彭蒙惠英语：Ice Cream Slims Down

Ice Cream Slims Down

 

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The sweet substitute

The key ingredient in most of the better-foryou ice creams is “Splenda”, the sugar-based sweetener made from sucralose. It passes through the body without being broken down for energy, so it adds zero calories (vs. 15 for a teaspoon² of sugar), and the body does not recognize it as a carbohydrate³. Splenda was approved for use in ice cream in 1998 by the Food and Drug Administration. Since then, it’s become a staple⁴ of almost every no-sugar or low-sugar brand.

 

But some nutritionists are slow to jump on the ice cream industry’s better-for-you bandwagon.

 

The ice cream giants don’t suddenly care about nutrition, says Marion Nestle, New York University’s nutrition department chair. “They’re just trying to sell more ice cream.” Many consumers who purchase the betterfor- you ice creams will mistakenly think they can eat more of it. “Nothing would delight the companies more,” Nestle says.

 

31 flavors, no low-carb

One of the most familiar names in ice cream, Baskin-Robbins, hasn’t joined the fray⁵—yet. It’s trying to create a low-carb product, but none has passed the taste test, says Ken¹ Kimmel, concept officer at Baskin-Robbins. “If we get it right, we’ll start selling it,” he says. Until then, don’t look to save on carbs at Baskin-Robbins. The irony⁶ is that the company isn’t feeling pressured: “We’re having one of our best years in a long time,” says Kimmel.

 

Perhaps that’s no irony at all. Nestle, the nutritionist from NYU, says she always prefers real ice cream—in moderation. But, she warns, any ice cream, no matter how few carbs it contains, is, in the end, a dessert.

 

“Ice cream,” she sighs, “will never be a health food.”

 

Vocabulary Focus

jump on the bandwagon (idiom) to join an activity or change an opinion to a very popular one in order to share in its success

fray (n) [frei] an energetic and often not well organized effort, activity, fight or disagreement

irony (n) [5aiErEni] a situation that is strange because it is the opposite of what one expects

 

“减肥”冰淇淋

 

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甜味的替代品

大多数“优适你”冰淇淋的关键成分是 “Splenda”，一种由蔗糖素提炼的甜味剂。它虽经过人体，却不会被分解成为能量，所以不会增加卡路里（相对地，一茶匙的糖则会产生15卡的热量），而且人体不会把它视为碳水化合物。Splenda 在1998年被美国食品及药物管理局许可使用于冰淇淋中。从此，它就成为几乎所有无糖或低糖品牌的主要成分。

不过有些营养学家却不这么快迎合冰淇淋业者这股“优适你”的风潮。

纽约大学营养系主任玛莉安·耐索说，那些冰淇淋大厂可不是忽然注重起营养来了。“他们只是想多卖些冰淇淋。”许多购买“优适你”冰淇淋的消费者会误认为他们能因此多吃些。“没有比这更能令冰淇淋公司高兴的了，”耐索说。

 

31种口味，没有低碳水化合物的

最有名的冰淇淋品牌之一，Baskin-Robbins，并未加入这场战局——迄今还没有。该公司负责企划的肯恩·金莫说，他们正尝试开发一种低碳水化合物产品，但都还没有通过品尝试验。“如果口味搞定了，我们就会开始销售，”他说。在那之前，别指望从 Baskin-Robbins 的产品里少吃一些碳水化合物。出人意料的是，该公司并未因此感到压力，“我们正处于长久以来最好的一段销售时期，”金莫说。

或许一点也不反常。纽约大学的营养学家耐索说，她向来喜欢真正的冰淇淋——适度地喜欢。但她警告说，任何冰淇淋，不管它含碳水化合物多么少，终究还是甜食。

“冰淇淋，”她叹了口气：“永远不会是一种健康食品。”

 

 

1 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

2 teaspoon   

n.茶匙

参考例句：

• Add one teaspoon of sugar.加一小茶匙糖。
• I need a teaspoon to stir my tea.我需要一把茶匙搅一搅茶。

3 carbohydrate   

n.碳水化合物；糖类；(plural)淀粉质或糖类

参考例句：

• You should not have too much carbohydrate in your diet.你日常饮食中不该有过多碳水化合物。
• Cashew nuts are rich in carbohydrate.腰果含丰富碳水化合物。

4 staple   

n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类

参考例句：

• Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
• Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。

5 fray   

v.争吵；打斗；磨损，磨破；n.吵架；打斗

参考例句：

• Why should you get involved in their fray?你为什么要介入他们的争吵呢？
• Tempers began to fray in the hot weather.大热天脾气烦燥。

6 irony   

n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄

参考例句：

• She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。
• In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。