Bananas are one of the most commonly seen and eaten fruits. Eating bananas brings many benefits, such as replenishing energy and lowering blood pressure, and can even improve your mood. There is a rumor going around online that you should not eat bananas every day because they are a high-potassium food that can damage your kidneys if you eat too many, but the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) says only people with impaired kidney function have a metabolic deficiency that compels them to avoid eating bananas every day.
Bananas are classified as a medium-potassium food, containing about 325 milligrams of potassium per 100 grams of banana flesh, or about 200 to 399 milligrams of potassium per serving (half a large banana or a whole small one). Research shows that bananas can regulate bowel movements, relieve depression, reduce oxidation, lower blood pressure, promote cardiovascular health and prevent stroke, among other things.
According to the HPA, for people with normal kidney function, consuming plenty of potassium ions from bananas or other food can regulate blood pressure and indirectly protect the kidneys. Only for people with impaired kidney function — those who have been diagnosed with kidney failure — can it be harmful to their health, as they cannot excrete potassium ions.
Photo: Liu Pin-chuan, Liberty Times 照片:自由時報劉濱銓
The best ways to prevent chronic kidney disease are lifestyle improvements, good control of blood pressure, blood sugar and blood fat, lowering urine protein and avoiding drugs that are toxic to the kidneys, as well as early screening and referral to a nephrologist when necessary.
As for how to tell whether your kidneys are functioning normally, you can visit a hospital and find a doctor to perform a kidney function test, or else you can take advantage of the free adult health examinations that the HPA offers once every three years for people aged between 40 and 64 years old and once a year for those aged 65 or older. You can safeguard your kidney health by watching out for any change in your kidney function and following your doctors’ orders for treatment.
(Translated by Julian Clegg, Taipei Times)
照片:旗山區農會提供 Photo courtesy of the Cishan Farmers’ Association
香蕉是平日最常見、又最常吃的水果之一。吃香蕉有很多好處,像是補充體力、降血壓、甚至能讓心情變好,而網傳香蕉是高鉀食物,吃多了會傷腎,不能天天吃;國民健康署表示,只有腎臟功能不全的人,因代謝功能不足,才不能天天吃。
香蕉屬於中量鉀食物,每一百公克香蕉果肉,約含鉀三百二十五毫克,每份(大的半根,小的一根)約含鉀量兩百到三百九十九毫克。實證研究指出,香蕉能夠潤腸通便、解鬱、抗氧化、降血壓、促進心血管健康及防止中風等。
國健署表示,一般腎臟功能正常者,多攝取來自香蕉或其他食物中的鉀離子,不但能控制血壓,也能間接保護腎臟;但對於腎臟功能不全(被診斷為腎衰竭者),因無法將體內鉀離子排除,才會對人體造成傷害。
最佳預防慢性腎臟病的方法有:生活型態的改善、良好的血壓、血糖及血脂肪控制、降低尿蛋白、避免腎毒性藥物,以及早期檢查,必要時轉介腎臟科醫師。
至於要如何知道自己腎臟功能是否正常,民眾可以到醫院找醫師做腎功能檢查,或是利用國健署四十歲至六十四歲每三年一次、六十五歲以上每年一次的免費成人健康檢查,注意自己的腎功能變化,配合醫囑治療,才能保障腎臟健康。
(自由時報)
