Potatoes get a bad rap. Between potatoes' high carbohydrate count and how most of us prepare them (fried, buttered or highly salted in a chip), it's to be expected. But when prepared in a healthy way, spuds can be a super nutritious food. In fact, new research presented at the 242nd National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society has found that just a couple servings of potatoes a day reduces blood pressure without causing weight gain.

土豆恶名在外。鉴于土豆的高热量和我们大多数人的烹饪方式（炸，抹黄油或者往薯条中加入大量的盐），这并不冤枉。但是如果用健康的方式处理的话，马铃薯会是一种营养丰富的食品。事实上，一项在第242届美国化学学会全国展览会上发表的新研究显示用土豆烹饪而成的食物有降低血压的功效，而且不会增加你的体重。

Researchers took 18 overweight and obese patients and had them eat six to eight small purple potatoes twice a day for a month. By the end of the study, the average diastolic blood pressure dropped by 4.3 percent and the systolic pressure decreased by 3.5 percent. Not one subject gained weight during the study. While the researchers studied just purple potatoes, they believe that red and white skin potatoes would do the same. Like other vegetables, potatoes contain phytochemicals, along with other vitamins and minerals that are beneficial to the body.

研究员让18个超重或肥胖的病人在持续一个月的时间内每天吃8个小紫薯。在实验结束后，实验人员的平均舒张压降低了4.3%，同时心脏的收缩压下降了3.5%。实验中没有一个人的体重增加了。虽然研究人员只对紫薯进行了研究，但是他们相信红色皮和白色皮的土豆会拥有相同的效果。同时土豆也含有其他蔬菜所含有的对人体有益的化学物质，如维他命和矿物质等。

So how can you put this new info to good use in your healthy diet? Start eating potatoes! According to the researchers, the key is to microwave them. Frying and cooking them at high temperatures seems to destroy the healthy benefits.

那么，你怎么把这个好消息充分应用在你的健康食谱上呢？答案是：开始吃土豆吧！根据研究者的结论，发挥土豆额功效的关键在于用微波炉去加热土豆。在高温下炸或者煮土豆似乎会破坏土豆的健康价值。

课后题目：
"Small potato"的汉语意思是什么？

来源:可可英语 //m.moreplr.com/read/201109/154400.shtml