如果你想要番茄的健康益处，那就把你的肉丸子和意大利面分开

如果你想要番茄的健康益处，那就把你的肉丸子和意大利面分开

So, what's the forecast for dinner? Spaghetti with a chance of meatballs?

那么，晚餐的计划是什么?意大利面加肉丸子?

Iron-rich foods take a bite out of lycopene levels in tomato sauce. (Photo: Olga Nayashkova/Shutterstock)

Here's the thing:

事情是这样的:

As yummy as those meatballs — or lentil or what-have-you balls — are, they may actually steal the nutritional thunder of tomatoes.

就像那些肉丸子——或者小扁豆，或者其他什么东西——一样美味，它们可能会抢去番茄的营养。

According to a recently published study from Ohio State University, that's a particular problem when it comes to a tomato's famed cancer-fighting properties.

俄亥俄州立大学(Ohio State University)最近发表的一项研究表明，在番茄著名的抗癌特性方面，这是一个特别的问题。

It all comes down to a compound found naturally in tomatoes called lycopene — the pigment that lends a tomato its scarlet flair. Red cabbage and the flesh of a watermelon are also chock-full of lycopene. Some foods, like asparagus, even get away with not being red and still contain it.

这一切都归结于番茄中天然存在的一种叫做番茄红素的化合物——这种色素赋予了番茄鲜红的颜色。红甘蓝和西瓜的果肉也富含番茄红素。有些食物，比如芦笋，即使没有变红，仍然含有芦笋。

But let's face it, asparagus needs every advantage it can get to persuade us to eat it.

但让我们面对现实吧，芦笋需要它所拥有的一切优势来说服我们吃它。

Tomatoes, not so much. We find every excuse to gorge on them — including mushing them into a savory marinara and plunking a few meatba-- err, not so fast.

番茄就不那么多了。我们找各种借口大吃特吃——包括把它们塞进美味的咸菜酱里，再扔几块肉巴——呃，别吃得太快。

Scientists, in their ongoing efforts to ruin dinner, say those meatballs are high in iron — and iron neutralizes the benefits of lycopene.

科学家们正在努力破坏晚餐，他们说这些肉丸子富含铁，而铁会抵消番茄红素的好处。

For their experiment, the Ohio State team gave a small group of medical students a tomato-based shake. Some of those shakes contained iron, while others did not.

在他们的实验中，俄亥俄州立大学的研究小组给一小群医科学生喝了一种番茄奶昔。其中一些奶昔含有铁，而另一些则不含。

The researchers then noted that students who combined the iron with the tomato drink had significantly less lycopene in their blood and digestive fluids.

研究人员随后注意到，将铁和番茄饮料混合饮用的学生血液和消化液中的番茄红素显著减少。

"When people had iron with their meal, we saw almost a twofold drop in lycopene uptake over time," Rachel Kopec, the study's lead author and a professor at Ohio State, notes in a press release.

该研究的主要作者、俄亥俄州立大学教授雷切尔科佩克(Rachel Kopec)在一份新闻稿中指出:“随着时间的推移，当人们在吃饭时摄入铁元素时，我们发现番茄红素的摄入量几乎下降了两倍。”

That's a lot less lycopene swirling around the body, protecting the heart and putting out fires on a cellular level. Of course, we need our iron. A body relies on it for everything from its energy stores to waste management. But it also has an unfortunate habit of stealing the spotlight and pushing other helpful compounds off the stage completely.

这大大减少了番茄红素在身体周围的循环，保护心脏，在细胞水平上扑灭大火。当然，我们需要铁。从能量储存到废物管理，人体的一切活动都离不开它。但它也有一个不幸的习惯，那就是抢尽风头，把其他有益的化合物完全推下舞台。

"We know that if you mix iron with certain compounds it will destroy them, but we didn't know if it would impair potentially beneficial carotenoids, like lycopene, found in fruits and vegetables," Kopec adds.

科佩克补充说:“我们知道，如果你把铁和某些化合物混合在一起，它们会被破坏，但我们不知道它是否会损害水果和蔬菜中发现的潜在有益的类胡萝卜素，比如番茄红素。”

Cooking tomatoes boosts the amount of the antioxidant lycopene. (Photo: Kiian Oksana/Shutterstock)

So how does that affect dinner?

那么这对晚餐有什么影响呢?

"This could have potential implications every time a person is consuming something rich in lycopene and iron — say a Bolognese sauce, or an iron-fortified cereal with a side of tomato juice. You're probably only getting half as much lycopene from this as you would without the iron."

“每当一个人摄入富含番茄红素和铁的食物时，比如一份博洛尼亚肉酱，或者一份加了番茄汁的铁强化麦片，都会产生潜在的影响。”你从中得到的番茄红素可能只有不含铁的一半。”

Let's be real. No one is going to miss that glass of tomato juice to go along with their "iron-rich cereal."

让我们成为真实的。没有人会错过一杯番茄汁和他们的“富含铁的谷物”。

But spaghetti and meatballs? They're the cookies to a sauce's cream. The chill to its Netflix. The Cheech to its Chong. (You get the idea.)

但是意大利面和肉丸子呢?它们是酱汁奶油的小甜饼。Netflix的寒意。切赫对它的冲。(你懂的。)

Fortunately, there are other ways to get your cancer-fighting food fix.

幸运的是，还有其他方法可以解决你的抗癌食物。

Broccoli, for example, is a genius when it comes to stamping out free radicals — those dangerous atoms that undermine healthy cells and open the door for all sorts of disease.

例如，西兰花在清除自由基方面就是个天才。自由基是一种危险的原子，会破坏健康细胞，为各种疾病打开大门。

And don't even get us started on the benefits of blueberries, including their knack for taming tumors.

不要让我们开始了解蓝莓的好处，包括它们驯服肿瘤的能力。

So dinner isn't ruined. Enjoy your spaghetti and meatballs. But, like a carbon offset for frequent fliers, just make sure you leave room for dessert. And make that dessert blueberries.

所以晚餐没有被毁。享受你的意大利面和肉丸子。但是，就像对经常乘坐飞机的人进行碳补偿一样，只要确保你留下吃甜点的空间就可以了。做甜点蓝莓。