A: South Korean supergroup Blackpink has finally come to Taiwan, and I’m going to one of their Kaohsiung concerts this weekend. I’m over the moon. B: My goodness. However did you manage to get a ticket? I’ve heard that all tickets were snapped up. A: That’s right. They sold 90,000 tickets for the two shows, breaking Coldplay’s record of selling 80,000 tickets for two shows in Taiwan. B: No wonder Blackpink is the world’s top girl group. A: Well, I may be too excited to sleep tonight. A: 南韓女子天團Blackpink終於來台灣啦,而且我週末要去高雄看她們的演唱會,真開心。 B: 天啊,你竟然能搶到門票,聽說所有門票全都被秒殺了。 A: 對啊,這次兩場演唱會賣出九萬張門票,還打破Coldplay兩場賣出八萬張門票的紀錄。 B: 她們真不愧是全球最紅的女團! A: 我今晚可能會興奮到睡不著吧。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Welcome to Brasov — a small town sheltered in the mountains of Romania. While the population is relatively small, the town boasts a surplus of historic curiosities. From the splendid town square to the magnificent peak of Tampa Mountain, there are countless wonders to explore. 1. Council Square: The Council Square, Pia?a Sfatului in Romanian, is the historic center of Brasov. It’s bordered on all sides by red-roofed merchant buildings and ornate churches. In the center of the square sits the Old Town Hall with its large watchtower. This building is now the Brasov History Museum. There, you can see objects from
對許多人而言,雞蛋是生活上不可或缺的食物,不論是早餐三明治內的煎蛋、或是晚餐便當中的滷蛋,台灣人對雞蛋的需求量極大,根據統計,台灣人每年吃掉七十幾億顆蛋,是全世界雞蛋消耗量第一的國家。去年冬天開始禽流感侵襲全世界,全台雞蛋也受波及,嚴重缺貨,許多民眾排隊還不一定搶得到雞蛋,不只是大賣場與雜貨店,甚至早餐店都面臨了「缺蛋」的問題。全台面臨「蛋蛋危機」,政府也開始提出更多配套措施來應付目前缺蛋的窘況。本次就讓我們從「蛋荒」的議題來學各種描述社會現象及數據的英文吧! ========== 如何描述蛋荒? 一般講到「短缺」時,最常用shortage來形容,如去年的water shortage「缺水」、electricity/power shortage「缺電」。而現在全台面臨的就是一個egg shortage「蛋荒」。 Taiwan’s daily egg demand is about 24 million, while its daily production capacity during the shortage has been about 22.6 million eggs. (台灣每日的雞蛋需求約2,400萬顆,缺貨期間僅約2,260萬顆雞蛋。) shortage和shortfall的差別在於shortfall指的是「不足的(量)、缺額、短少的量」,簡單來說,fall short of…就是「短缺…」的意思。 Our sales have fallen short of the target set by the department. (我們的銷售額沒有達到部門設定的標準。) insufficient insufficient (adj)「不足,短少」在TOEIC測驗中經常出現,deficit (n)則可以解釋為「赤字、虧損」。 The bank just informed us that there were insufficient funds to make the transfer. (銀行剛通知我們帳戶資金不足以轉帳。) 另一個較難的單字是scarcity (n)「缺乏、不足、稀少」,形容詞為scarce (adj)。 The government decided to import eggs from other countries to address the scarcity. (政府決定從其他國家進口雞蛋來應付短缺的問題。) 「蛋蛋危機」? 造成這次蛋荒的原因究竟為何?根據報導,本次導致「蛋蛋危機」背後的因素相當複雜,從飼料價格上漲、日夜溫差大導致母雞致死率高、到禽流感肆虐等,都是引起缺蛋的主要原因。 The cold weather has been to blame, for some, and for others, the impact of avian influenza, climate instability, and rising international prices for materials. (天氣寒冷、禽流感、氣候不穩定以及國際原物料價格上漲都是罪魁禍首。) instability (n)「不穩定」,相反字為stability (n)、stable(adj)「穩定」,都是多益測驗高頻出現的單字。 Maintaining stability in the Taiwan Strait is important
對話 Dialogue A:你怎麼了?看起來不太舒服。 A: Nǐ zěnmele? Kànqǐlái bú tài shūfú. B:我最近非常忙,壓力很大,脖子跟肩膀都痠痛。 B: Wǒ zuìjìn fēicháng máng, yālì hěn dà, bózi gēn jiānbǎng dōu suāntòng. A:要不要去按摩?我覺得對肌肉放鬆很有幫助。 A: Yào búyào qù ànmó? Wǒ juéde duì jīròufàngsōng hěn yǒu bāngzhù. B:那要去哪裡按呢?你能幫我推薦嗎? B: Nà yào qù nǎlǐ àn ne? Nǐ néng bāng wǒ tuījiàn ma? A:我知道一家盲人按摩院,師傅很厲害,按完馬上就輕鬆不少。 A: Wǒ zhīdào yìjiā mángrén ànmó yuàn, shīfù hěn lìhài, ànwán mǎshàng jiù qīngsōng bùshǎo. B:好,請給我他的電話,我現在就預約。 B: Hǎo, qǐng gěi wǒ tā de diànhuà, wǒ xiànzài jiù yùyuē. 翻譯 Translation A: What happened? You don’t look well. B: I’ve been really busy these days and under lots of pressure. My neck and shoulders are really sore. A: Would you like to try