中高级口译：安神饮料能够让你放松

2010-07-21 00:00:00来源：福州新东方学校

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　　中高级口译：安神饮料能够让你放松

　　Think of them as the opposite of energy drinks. A new wave of relaxation beverages can take the edge off stress and anxiety, and even help you sleep, according to the companies that sell them. The drinks have not been tested in rigorous clinical trials, but at least some of their ingredients have been shown in studies to aid sleep or reduce anxiety.

　　--- By relaxation, we don't mean a gin and tonic. The new drinks, containing plant extracts or even natural human hormones, are designed to chill you out without impairing your function as much as alcohol. Some have sugar, but others use low-calorie sweeteners.

　　Not including bagged teas, nearly 100 new relaxation beverages -- including different sizes and flavors -- have appeared on the U.S. market in the past three years, according to market-research firm Datamonitor PLC. Products include Vacation in a Bottle, from VIB Holdings LLC, Dallas; Mary Jane's Relaxing Soda from The Relaxing Co., Riverside, Ca.; Dream Water, from Sarpes Beverages LLC, Miami; Drank, from Innovative Beverage Group Holdings Inc., Houston; and Mini Chill, from Stevenson Products LLC, of Little Neck, N.Y.

　　Many of the drinks contain herbal, plant or hormonal therapies which have been shown in at least some studies to be effective -- but also may have side effects, scientists say.

　　Kava root, for example, an ingredient in Mary Jane's soda, obtains an unusual grade of 'A' for treatment of anxiety from Natural Standard Research Collaboration, a Cambridge, Mass., scientist-owned group that evaluates natural therapies. The grade means there is strong scientific evidence for effectiveness, but it applies only to the use of kava in people with doctor-diagnosed anxiety, not ordinary stress. The Relaxing Co., which markets Mary Jane's for such daily challenges as 'road rage' and 'public speaking' and 'lousy girlfriends,' says it is beginning a clinical trial to test its effectiveness in combatting everyday stress.

　　Kava root should be used cautiously -- particularly in people at risk for liver problems, scientists say. In 2002, the Food and Drug Administration warned that kava root had been linked to 'severe liver injury,' including liver failure and the need for a transplant. The Relaxing Co. says Mary Jane's contains kava extracted using a water method which it believes to be safer than chemical methods used to obtain the extract used in the dietary supplements that were linked to liver problems. Still, the company suggests a top dose of two 12-ounce bottles daily.

　　As with prescription medications, people should work to change the causes of insomnia or stress rather than depending on a quick fix, clinicians say.

　　'There is no magic pill or soda. Lifestyle is the number one thing you should address first,' says Catherine Ulbricht, co-founder of Natural Standard and senior attending pharmacist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

　　Dream Water contains melatonin, a hormone which has been shown to aid sleep in healthy people and help fight insomnia (it gets a B from Natural Standard), as well as the amino acid 5-hydroxytryptophan and the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid. Taking those should be a last resort only -- and if you do, it should be under the supervision of a physician, says Aparajitha Verma, medical director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Methodist Neurological Institute in Houston.

　　Melatonin in beverages has come under regulatory scrutiny. The FDA issued a Jan. 13 warning letter to Innovative Beverage stating that melatonin, an ingredient in Drank, is not an approved food additive. Innovative Beverage says that its Drank is a dietary supplement and that it is working closely with FDA to 'clear up any confusion.'

　　Some beverage companies market the fact that their relaxation drinks don't contain melatonin. Vacation in a Bottle, for example, uses L-Theanine, an ingredient in green tea, to relax you without putting you to sleep, VIB Holdings says.

　　把它们想成是能量饮料的反面。据销售公司说，一波新的安神饮料潮有望缓解压力和焦虑，甚至有助于睡眠。这类饮料尚未经过严格临床试验的检测，不过有研究显示，其中至少有些成分能帮助睡眠或缓解焦虑。

　　Mini Chill是一种安神饮料--我们所说的安神饮料并不是杜松子酒或滋补饮料。新的安神饮料含有植物提取物，甚至天然人体激素，旨在让你放松，而不会像酒精一样损害人体功能。有些饮料含糖，有些则使用低热量的甜味剂。

　　据市场研究公司Datamonitor PLC的数据，不包括袋装茶，过去三年中，美国市场上出现了将近100种不同容量和口味的新的安神饮料。这类产品包括达拉斯VIB Holdings LLC 公司生产的Vacation in a Bottle，加州The Relaxing Co.生产的Mary Jane's Relaxing Soda，迈阿密Sarpes Beverages LLC公司生产的Dream Water，休斯顿Innovative Beverage Group Holdings Inc.生产的Drank，以及纽约州Stevenson Products LLC生产的Mini Chill。

　　科学家们说，其中很多饮料含有草药、植物或激素成分，这些成分至少在一些研究中显示出了有效性，不过也可能有副作用。

　　举例来讲，作为Mary Jane's饮料成分之一的卡法根，按照马萨诸塞州评估天然成分的科学家小组天然标准研究协会(Natural Standard Research Collaboration)的标准，对焦虑有着罕见的“A”级疗效。“A”级意味着它的有效性有很强的科学证据加以支持，不过只适用于被医生诊断为患有焦虑症的人，而不是普通的压力。Relaxing Co.对Mary Jane's 的营销卖点是“开车发火”、“公开演讲”和“让人头痛的女朋友”等日常挑战，该公司说正在开始临床试验，测试饮料在抵抗日常压力中的有效性。

　　科学家说，卡法根的使用应该谨慎，特别是对有肝病风险的人。2002年，美国食品和药物管理局(FDA)警告说，卡法根可导致“严重肝脏损害”，包括肝脏衰竭，需要进行肝脏移植。Relaxing Co.说，Mary Jane's安神饮料含有用水方法提取的卡法根，它认为比化学方法更安全。膳食补充剂中使用的提取物是用化学方法提取的，能导致肝病。尽管如此，该公司建议，每日最大剂量为两瓶，每瓶12盎司。

　　临床医生们说，至于处方药，人们应该努力改变失眠或压力的成因，而不是依赖权宜之计。

　　Dream Water含有褪黑素天然标准研究协会创始人之一、波士顿马萨诸塞州总医院(Massachusetts General Hospital)高级主治药剂师尔布里奇(Catherine Ulbricht)说，不存在神奇药丸或饮料。生活方式才是你第一个应该解决的问题。

　　Dream Water含有褪黑素，有证据显示这种激素可以有助于健康人的睡眠，帮助对抗失眠（天然标准研究协会给它的评级是“B”），还含有氨基酸5羟色氨和神经递质γ-氨基丁酸。休斯顿卫公会神经系统科学研究所(Methodist Neurological Institute)睡眠障碍中心医学主任魏尔玛(Aparajitha Verma)说，使用这些药物应该只作为一种最后手段──并且应该在医生的指导下使用。

　　饮料中的褪黑素受到监管机构的严格审查。1月13日，FDA向Innovative Beverage发了警告函，说Drank中的成分褪黑素不是经过批准的食品添加剂。该公司说，Drank是一种膳食补充品，它正在与FDA密切合作，澄清任何疑惑。

　　一些饮料公司的营销卖点是这样一个事实──它们的安神饮料不含有褪黑素。举例来讲，VIB Holdings 说，Vacation in a Bottle使用绿茶中的一种成分左旋茶氨酸来使你放松，而不会让你睡着。