Dear A Moment of Science,

 

　　I love to snack, but I also want to lose weight. The problem is, I really hate vegetables and fruit, at least as snack foods. I want something with a little salt, a little crunch. So are there any salty, crunchy snacks that are actually good for me?

 

　　--secrete snack

 

　　Well, if snacking on baby carrots isn’t your bag, and crisp grapes don’t deliver the sort of crunch you’re looking for, there is one snack that may do the trick: popcorn.

 

　　Wait. I’ve always thought of popcorn as, well, as straight up junk food. Isn’t popcorn full of salt and butter and all sorts of other high fat, high-calory stuff?

 

　　Sure, if you’re talking about movie theater popcorn, or caramel corn, or the bagged, cheese sprayed junk at the grocery store. But plain, simple popcorn is not only a healthful snack but also one of the most nutritious foods you can eat.

 

　　Popcorn is a whole grain that’s high in fiber and low in calories. Beyond that, food researchers have found that popcorn is teeming with antioxidant molecules that help protect against cancer, heart disease and other illnesses, and repair damaged cells. In fact, like many whole grains, popcorn has more antioxidants than most fruits and vegetables.

 

　　It’s still not clear what percentage of those antioxidants is absorbed by the body. But in any case, if you air-pop popcorn and don’t douse it in butter, salt, and other less healthful things, popcorn is really a very nutritious snack.

 

 

 

　　爆米花是健康的零食？

 

　　亲爱的科学一刻节目：

 

　　我酷爱零食，但也希望减轻体重。问题在于我非常讨厌蔬菜和水果，至少作为零食而言。我想吃略带咸味的香脆食物。有没有这样少盐香脆又对我有益的食物呢？

 

　　--匿名的零食爱好者

 

　　好吧，如果小胡萝卜不合你的胃口，脆葡萄又不能带给你想象中的嘎吱脆感。那么有一种零食能符合要求：爆米花。

 

　　等等，我向来都认为爆米花是实实在在的垃圾食品。爆米花不是富含盐分，黄油，又集高脂肪、高卡路里于一身的食物吗？

 

　　如果你说的是电影院卖的那种爆米花或是焦糖玉米，抑或是食品店里出售的那种满是奶酪的垃圾食品的话，那确实如此。但普通的制作简单的爆米花不仅是一种健康的零食同时也是对你有益的最有营养的食物之一。

 

　　爆米花是一种高纤维、低卡路里的全谷物食品。除此以外，食品研究人员发现爆米花富含抗氧化分子，这种分子能帮助机体抵御肿瘤，心脏病及其它疾病的发生，并且能够修复受损细胞。事实上，同许多全谷物食品一样，爆米花所含的抗氧化物远高于水果和蔬菜。

 

　　目前人体能够吸收的抗氧化物比例尚未明确。但无论如何，如果你只是单纯的制作爆米花，不添加黄油、盐、及其他对健康无益的辅料，那爆米花的确是当之无愧的健康零食。