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Researchers in Japan say they will begin selling new devices that will help people reduce how much sodium, or salt, they use to improve the taste of their food.
日本的研究人员表示，他们将开始销售新设备，帮助人们减少钠或盐的用量，改善食物的口味。
The developers are from Japan's Meiji University and drink company Kirin based in Tokyo.
开发商来自日本明治大学和总部位于东京的饮料公司麒麟。
One new device is an electric spoon.
这种新设备叫做电勺。
It uses a small computer worn on a person's arm to send electrical signals to activate sodium atoms.
它使用戴在人手臂上的小型计算机发送电信号来激活钠原子。
The developers say the signals increase the food's salty taste.
开发人员表示，这些信号会增加食物的咸味。
The Electric Salt Spoon will sell in Japan for around $120 beginning in June.
从6月开始，电动盐勺将在日本以约120美元的价格出售。
Meiji University professor Homei Miyashita developed the spoon and a similar device, electric chopsticks.
明治大学教授宫下惠美开发了勺子和类似的设备电筷子。
The chopsticks will likely go on sale next year.
这款筷子可能会在明年上市销售。
The recent announcement marks the first time the technology has been used in a product for sale to the public.
最近的公告标志着该技术首次用于向公众销售的产品中。
Last year, the effort gained a different sort of attention.
去年，这项研究引起了不同的关注。
It won the 2023 Ig Nobel Prize in nutrition.
它荣获2023年搞笑诺贝尔营养奖。
Organizers describe the prize as recognizing research that makes "people LAUGH, then THINK."
组织者称，该奖项旨在表彰那些让 "人们大笑，然后思考 "的研究。
The devices both use a weak electrical current to send the sodium ions from food, through the chopsticks or spoon, to the mouth where they create a sense of saltiness, said Miyashita.
宫下表示：这些设备的工作原理都是使用微弱的电流将食物中的钠离子通过筷子或勺子送到嘴里，它们会在嘴里产生一种咸味。
"As a result, the salty taste enhances one and a half times," he said.
宫下谈到：“结果，咸味提高了一倍半，”
Miyashita and his laboratory have explored ways that technology can interact with and create human sensory experiences.
宫下和他的实验室探索了技术可以与人类互动并创造人类感官体验的方法。
He has also developed a lickable TV screen that can recreate the taste of food.
他还开发了一种可舔的电视屏幕，可以重现食物的味道。
The beer producer Kirin is turning to healthcare products to expand its traditional business.
啤酒生产商麒麟正在转向保健品，以扩大其传统业务。
A company spokesperson said the technology might be especially useful for Japanese people, whose traditional diet favors salty foods.
该公司的一位发言人表示，这项技术可能对日本人特别有用，因为日本人的传统饮食偏爱咸味食物。
The average adult in Japan consumes about 10 grams of salt per day.
日本成年人平均每天摄入约10克盐。
The World Health Organization recommends half that amount.
世界卫生组织建议的剂量是这个数字的一半。
Eating foods with too much sodium can increase the chances of having high blood pressure, strokes and other health problems.
食用含盐量过高的食物会增加患高血压、中风和其他健康问题的几率。
"To prevent these diseases, we need to reduce the amount of salt we take," said Kirin researcher Ai Sato.
麒麟研究员佐藤爱说：“为了预防这些疾病，我们需要减少盐的摄入量。”
Sato said it is hard to cut salt in the usual way because it would mean "eating bland food."
佐藤说，使用常规的方式减少盐分很难，因为这将意味着“吃清淡的食物”。
I'm Jill Robbins.
我是吉尔·罗宾斯。
