近日，美國一名14歲少年在吃下超辣玉米片后不幸死亡。這再次引發(fā)了人們對追求極端辛辣食品的擔(dān)憂。據(jù)報(bào)道，這名少年身體健康，但在吃下Paqui的“一片辣椒挑戰(zhàn)”超辛辣玉米片僅幾小時(shí)后就不幸離世。目前男孩死因尚未明確，薯片廠家已經(jīng)下架該款產(chǎn)品。

極端辛辣食品可能導(dǎo)致動(dòng)脈痙攣、血流受限等健康風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。已有個(gè)案報(bào)告超級辛辣辣椒導(dǎo)致腦血管痙攣和心肌梗死。專家警告超辛辣食品的蒺藜鹼含量已接近胡椒噴霧的辛辣程度，攝入高劑量可能危及生命。

Harris Wolobah, a healthy 14-year-old from Worcester, Massachusetts, tragically died last Friday, hours after eating a single ultra-spicy tortilla chip seasoned with two of the hottest peppers in the world.
9月1日，美國馬薩諸塞州伍斯特市一名14歲少年哈里斯·沃洛巴在吃下一塊超辣玉米片數(shù)小時(shí)后身亡。據(jù)了解，該玉米片使用了全世界最辣的兩種辣椒調(diào)味。男孩此前身體健康。

The teen's mother, Lois Wolobah, reportedly picked up her son from school that day after getting a call from the nurse that he was sick. She arrived to see him clutching his stomach and took him home. About two hours later, he lost consciousness and was rushed to the hospital, where he died.
報(bào)道稱，哈里斯的母親羅伊斯在接到護(hù)士的電話說兒子生病后，當(dāng)天從學(xué)校接回兒子。她看到哈里斯抓著肚子，就帶他回家了。大約兩個(gè)小時(shí)后，哈里斯失去意識，被緊急送往醫(yī)院，在醫(yī)院去世。

The teen had told his mother that he had eaten a Paqui chip—The 2023 Paqui One Chip Challenge chip, to be exact. Each chip is sold individually, wrapped in a foil pouch and packaged in a coffin-shaped box adorned with a skull, snakes, and a Grim Reaper. The box contains the challenge rules, which dare consumers to eat the whole chip and "wait as long as possible before drinking or eating anything"—and, of course, post reactions on social media.
哈里斯告訴母親，他吃了一片Paqui薯片——確切地說是2023年的Paqui One Chip Challenge玉米片。每片單獨(dú)銷售，包裝在一個(gè)裝有骷髏、蛇和死神圖案的棺材形狀盒子中。盒子里附有挑戰(zhàn)規(guī)則，鼓勵(lì)消費(fèi)者吃完整片玉米片，并“盡可能長時(shí)間不喝水或進(jìn)食”，當(dāng)然，還要在社交媒體上發(fā)布反應(yīng)。

Lois Wolobah believes the chip played a role in the death of her son, who had no known underlying medical conditions.
羅伊斯認(rèn)為，薯片導(dǎo)致了她兒子的死亡，哈里斯沒有已知的潛在疾病。

"I just want there to be an awareness for parents to know that it’s not safe," Wolobah told The New York Times in an article that published Wednesday. "It needs to be out of the market completely."
羅伊斯6日對《紐約時(shí)報(bào)》表示：“我只是想讓家長們意識到這是不安全的，需要徹底下架。”

On Thursday, the maker of the Paqui chip—Amplify Snack Brands, a subsidiary of the Hershey Company—announced that they were taking the potentially deadly chip off shelves.
7日，Paqui薯片廠家好時(shí)公司子公司Amplify Snack Brands宣布他們將下架這種可能致命的薯片。

