囧研究：綠茶有助減肥？關鍵靠澱粉
Green tea is one of those things that’s really healthy for you, but its health benefits have been greatly exaggerated; one of the things which has been consistently reported about green tea is that it helps you lose weight, but scientists didn’t know how (or if) this happens. Now, a team from Poland believe they’ve zeroed in on this mystery: it’s all about the starch.
綠茶是一種對健康有好處的東西，但是它對健康的益處被誇大了；綠茶一直被報道的好處之一就是它有助於減肥，但科學家並不知道它如何（或是否）有助於減肥。現在，來自波蘭的一個團隊認爲他們已經解開了這個謎團：關鍵就在於澱粉。
Jaroslaw Walkowiak of Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poland, found that a single dose of green tea extract made people digest less starch and eliminate more of it. He gave people the equivalent of drinking a few cups of green tea every day after they had breakfast.
波蘭波茲南醫科大學的雅羅斯瓦夫•瓦爾科維亞克發現單劑量的綠茶提取物可以使人減少澱粉消化量，增多澱粉排出量。每天早飯後，他給人們等同於幾杯綠茶含量的提取物。
“Green tea is known worldwide for its beneficial effects on human health,” the researchers write in the journal Scientific Reports. “However, objective data evaluating this influence in humans is scarce.”
研究人員在《科技報告》上寫道：“綠茶因對健康有好處而聞名世界，然而，仍缺乏評估它對人體影響的客觀數據。”
Indeed, green tea is given credit for many health benefits – it’s supposed to help against cancer, but despite suggestive evidence, there is no conclusive evidence that green tea helps to prevent or treat cancer. It’s supposed to level glycemic control but again, evidence is inconclusive, and it’s supposed to help with losing weight. It’s safe to say that green tea is quite controversial, but hopefully, studies like this one will shed some light on what the substance actually does.
的確，綠茶被賦予很多健康功效——它應該有助於抗癌，但儘管有一些啓發性證據，仍沒有確鑿證據表明綠茶有助於預防或治療癌症；它應該能平衡血糖水平，但同樣證據不夠確鑿；它應該有助於減肥。綠茶的確頗具爭議，但希望像這樣的研究能闡明這種物質究竟有什麼功效。
“In most subjects (78.6%), the decreased starch digestion and absorption due to GTE was rapid and the aforesaid effect persisted until the last measure.”
“綠茶提取物使大多數測試者（78.6%）體內澱粉消化和吸收量迅速下降，直到最後一次測試上述作用仍在持續。”
They continue making a case for using the substance instead of other weight-loss substances.
他們繼續做了一個案例，使用這種物質代替其他減肥藥物。
“Our data suggest that the use of GTE is a viable alternative to pharmaceutical inhibitors of glucoside hydrolase enzymes. This plant extract is widely available, inexpensive, and well tolerated, so it has potential utility for weight control and the treatment of diabetes. Our study supports the concept that pure GTE inhibits starch digestion and absorption. However, the clinical significance of each green tea catechin and the exact mechanism responsible for this action in humans remain to be determined.”
“我們的數據表明綠茶提取物的使用可以替代葡萄糖水解酶的藥物抑制劑。這種植物提取物容易提取，便宜，而且耐受性好，所以在控制體重和治療糖尿病方面有潛在功效。我們的研究支持這一觀點——純綠茶提取物抑制澱粉消化吸收。然而，每種綠茶茶素的臨牀意義和人體內發生這種變化的確切原理仍有待於進一步確定。“
The debate around green tea won’t end anytime soon, but regarding weight loss, the evidence seems to be piling up: a few cups of green tea per day might actually help you lose weight.
關於綠茶的爭論不會很快就隨時停止，但至於減肥，證據似乎確鑿了：每天喝幾杯綠茶真的有助於減肥。
