˋlɛs] conj. 除非

cannot help but 不得不 to be unable to do anything else except

enrich [ɪnˋrɪtʃ] v. 使丰富﹐充实; 富集﹐强化

cosmetic [kɑzˋmɛtɪk] adj. 化妆用的; 美容的

invention [ɪnˋvɛnʃən] n. 发明

characteristic [͵kærəktəˋrɪstɪk] adj. 特有的，独特的

circulation [͵sɝkjəˋleʃən] n. 循环

combat [kəmˋbæt] v. 防止；减轻

document [ˋdɑkjəmənt] v.〔通过记述﹑拍电影或拍照片的方式来〕记载

a number of 若干, 一些

suggest [səˋdʒɛst] v. 建议；暗示

extract [ˋɛkstrækt] n. 提取物；精

significantly [sɪgˋnɪfəkəntlɪ] adv. 重大地﹐可观地

pharmacy [ˋfɑrməsɪ] n. 药房

benefit [ˋbɛnəfɪt] n. 利益，好处

More Information

单词发音

yeast [jist] n. 酵母

sausage [ˋsɔsɪdʒ] n. 香肠，腊肠

kernel [ˋkɝn!] n.（麦、玉米等的）粒，子

medicinal [məˋdɪsn!] adj. 药的；药用的

indigestion [͵ɪndəˋdʒɛstʃən] n. 消化不良

cholesterol [kəˋlɛstə͵rol] n.【生化】胆固醇

dietary [ˋdaɪə͵tɛrɪ] adj. 饮食的

supplement [ˋsʌpləmənt] n. 补给品

capsule [ˋkæps!] n.【药】胶囊

crispy [ˋkrɪspɪ] adj. 〔尤指食物〕松脆的; 干净利落的，爽快的

crucially [ˋkruʃəlɪ] adv. 至关重要地；关键地

little more than 和…无差别[一样] same as

waistline [ˋwest͵laɪn] n. 腰围

Reading Questions

1.  Which of the following is NOT true about red yeast rice?

A.  It is added as a coloring to foods such as biscuits.

B.  It is used in cosmetic products.

C.  It is sold in pharmacies as a cholesterol-lowering drug.

D.  It is marketed as a dietary supplement.

2.  What does the passage say about red yeast rice biscuits?

A.  They will definitely expand your waistline.

B.  They have been proven to lower your cholesterol.

C.  They have become very popular recently.

D.  They are used in cosmetic facial masks.

3.  According to the passage, when was red yeast rice invented?

A.  A few years ago.

B.  In A.D. 800.

C.  In the 16th century.

D.  We don’t know.

Answer