吃奶酪會上癮?

Is Cheese Addiction A Thing?

吃奶酪會上癮？

Cheese is easily one of the most famous and recognized dairy products in the world.

全世界範圍內，奶酪是最著名的、最易識別的奶製品之一。

And... well, you'd be hard pressed to not see why. For one thing, it's incredibly tasty, scrumptious and easy to eat, as well as very accessible. It can also be enjoyed in several ways, with the number of food it's been mixed into is countless at this point. The majority of us (at least those who are not lactose intolerant) enjoy it as well, so much that some like to think they have an addiction to it. But is cheese addiction a real thing? Is there any scientific backing behind that claim?

原因顯而易見。一方面，奶酪可口美味、方便食用、易於獲得。奶酪的食用方法多種多樣，還可以與各種食物進行搭配。大多數人（至少是對乳糖不過敏的人）都喜歡吃奶酪，有些人甚至覺得自己吃奶酪上癮。但吃奶酪真的會上癮嗎？這種說法有科學依據嗎？

Cheese Overload

奶酪過量

Per studies, Americans ate around 6 pounds of cheese per person yearly during the mid-1970s. And in 2018, that number has increased to 11 pounds. And while there are many factors that are behind this growth, experts believe it's partly because of a slowly-digested protein called the casein, found in other dairy products as well.

根據研究，在20世紀70年代中期，美國人每年每人大約吃6磅奶酪。而在2018年，這一數字增加到了11磅。儘管很多因素導致了這一增長，但專家認爲，部分原因是：其它乳製品中也發現了一種叫做酪蛋白的消化緩慢的蛋白質。

As a protein, casein usually gets broken down by our bodies into smaller compounds, now called casomorphins. These would then cross our blood-brain barrier and attach to our brain's dopamine receptors, causing them to release dopamine, or the hormone that gives us pleasure and feelings of being rewarded.

酪蛋白這種蛋白質通常會被我們的身體分解成較小的化合物，也就是酪啡肽。酪啡肽能通過血腦屏障附着在大腦的多巴胺受體上，使其釋放多巴胺或使我們感到高興和被獎賞的激素。

So in short, cheese makes you feel good, which makes you crave for more of it. Additionally, its high fat content also makes it easy to crave because the release of endorphins after satisfying that craving is also pleasurable and rewarding, which repeats the cycle and makes you want to crave more.

簡而言之，奶酪會讓你感覺良好，這反過來會加深你對奶酪的渴望。此外，奶酪脂肪含量高，這也是其頗受歡迎的原因之一，因爲滿足渴望後會釋放內啡肽，這也會使人感到愉悅和滿足，從而又重複了這一循環，加深你對奶酪的渴望。

Thankfully, cheese doesn't threaten your health at all, despite its mildly addictive properties. In fact, it's also healthy. Of course, most cheese harbors lactose, and so those who are lactose intolerant should avoid it as much as possible.

幸運的是，儘管奶酪具有上癮的特性，但它並不會對健康造成負面影響。實際上，奶酪有利於人體健康。當然，大多數奶酪都含有乳糖，因此乳糖不耐症患者應儘量避免。

Bottom line is, the mildly addictive and pleasure-inducing properties of cheese are one of the biggest reasons as to why it's the most popular and well-recognized dairy product aside from milk. So, enjoy!

歸根結底，奶酪會使人上癮，但那是一種溫和的、令人愉悅的上癮，所以奶酪是除了牛奶以外最受歡迎和最易識別的乳製品。盡情享受奶酪吧！