Sweat it out - in a bath!
泡热水澡等于做运动
You might think that to lose weight you need to do strenuous exercise - pedalling furiously on an exercise bike, for example, or doing lengths in your local pool. Well, you may be pleasantly surprised to learn that lying in a steaming bath can bring the same benefits as exercise, without the need to sweat profusely in the gym!
你可能觉得减肥需要剧烈运动——比如,疯狂地踩动感单车,或者在游泳池里不停地来回游。好吧,如果你得知躺在桑拿房里就能有像在健身房里挥汗如雨地运动一样的效果,你会不会很惊喜!
These were the findings of an experiment comparing the relative benefits of exercise and hot baths that was carried out by Dr Steve Faulkner of Loughborough University. The volunteers first lay in a hot bath and then ate a light meal, while their blood sugar level was monitored and the number of calories they burnt was measured. The experiment was then repeated, but instead of having a bath, the participants did an hour's vigorous exercise on a bike. The results from both activities were compared with unexpected results.
这是拉夫堡大学史蒂夫福克纳博士在做运动和蒸浴的效果实验时发现的现象。志愿者们先洗了个热水澡,然后吃了便餐。这些过程中,他们的血糖水平和燃烧掉的卡路里都一直处于监测之中。随后,他们重复了一次这个实验。但这一次却是让参与者们在单车上剧烈运动一小时。两个实验结果相比之后得出了意想不到的结论。
What we found, said Dr Faulkner, "was an 80% increase in energy expenditure, just as a result of sitting in the bath for the course of an hour". You burn 140 calories - not as many perhaps as if you had worked out on an exercise bike, but the same number as if you had been on a brisk walk. The real surprise, however, came in the blood sugar level results. The peak glucose output, the amount of blood sugar in the blood after a meal, was on average10% lower after the bath compared to that after exercise.
福克纳博士说:“我们发现,一个小时的热水浴提升了80%的能量消耗。”这其中燃烧了140卡路里——可能没有在健身单车上锻炼消耗的多,但这已经追平快步走消耗的卡路里。而真正让人感到意外的是血糖水平。热水浴后进餐比运动后进餐所产生的葡萄糖-也就是血中的糖分含量要平均低10%。
Dr Faulkner's explanation for this phenomenon is that when you are in a hot bath, proteins, known as 'heat shock proteins' are released, which help divert the sugar from the bloodstream to the muscles. It's important to keep blood sugar levels down to avoid damage to the arteries and nerves.
福克纳博士对这一现象的解释是,当我们进行热水浴时,被称为“热休克蛋白”的蛋白质会被释放出来,这有助于将血液中的糖分转化到肌肉上。保持血糖水平不过高是很重要的,这有助于避免产生动脉或神经损伤。
Don't think, though, that you can hang up your trainers just yet! You should aim to do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise a week. But, if you are one of those people who need to control their blood sugar levels - if you have type-2 diabetes for example or find it hard to exercise - why wait? Grab a towel and start running the hot tap!
但是可别认为现在就能停下运动了!每周应该至少进行150分钟的适度运动。但如果你需要控制血糖水平——比如说如果你患有二型糖尿病或者觉得运动很困难——那你还等什么?拿起毛巾,开始你的热水浴吧!
词汇表
strenuous
费劲的
lengths
泳程,来回(游泳池的长度)
profusely
大量地
to monitor
监控,监测
vigorous
剧烈的
expenditure
耗费,消耗
to work out
锻炼身体
brisk
轻快的(步伐)
glucose
葡萄糖
phenomenon
现象
divert
转化
arteries
动脉
intensity
强度
diabetes
糖尿病