VOA健康报道2024--Electric Spoons, Chopsticks May Help Cut Salt

Electric Spoons, Chopsticks May Help Cut Salt

Researchers in Japan say they will begin selling new devices that will help people reduce how much sodium¹, or salt, they use to improve the taste of their food.

The developers are from Japan’s Meiji University and drink company Kirin based in Tokyo.

One new device is an electric spoon. It uses a small computer worn on a person’s arm to send electrical signals to activate² sodium atoms. The developers say the signals increase the food’s salty taste.

The Electric Salt Spoon will sell in Japan for around $120 beginning in June. Meiji University professor Homei Miyashita developed the spoon and a similar device, electric chopsticks. The chopsticks will likely go on sale next year.

The recent announcement marks the first time the technology has been used in a product for sale to the public. Last year, the effort gained a different sort of attention. It won the 2023 Ig Nobel Prize in nutrition. Organizers describe the prize as recognizing research that makes "people LAUGH, then THINK.”

How the devices work

The devices both use a weak electrical current to send the sodium ions from food, through the chopsticks or spoon, to the mouth where they create a sense of saltiness, said Miyashita.

"As a result, the salty taste enhances one and a half times," he said.

Miyashita and his laboratory have explored ways that technology can interact with and create human sensory³ experiences. He has also developed a lickable TV screen that can recreate the taste of food.

The beer producer Kirin is turning to healthcare products to expand its traditional business. A company spokesperson said the technology might be especially useful for Japanese people, whose traditional diet favors salty foods. The average adult in Japan consumes about 10 grams of salt per day. The World Health Organization recommends half that amount.

Target and current levels of salt intake⁴ (g/day)

Target and current levels of salt intake (g/day)

Eating foods with too much sodium can increase the chances of having high blood pressure, strokes and other health problems.

"To prevent these diseases, we need to reduce the amount of salt we take," said Kirin researcher Ai Sato.

Sato said it is hard to cut salt in the usual way because it would mean “eating bland⁵ food."

Words in This Story

spoon – n. an eating or cooking tool that has a small shallow bowl attached to a handle

chopsticks – n. either one of a pair of thin sticks that are used especially by people in Asia to pick up and eat food

ion - n. an atom or group of atoms that has a positive or negative electric charge from losing or gaining one or more electrons

enhance - v. to increase or improve something

lickable – adj. able to be touched with the tongue

stroke – n. (medical) a serious illness caused when a blood vessel⁶ in your brain suddenly breaks or is blocked

bland – adj. lacking strong flavor

1 sodium   

n.（化）钠

参考例句：

• Out over the town the sodium lights were lit.在外面，全城的钠光灯都亮了。
• Common salt is a compound of sodium and chlorine.食盐是钠和氯的复合物。

2 activate   

vt.使活动起来，使开始起作用

参考例句：

• We must activate the youth to study.我们要激励青年去学习。
• These push buttons can activate the elevator.这些按钮能启动电梯。

3 sensory   

adj.知觉的，感觉的，知觉器官的

参考例句：

• Human powers of sensory discrimination are limited.人类感官分辨能力有限。
• The sensory system may undergo long-term adaptation in alien environments.感觉系统对陌生的环境可能经过长时期才能适应。

4 intake   

n.吸入，纳入；进气口，入口

参考例句：

• Reduce your salt intake.减少盐的摄入量。
• There was a horrified intake of breath from every child.所有的孩子都害怕地倒抽了一口凉气。

5 bland   

adj.淡而无味的，温和的，无刺激性的

参考例句：

• He eats bland food because of his stomach trouble.他因胃病而吃清淡的食物。
• This soup is too bland for me.这汤我喝起来偏淡。

6 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。