But given that trusted brands demand more of your money, is there really a difference between brand name and generic food or drugs?

但除去價格差異，大牌和雜牌的食物或藥物真的有差嗎？

When it comes to food, while there are many companies dedicated to producing generic brands,

就食物而言，儘管很多廠商投入生產雜牌產品，

the truth is that many large, brand-name manufacturers often use their excess capacity and expertise to produce generic label products as well.

很多大品牌的製造商也會使用同樣的生產通路和技術來製造無品牌商品。

In fact, in 2007, the Peter Pan brand of peanut butter was found to be contaminated with salmonella and recalled.

事實上，在 2007 年，Peter Pan 花生醬被檢驗出產品中含有沙門氏菌而下架回收，

And as a result, Walmart's "Great Value" brand of peanut butter was also taken off the shelves.

結果沃爾瑪的 Great Value 牌花生醬也被跟著下架。

Next time you're at the grocery store, try and compare the ingredient list and nutritional information of a generic item with its brand counterpart.

下次你去雜貨店時，試著比較雜牌及其對應大品牌的商品成分和營養列表。

Even if they aren't identical, which they sometimes are, it will give you a sense of how similar they can be!

就算沒有完全相同（有時真的會相同），也會讓你了解到它們有多相似！

And studies show that, on average, generic brands run 30% cheaper!

而且研究指出，雜牌商品平均比大牌商品便宜了 30%！

Furthermore, many staple food products like sugar and salts are regulated by the FDA.

除此之外，很多日常所需食品，像是糖和鹽都有 FDA（美國食品藥品管理局）規範。

And, think about it, table salt, also known as Sodium Chloride, only contains 2 elements from the periodic table.

仔細想一下，食鹽，也可稱作氯化鈉，就只是元素週期表上的兩個元素組成的。

How variable could it really be?

商品是能差多少？

Think they taste different? Fancier brand name packaging may play a role.

覺得嚐起來不一樣嗎？也許知名品牌華麗的包裝是原因

In one study, university students were given free coffee and asked to rate it.

一項研究中，他們提供大學生免費咖啡，並請他們評分。

It turns out that if the cream and sugar were placed in fancy containers on a silver tray vs placed in styrofoam cups with haphazardly written labels,

一組用銀色盤子和精美容器裝糖跟奶精，另一組則用上面有潦草標示的塑膠杯。

they would prefer the fancy brew, despite the coffee being the exact same.

研究結果指出，前者收到的評價較高，就算兩組咖啡其實一模一樣。

The placebo effect can be quite strong when it comes to your taste preferences.

這種「安慰劑效應」對於食品喜好特別明顯。

But when it comes to drugs, things are a little different.

但對藥品來說，情況就不太一樣了。

In fact, generic drugs have to be the same as the brand name.

事實上，學名藥必須和原廠藥一模一樣才行。

For example, Ibuprofen is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug that treats headaches, fevers, and minor aches and pains.

舉例來說，布洛芬是一種非類固醇的抗發炎藥物，可消除頭痛、退燒，和止痛。

It's also sold under brand names like Advil and Nurofen.

這種藥也用 Advil 和 Nurofen 等品牌名稱販售。

But at the base of these pills is the exact same thing.

但基本上它們完全一樣。

200 mg of ibuprofen, the same dosage, safety, strength and intended use.

都是 200 毫克布洛芬，一樣的劑量、安全性、藥效和適用症狀。

The generic drugs go through a series of stringent regulatory testing to prove their bioequivalence to the brand name.

學名藥要通過一連串嚴格測試來證明其對身體的影響跟原廠藥完全相同。

The only way in which the pills may differ is between their "filler" ingredients which may include starch or gelatin, flavoring, and different colors.

唯一有可能不同的地方在於「填充物」成份，它可能包含澱粉或凝膠，及口味、顏色差異等等。

So while they aren't exactly the same, they are effectively the same.

所以雖然它們不完全一樣，但藥效完全相同。

And studies routinely prove that generic drugs are as effective as the brand name.

而且研究也不斷指出，學名藥跟原廠藥一樣有效。

In fact, some studies show that individuals are more likely to stay on course with generic drugs because of the lower cost.

實際上也有研究指出，使用學名藥的人們比較容易堅持服藥，因為價格較便宜。

Of course, there are some very specific drugs that have a narrow therapeutic index which require certain brands.

當然有些專門治療特定症狀的藥物需要特定品牌。

In these cases a doctor can help you decide.

這種情況就可以請醫生幫你選擇。

And yet, many people still remain skeptical.

然而，還是有很多人半信半疑。

In one study, participants were given "painkillers" that were actually just blank placebo pills and administered a small electric shock.

在一項研究中，他們給予受測者「止痛藥」但其實只是沒有藥效的安慰劑，並讓他們承受微小電擊。

When they were told that the pill cost 10 cents, only 61% of people felt pain relief, but if they were told that the pill cost $2.50,

當他們跟受測說一顆藥只要十美分時，只有 61% 的人覺得有效，但如果跟他們說一顆藥要兩塊五時，

a whole 85.4% of participants claimed to feel relief from the pain.

高達 85.4％ 的人都覺得有效。

At the end of the day , generic products, whether food, drugs or otherwise, can be, but aren't always equal to their brand name counterpart.

雜牌商品，不論是食物、藥物或是其他東西，可能跟他們的對應有品牌商品一樣。

So save those dollar bills and buy something special.

所以把錢省下來去買些其他好料吧。

We actually put together our own taste test to see if anyone could tell the difference between their favorite brands and the generic counterpart in our new AsapTHOUGHT video.

我們在新的 AsapTHOUGHT 影片中，實際做了試吃測試。看看有沒有人能分辨出他們最愛的品牌和其對應雜牌有什麼不一樣。

Use the link in the description to see that video.

快去點描述欄的連結吧。