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Eating tomatoes can keep you young
吃番茄能永葆青春
Tomatoes were first cultivated in 700 AD by Aztecs and Incas. Explorers returning from Mexico introduced the tomato into Europe, where it was first mentioned in 1556. The French called it “the apple of love“,the Germans "the apple of paradise,"
番茄是在公元700年由阿茲特克人和印加人首先種植的。番茄第一次被提到是在1556年，由從墨西哥歸來的探險家介紹到歐洲的。在法國，番茄被稱為“愛情果”，德國稱之為“天堂的蘋果”。
Tomatoes are rich in vitamins A and C and fiber, and are cholesterol free. An average size tomato (148 gram or 5 oz) boasts only 35 calories. Furthermore, new medical research suggests that the consumption of lycopene-the stuff that makes tomatoes red may prevent cancer. Lycopene is part of the family of pigments called carotenoids, which are natural compounds that create the colours of fruits and vegetables. For example, beta carotene is the orange pigment in carrots. As with essential amino acids, they are not produced by the human body. Lycopene is the most powerful antioxidant in the carotenoid family and, with vitamins C and E, protects us from the free radicals that degrade many parts of the body.
番茄富含維生素A、C和纖維，且無膽固醇。一個中等大小的番茄（148克或5盎司）只有35卡路里熱量。此外,新的醫學研究表明，攝入那些能使番茄呈紅色的番茄紅素可以預防癌癥。番茄紅素是類胡蘿卜素家族的一員，類胡蘿卜素是生成果蔬顏色的天然復合劑。例如P胡蘿卜素就是存在于胡蘿卜的橘色色素。如同人體不能合成必需氨基酸一樣,類胡蘿卜素也不能在人體內合成。番茄紅素是類胡蘿卜素家族中最強的抗氧化劑，它與維生素C、E可以保護 我們免受自由基對機體降解的破壞。
While it has long been credited with cutting cholesterol and preventing some cancers, the fruit now appears to have two more health giving benefits.
番茄一直以能夠降低膽固醇和預防一些癌癥而著稱,而現在它又多了兩個新的保健功效。
Protection against sunburn and helping keep the skin looking youthful are the latest pluses, a study has found.
一項最新研究發現，番茄能夠增強皮膚防曬能力，并有助于保持肌膚年輕。
Professor Mark Birch-Machin said tomatoes could provide a cheap and easy way of improving health.
馬克?伯齊麥辰教授說,番茄是一種簡單經濟的保健食品。
"I went into the study as a skeptic" he added. “But I was quite surprised with the significance of the findings.”
他說；“我是抱著懷疑的態度進行這項研究的。但研究結果讓我十分驚訝。”
Researchers at Manchester and Newcastle universities recommend two tomato-based meals a day for optimum health.
曼徹斯特和紐卡斯爾大學的研究人員們建議，每天吃兩頓番茄最有益于身體健康。
Possible menus include a glass of tomato juice with breakfast and a salad later or tomato soup for lunch and pasta with a tomato sauce for dinner.
比如，早餐可以喝杯番茄汁,之后吃份沙拉或者午餐喝點番茄湯，晚餐吃番茄醬通心粉。
To test the fruit’s ability to protect the skin, ten volunteers were asked to eat five tablespoons of tomato paste mixed with olive oil every day for three months.
為了檢驗番茄的護膚功效，研究人員讓10位志愿者連續3個月每天食用5湯匙拌有橄欖油的番茄醬。
Another ten had a daily dose of olive oil-minus the tomato paste.
另外10名志愿者只吃橄欖油，不加番茄醬。
Tests using ultra-violet lamps showed the tomato-eaters were a third better protected against sunburn at the end of the study than at the start, the British Society for Investigative Dermatology's annual conference heard.
使用紫外線燈的檢測結果顯示,吃番茄醬的那組研究對象的皮膚防曬能力在研究結束時比開始時增強了1/3。該研究結果在英國皮膚病學研究學會的年度研討會上公布了。
Other tests suggested the tomato-based diet had boosted production of collagen，the protein that keeps skin supple.
其他一些測試表明,含有番茄的飲食能夠促進人體內膠原質的產生，膠原質是一種能夠保持皮膚柔滑細膩的蛋白質。
If that were not enough, the fruit also protects our mitochondria—the elements of cells which turn the food we eat into energy.
如果這些功效還不足以說明問題，番茄還可以保護我們體內的線粒體。線粒體是一種能夠把我們攝人的食物轉化為能量的細胞因子。
Professor Birch-Machin, of Newcastle University, said: “Being kind to our mitochondria is likely to contribute to improved skin health, which in turn may have an anti-aging effect.’，
紐卡斯爾大學的伯齊麥辰教授說:“保護線粒體有助于促進皮膚健康,從而達到抗衰老的效果。”
The researchers stressed, however, that their findings were not an excuse to throw away the sun cream. Professor Lesley Rhodes, a Manchester University dermatologist，said: “People should not think tomatoes in any way can replace sun creams but they may be a good additive.'’
然而,研究人員強調，這一研究結果并不是說你可以不用防曬霜了。曼徹斯特大學皮膚病學家萊斯利羅德教授說認為番茄可以取代防曬霜的想法是錯誤的,不過番茄可以起到很好的補充作用。”
The fruit’s benefits are credited to lycopene, the pigment behind its distinctive red skin.
番茄的這些功效都要歸功于番茄紅素,也就是那些藏在番茄鮮亮的紅色表皮下的色素。
Lycopene, a powerful antioxidant capable of mopping up free radicals—the harmful molecules linked to cancer is made easier for the body to absorb when tomatoes are cooked or processed.
番茄紅素是一種能夠清除自由基這種有害的致癌分子的強抗氧化劑，它在番茄被烹制或加工后更容易被人體吸收。
