would choose bacon over sex? At least that’s what a 2010 survey found. Or did you know

會選擇煙肉，而不是性愛嗎？這是一項2014年的調查顯示的結果。那你知道

that is was included in the first meal ever consumed on the moon by Neil Armstrong and

尼爾·阿姆斯壯和伯茲·艾德林在月球吃的第一餐包括了甚麼嗎？

Buzz Aldrin?

單是一塊煙肉便有四十三千卡的熱量。而這裏顯示同等熱量

This single strip of bacon alone is 43 calories. In perspective, here is the same amount of

的蘋果和西蘭花。你很容易便看到哪樣能輕易把肚子填滿...

calories in apples and broccoli. It’s easy to see which might fill you up more easily...but

但是誰會只吃一塊煙肉？換個角度看，一百克

then again, who just eats one piece of bacon? Looking at this another way, 100 grams of

蘋果約是五十千卡，而一百克煙肉約是...五百五十千卡。百分之六十八的

apple is around 50 calories, while 100 grams of bacon is around...550 calories. 68% of

卡路里來自脂肪，當中差不多一半是飽和的。

these calories come from fat, with almost half being saturated.

所以每個美國人每年平均食用接近十八磅

So it may...or maybe not surprise you that the average American consumes nearly 18lbs

或八公斤煙肉...應該不會令你驚訝！這是每年四萬四千千卡的份量。單在美國，

or 8 kg every year! That’s 44,000 calories every year, making sliced bacon a 4 billion

生產切片煙肉的工業已值四十億。甚至有百分之六十五的美國人表示他們支持

dollar industry in the US alone. Even 65% of Americans said they would support

煙肉成為他們的國菜。

bacon as their national food.

其實世界上不同的國家會用豬的不同部位來製作煙肉。

But different countries around the world actually use different cuts of a pig for bacon. For

比如説，加拿大煙肉使用豬排製成，英國人使用豬肩肉和火腿，

example, Canadian Bacon is from the loin, the British use shoulder and ham bacon, and

美國人用豬腩肉。一頭標準重量的豬有百分之十一能用來做

Americans make belly bacon. Overall, around 11% of a pigs standard weight can be used

煙肉。

for bacon.

那為甚麼煙肉那麼使人著迷？當煙肉受熱時，脂肪融化了，糖和

So why are we so obsessed? Well when bacon is heated, the fats melt and the sugars and

氨基酸產生獨特的化學作用。這個化學作用產生了

amino acids have a very unique chemical reaction. This specific reaction releases a medley of

約一百五十個易揮發的有機化合物。它們在空氣中飄浮並

around 150 volatile organic compounds from the bacon which float through the air and

產生了很吸引的氣味，使你垂涎欲滴。所以這不只是

create the amazing smell, ultimately stimulating your mouth-watering response. So it’s not

你想要的小吃，它的氣味本身就是刺激你腦袋和身體

just the snack you desire, but the smell itself is a perfect example of chemistry at work,

的化學的最佳例子。

stimulating your brain and body.

煙肉在我們的現代文化中是不可或缺的。煙肉躁狂症已是一個運動！

Our modern culture loves bacon so much that ‘bacon mania’ is a classified movement!

從煙肉牙膏至煙肉空氣清新劑，甚至...煙肉安全套！有些人

From bacon toothpaste, to bacon air fresheners, and even...bacon condoms, some people can’t

永遠不能滿足！

get enough of it!

但是煙肉不是沒有壞處。四塊煮熟的煙肉已是你

But bacon isn’t all good. Not only are 4 strips of cooked bacon worth nearly half your

的建議每日鹽份攝取量的一半，而大部分煙肉及午餐肉這類食品

recommended daily intake for salt, but most bacon - and other things like lunch meats

含有一種叫亞硝酸鈉的化學物質。它使肉類維持紅色及

- are treating with a chemical called sodium nitrite. This keeps the meat looking red and

新鮮，而不是自然地變成灰色。它亦會牽連多種健康問題。

fresh, instead of turning its natural grey, but has also been implicated in a lot of health

這些亞硝酸鹽在煮食時與氨基酸產生化學作用，產生了亞硝胺。

concerns. These nitrites react with amino acids during cooking, forming nitrosamines,

亞硝胺是致癌物，它會提高你患癌症的風險。吸收數量多的

which are known carcinogens, increasing your risk of developing cancer. A diet high in

亞硝酸鈉亦會削弱你身體紅血球正常

sodium nitrites may also lead to a decrease in your body’s ability to transport oxygen

輸送氧氣的能力。另一方面，亞硝酸鈉可以防止引致

properly in your red blood cells. On the other hand, nitrites help to prevent bacterial growth

肉毒桿菌中毒的細菌生長。

that can cause botulism.

當你進食豬肉時，謹記控制份量。最好也吃一些

Bottom line is, when you do pig out, keep it in moderation - and a few antioxidant rich

抗氧化的蔬果！

fruits and vegetables to go along with it won’t hurt either!

看到這些煙肉便覺得肚子餓嗎？到全新的AsapTHOUGHT看看為甚麼美食的照片

Hungry from looking at all this bacon? Find out why FOOD PORN or photos of amazing food

會刺激你的食慾吧。它背後有一些美味的科學，所以請

is so stimulating in our newest AsapTHOUGHT. There’s some yummy science behind it, so

點擊畫面來看看。

click the screen for that.

特別鳴謝audible 支持本片段及在audible.com/asap提供免費

Special thanks to audible for supporting this episode and giving you a free audiobook at

有聲書。我們這星期推薦Mark Schatzker寫的書—'The Dorito Effect'，

audible.com/asap. This week we wanted to recommend the book ‘The Dorito Effect’ by Mark Schatzker,

因為我們把握每個機會去同時了解科學和薯片。

because we’ll take any chance we can get to read about science and chips at the same

這是一本很有趣的書。它是關於營養及味道的關係和我們怎樣改變食物的。

time. But seriously, it’s an interesting look at the link between nutrition and flavour

你可以在audible.com/asap獲得它或

and how we’ve modified foods through the years. You can get a free copy at audible.com/asap

大量其它書籍！

or any others of your choice from a massive selection!

不要忘記問我們問題及訂閱頻道以獲取更多每週科學影片！

Don’t forget to ask your burning questions, and subscribe for more weekly science videos!