吃蘋果皮可強健肌肉 竟有減肥功效
有這樣一句諺語：一日一蘋果，醫生遠離我，常吃蘋果的確有益健康，不過前提是得連皮一塊兒吃掉。
The chemical behind the apple skin’s waxy shine is being credited with a host of health benefits from building muscle to keeping the lid on weight.
蘋果表皮之所以具有蠟質的光澤全因其含有的某種元素，該成分有益於強健人體肌肉，並且維持健康體重。
Ursolic acid also keeps cholesterol and blood sugar under control, meaning an apple a day could do wonders for all-round health.
這種名爲熊果酸的物質同時還可以控制膽固醇和血糖水平，這便可以解釋“一日一蘋果”所造就的“健康奇蹟”。
Researcher Christopher Adams said: ‘Ursolic acid is an interesting natural compound. It’s part of a normal diet as a component of apple peels.
研究者克里斯托弗·亞當斯說：“熊果酸是一種非常有趣的天然化合物，它不僅是蘋果皮中所含有的物質，同時也是人們每日健康飲食的一部分。”
The importance of apple peel was discovered after Dr Adams, a U.S. expert in how hormones affect the body, set out to find a drug that stops muscles from wasting, keeping pensioners strong as they age and cutting their risk of hard-to-heal fractures.
亞當斯博士在一項研究減緩肌肉萎縮並保持其強健性，同時避免骨折後癒合困難的試驗中意外發現了蘋果皮的重要性。
He said: ‘Muscle wasting is a frequent companion of illness and ageing.
他說：“疾病和衰老常常伴隨着肌肉萎縮的發生。”
‘It prolongs hospitalisation, delays recoveries and in some cases prevents people from going back home. It isn’t well understood and there’s no medicine for it.’
“這回延長病人的住院時間，減慢身體恢復健康的速度，使得病人們很難回到正常的生活中。這並不太好理解，同時也沒有藥可以醫治。”
In order to remedy the situation, Dr Adams, of the University of Iowa, studied the genetic changes that occur when muscles waste or atrophy.
爲了扭轉這樣的情況，來自愛荷華州大學的亞當斯教授開始研究了肌肉萎縮的遺傳變異。
He checked a pool of 1,300 chemicals for one that would counter the changes – and hit on ursolic acid.
他在先後研究1300種化學元素之後，他發現了熊果酸。
The researcher then supplemented a normal diet in mice with small amounts of the compound and subjected them to a battery of health tests. The creatures’ muscles got bigger and their grip became stronger.
之後研究者又將熊果酸化合物添加到了小白鼠的飼料之中，以觀察白鼠的健康變化。科學家發現白鼠的肌肉更爲強壯，控制力也更強了。
The benefits didn’t end there. The mice fed the apple peel chemical had lower levels of cholesterol and other blood fats blamed for clogging up the arteries and damaging the heart, and had around a third less body fat.
不過由此帶來的益處並非這有這些，蘋果皮使得白鼠的膽固醇和引起血管阻塞和心臟損傷的血液脂肪含量降低，並且減少了白鼠近三分之一的體脂肪。
It is thought that ursolic acid enhances the effects of insulin and insulin-like growth factor 1, two hormones key to muscle growth.
熊果素被認爲可以刺激胰島素和類似於胰島素的生長激素的分泌，這兩種激素都是影響肌肉生長的關鍵所在。
It is particularly concentrated in apple peel but is also found in cranberries and prunes and in basil, oregano and Adams said: ‘We know that if you eat a balanced diet like mom told us to eat you get this material. People who eat junk food don’t get this.’
熊果素主要存在於蘋果皮之中，同時也可以在小紅莓、梅子、花椒葉和麝香草中找到。亞當斯博士說：“人們知道要有健康均衡的飲食習慣一邊攝入這種元素，而這時垃圾食品所做不到的。”
He added that the goal is to establish whether apple peel is as good for humans as it is for mice – and work out how many apples we might need to help make muscles bulge and waistlines shrink.
他還表示，接下來還需要研究蘋果皮對於人體的健康效果是否如同對於白鼠那樣，並且每天需要吃多少個蘋果才能幫助我們強健肌肉和減小腰圍。
If large amounts of ursolic acid are required, it is likely that people will have to take it in concentrated form, either as a supplement or a drug.
如果需要攝入大劑量的熊果素，那麼很可能的是，人們會以補充品或藥的形式來集中攝取。
