Using fatty foods to comfort eat during times of stress can harm the body’s recovery from the pressure, research suggests.
Although many people turn to unhealthy foods such as chocolate, crisps or pastries when they are feeling the strain, researchers have found this can reduce blood flow to the brain and cause poorer vascular (血管的) function, which in turn can have a negative effect on mental health and increase the risk of heart disease. The researchers suggest people resist the attraction of convenient treats by eating fruits and vegetables instead.
Prof Jet Veldhuijzen van Zanten said, “We looked at healthy 18- to 30-year-olds for this study, and to see such a clear difference in how their bodies recover from stress when they eat fatty foods is staggering.” For people who already have an increased risk of cardiovascular (心血管) disease, the impacts could be even more serious. We all deal with stress all the time, but especially for those of us in high-stress jobs and at risk of cardiovascular disease, these findings should be taken seriously. This research can help us make decisions that reduce risks rather than make them worse.
The study involved a group of young healthy adults who were given two butter bread as breakfast. The participants were then asked to do mental maths, increasing in speed for eight minutes, and alerted when they got an answer wrong. They could also see themselves on a screen.
The researchers found that consuming fatty foods when mentally stressed reduced vascular function by 1.74%. Previous studies have shown that a 1% reduction in vascular function leads to a 13% increase in cardiovascular disease risk.
“We also know that the elasticity (弹性) of our blood tubes, which is a measure of vascular function, declines following mental stress,” said the study’s first author, Rosalind Baynham from the University of Birmingham.
1.What’s the finding of the research?A.Why people like fatty foods. |
B.How people recover from stress. |
C.What people should eat to keep fit. |
D.Eating fatty foods when stressed is bad for health. |
A.Seeking low-stress jobs. | B.Dining out in clean restaurants. |
C.Examining your body regularly. | D.Eating more fruits and vegetables. |
A.Disappointing. | B.Shocking. |
C.Confusing. | D.Exciting. |
A.A magazine. | B.A textbook. |
C.A science fiction. | D.A recipe book. |
How to Plan a Surprise Party
●Pick a party theme.
●Pick a place your guests of honour frequents to avoid suspicion (怀疑). If you tell your party-persons that you’re heading to the nicest restaurant in town, they’ll know that there’s an occasion. However, if you tell them that you’re heading to the same restaurant you go to every Thursday night, suspicion will be kept at a minimum.
●Pick a date before the actual occasion. If this surprise party is for a birthday, holding a party on the day might be a little hard to turn into an awesome surprise.
●Choose your guests.
A small group. This is easier to manage, people can keep their mouths shut, and it creates a more warm environment. However, it’s less impressive and more people might be upset that they’re not invited.
A large group. This is harder to manage, the word might slip out, it’s harder to get a space, but in the end, your party-persons might be surprised by seeing everyone they love in one room.
●
A.So choose a place that seems “normal”. |
B.It isn’t much better if something emergent happens. |
C.To avoid that, plan something before the actual date. |
D.Be sure your guests of honour would want a surprise party. |
E.You have two options: a small gathering or a big get-together. |
F.An easy way to get guests excited about a party is to give it a theme. |
G.The hardest part about a surprise party is making sure your guests don’t find it out. |
On August 2, 2023, Paul, 68, and Dawn Molineux, 66, from the United Kingdom, visited Southport’s Hickory’s Smokehouse to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary (周年纪念日) in advance. The actual date of their anniversary was August 29 but
The couple, who were high school sweethearts, found out at the beginning of the year that Paul had a
Paul wrote on a Facebook food review group for Southport about how Davies went
After enjoying their meal, some drinks, and a delicious dessert, Paul and Dawn
Paul admitted he was “lost for words” when Davies explained how touched he was by their story and had
A.time | B.money | C.medicine | D.food |
A.save | B.prepare | C.finish | D.use |
A.mental | B.curable | C.serious | D.minor |
A.offered | B.intended | C.pretended | D.refused |
A.anniversary | B.victory | C.graduation | D.relationship |
A.entirely | B.normally | C.highly | D.warmly |
A.sign | B.postcard | C.sculpture | D.flag |
A.guest | B.leader | C.server | D.host |
A.judgment | B.impression | C.knowledge | D.reputation |
A.far and wide | B.off and on | C.up and down | D.above and beyond |
A.interested | B.engaged | C.involved | D.absorbed |
A.inquired | B.recognized | C.expected | D.created |
A.worried about | B.asked for | C.set aside | D.took out |
A.told | B.spoke | C.wrote | D.read |
A.prepared | B.covered | C.made | D.provided |
A type of glazed pottery(釉陶)with the main colours of yellow, green and white was very popular in the Tang dynasty. It was later called tri-coloured glazed pottery of the Tang dynasty, or Tangsancai.
Tri-coloured glazed pottery was usually used as burial
Tri-coloured glazed pottery of the Tang dynasty was mostly produced in Xi’an, Luoyang and Yangzhou,
Tang people were open-minded
Tri-coloured glazed pottery is the
Yours,
Li Hua
Like many kids, last summer I learned to ride a bike. Only I am in my 30s. When I was a child, I had no one to teach me. My mum never learned. My parents divorced (离婚) when I was 4, and in an attempt to perform parental responsibility, my father bought a bicycle for my brother and me to share.
My mum later remarried. When my brother and I were laughed at because we were the only kids past 6 years old who still relied on training wheels, my stepdad removed them, but in doing that, I lost interest and trust in the activity. I was so scared—I was quite tall for my age at 7 and I was worried I’d fall off. I thought I was too old to learn too.
Not knowing how to ride didn’t bother me initially, until we moved to the suburbs, where bicycles were popular. On trips to the convenience store to buy candy with my friends, I was always the last to arrive, on foot. By then, I was 12 years old.
In my early 30s, I remember feeling envious as I watched children as young as 3 learn to balance on bikes. Among them were my neighbours, whom I would occasionally babysit. Then something changed. The fear within was still there, but something much stronger was taking over.
I decided to join a women’s bike-riding workshop. There, I stood in an urban park, determined to overcome my fear. Meeting women from diverse backgrounds, all seeking cycling skills for various reasons, strengthened my determination. The first thing I noticed was how different each person’s learning curve (曲线) was. Some were balancing in no time, while others, like me, needed a bit more time. The workshop was a safe space, full of encouragement and support. Each time I fell, there were hands to help me up, and every time I made progress, there were cheers to celebrate it. Several weeks later, I learned to ride.
To enjoy the joy of riding, I bought my own bike.
Learning to ride a bike in my 30s taught me that it’s never too late to learn something new. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________