Is there such a thing as a“sugar high”?

许多父母把孩子的过度活跃行为归咎于糖分的过多摄入，不过这个观点已经被证实是无根据的了。

难词探意

1.hyperactive/ˌhaɪpər΄æktɪv/adj.（尤指儿童及其行为）极度活跃的

2.putative/΄pjuːtətɪv/adj.推定的；认定的

3.fair-haired/feə(r)heəd/adj.金发的

4.wiry/΄waɪrəri/adj.金属线制的；坚硬的；瘦长结实的

5.stimulant/΄stɪmjələnt/n.兴奋剂

6.insulin/΄ɪnsjəlɪn/n.胰岛素

7.secretion/sɪ΄kriːʃn/n.分泌；分泌物

8.urine/΄jʊərɪn/n.尿液

9.cognitive/΄kɒgnətɪv/adj.认知的；认识的

10.refute/rɪ΄fjuːt/v.反驳

11.diabetes/ˌdaɪə΄biːtiːz/n.糖尿病

原文复现

The notion that sugar might make children behave badly first appeared in the medical literature in 1922.But the idea did not capture the public's imagination until Dr.Ben Feingold's best-selling book,Why Your Child IsHyperactive,was published in 1975.

In his book,Dr.Feingold describes the case of a boy who might well be “patient zero”for theputativeconnection between sugar and hyperactivity.

Thefair-haired,wiryson loved soft drinks,candy,and cake—not exactly abnormal for any healthy child.He also seemed to go completely wild after birthday parties and during family gatherings around holidays.

In the mid-70s,stimulantdrugs such as Ritalin and amphetamine were becoming popular for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.For parents who were concerned about drug side effects,the possibility of controlling hyperactivity by eliminating sugar proved to be an irresistible prospect.

①Some studies supported the theory.②They suggested that high sugar diets caused spikes ininsulin secretion,which caused adrenaline production and hyperactivity.③But the data were weakand were soon questioned by other scientists.

An extraordinary study settled the question in 1994.Writing in the New England Journal of Medicine,a group of scientists tested normal preschoolers and children whose parents described them as being sensitive to sugar.Neither the parents,the children nor the research staff knew which of the children were getting sugary foods and which were getting a diet sweetened with aspartame and other artificial sweeteners.Urinewas tested to prove compliance with the diets.Nine different measures ofcognitiveand behavioral performance were assessed,with measurements taken at fivesecond intervals.

The study concluded that sugar does not affect children's behavior or cognitive function.An editorial that accompanied the study put a fine point on that conclusion,stating “There is no evidence that sugar alone can turn a child with normal attention into a hyperactive child.”One year later,an analysis that gathered data from all published studies on the subject reached the same conclusion.

While thoroughlyrefuted,the theory of the sugar high endures as a topic of ongoing investigation.But the results of these investigations continue to show that sugar does not affect children's behavior.

Still,limiting your child's sugar consumption is a good idea.Though cutting down on sugar will not affect children's behavior,it may help to protect them against obesity,type 2diabetes,and heart disease.

文本探究

Part 1 整体感知

本文是一篇简洁明了的介绍性说明文。文章从大家比较熟知的“高糖效应”开始，通过讲述其来源、“零号病人”以及父母对此的反应，让读者对“高糖效应”有了一个全面的了解；接着着重描述了这个效应的局限，通过列举多项研究，证明“仅靠糖分就能使注意力正常的儿童变成多动症儿童”是没有科学依据的。

Paragraph（s） Main idea(s)Para.1～3 When and who introduced the notion of“sugar high”.Para.4 How and why the parents reacted to the“sugar high”effect.Para.5 Some studies might support the “sugar high”effect but somehow lack of solid scientific proof.Para.6～7 A study concluded that sugar does not affect children's behavior or cognitive function.Para.8～9 Reflections and suggestions.

典型段落段内结构分析：

Para.5

句子序号 句义概括 句间关系① Some studies supported the theory. 提出主要观点，引出下文② Opinions of the studies. 总结研究得出的观点③ The data were weak and lacked evidence. 进行反驳，并引出下文段意概括：虽然有研究说明糖分对兴奋行为有刺激作用，但是却缺乏充足的证据

Part 2 语言学习

难句分析

1.But the data were weak and were soon questioned by other scientists.

这里的data在科技英语中用作复数名词，其单数形式是datum，所以后面接的是were；其次这里的and引导并列句，所以后面省略了同一个主语“data”。

2.Neither the parents,the children nor the research staff knew which of the children were getting sugary foods and which were getting a diet sweetened with aspartame and other artificial sweeteners.

在这个句子中，主语是parents,children 和research staff，（只是用了否定的形式）；谓语就是knew；宾语是两个并列的从句，即那些吃糖的儿童和吃人工增甜剂的儿童。

Part 3 视角拓展

“高糖效应”的思考

很多人可能都听过 “高糖效应”（sugar high），意思是说吃甜食后的孩子，因为血糖飙升，会开始大声叫嚷、动手动脚以及变得异常兴奋。因为口耳相传，让很多家长认为，只要是甜的东西都是不好的，包括饼干、糖醋料理、甚至是超甜的水果等。其实，大家可能都搞错对象了，让孩子异常兴奋的元凶可能不是糖分，而是那些食品添加剂。

1973年美国儿科医生Benjamin Feingold的研究发现，吃含有水杨酸、人工色素与人工香精的食物，会让儿童产生多动的症状。但因为当时Benjamin Feingold把糖也归为了人工添加物，所以经过媒体的宣传，大家就开始认为，孩子们的多动症是糖分惹的祸。

而在1994 年， 美国范德堡大学的Mark Wolraich做了一项很有意思的研究：他找了一群声称“吃糖就会抓狂”的儿童，把他们分成3组，一组吃纯糖，另外两组吃阿斯巴甜等“假糖”，然后去观察他们的多动症情况。实验的结果显示， 吃真糖与吃假糖的儿童行为没有差别，也就是说，孩子们吃甜食并不是造成他们多动的原因。

而根据最新的研究，一篇发表在著名医学杂志《柳叶刀》的文章显示，针对平常没有多动症的3～9岁儿童，实验证实了含有食用色素或苯甲酸钠防腐剂的食品和饮料，都会加大孩子患多动症的概率。因此，食品添加剂，包括食用色素和防腐剂，才是诱发多动症的原因。

贴心建议：对小孩子来说，尽量让他们少吃零食和饮料。虽然多动症的发生不是单一因素造成的，背后也有很多其他因素，包括遗传、环境、心理发展等，但这至少是一个明确可控的因素。