The chip was intended only for adults and carried clear warnings, the company said in a statement. It was not intended for "children or anyone sensitive to spicy foods or who has food allergies, is pregnant or has underlying health conditions.We have seen an increase in teens and other individuals not heeding these warnings," the statement went on. "As a result, while the product continues to adhere to food safety standards, out of an abundance of caution, we are actively working with our retailers to remove the product from shelves."
該公司在一份聲明中表示，這款薯片只面向成年人，并附有明確的警告。它不適用于“兒童或?qū)笔趁舾谢蛴惺澄镞^敏、懷孕或有潛在健康問題的人。我們注意到青少年和其他人不遵守這些警告。因此，雖然該產(chǎn)品仍符合食品安全標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，但出于謹(jǐn)慎起見，我們正在積極與零售商合作將該產(chǎn)品從貨架上撤下?！?/p>

Harris Wolobah's cause of death is not yet determined; it's not certain if the chip is to blame. An autopsy will be conducted, but the results could take up to 12 weeks, according to the Massachusetts Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
哈里斯的死因尚未確定；目前還不能確定薯片是否是罪魁禍?zhǔn)?。馬薩諸塞州首席法醫(yī)辦公室表示，將進(jìn)行尸檢，但結(jié)果可能需要長達(dá)12周的時(shí)間。

The Paqui chip was seasoned with the Carolina Reaper pepper, the current hottest pepper in the world, and the Naga Viper pepper, which was the reigning hottest pepper in 2011 but is now merely among the top 10.
Paqui薯片是用目前世界上最辣的辣椒Carolina Reaper辣椒和Naga Viper辣椒調(diào)味的，后者在2011年當(dāng)選全球最辣辣椒，如今排名前十。

追求辣度的辣椒種植者一直在培育越來越辣的雜交品種。但一些研究表明，追求越來越辣的辣椒變得更加危險(xiǎn)，可能存在致命風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。

These extreme peppers are linked with serious health concerns. In the 2020 case study, the Mississippi doctors reported that a healthy 15-year-old developed severe headaches for days after eating a Carolina Reaper pepper on a dare. Six days later, when he showed up at an emergency department with worsening headache, nausea, and vomiting, doctors found that his blood pressure was spiking and arteries in his brain had spasmed, limiting blood flow and leading to swelling and an infarct (tissue death due to inadequate blood supply). They diagnosed him with reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS) secondary to pepper ingestion. After treatment, he made a full recovery.
這些超辣辣椒與嚴(yán)重的健康問題有關(guān)。在2020年的病例研究中，美國密西西比州的醫(yī)生報(bào)告，一名健康的15歲少年在食用Carolina Reaper辣椒后，連續(xù)幾天出現(xiàn)嚴(yán)重頭痛。六天后少年被送進(jìn)急診室，頭痛、惡心和嘔吐加劇，醫(yī)生發(fā)現(xiàn)他的血壓飆升，腦動(dòng)脈痙攣，血液流動(dòng)受限，導(dǎo)致腫脹和梗死（由于血液供應(yīng)不足導(dǎo)致組織死亡）。他們診斷他患有繼發(fā)于胡椒攝入的可逆性腦血管收縮綜合征（RCVS）。經(jīng)過治療，這名少年康復(fù)了。

"These ultraspicy peppers may either contain a unique vasoactive substance, or there is a dose-related effect of capsaicin concentration that can trigger RCVS," the doctors concluded. "Further research in this area is needed to determine the exact pathophysiology of this phenomenon. This case provides further evidence that ingestion of hot peppers may lead to serious consequences and that further research is needed to assess their safety."
醫(yī)生們總結(jié)道：“這些超辣辣椒可能含有一種獨(dú)特的血管活性物質(zhì)，或者辣椒素濃度的劑量相關(guān)效應(yīng)可能會觸發(fā)RCVS。需要進(jìn)一步研究這一領(lǐng)域，以確定這種現(xiàn)象的確切病理生理學(xué)。這個(gè)案例進(jìn)一步證明了食用辣椒可能導(dǎo)致嚴(yán)重后果，并且需要進(jìn)一步研究其安全性?！?/p>

It's not the first time RCVS was linked to the Carolina Reaper. In 2018, doctors in New York reported a case of a 34-year-old man who ate the pepper during a pepper-eating contest. In the days following, he developed severe neck and head pain, and intensely painful thunderclap headaches. Scans showed unexpected narrowing of arteries in his brain. He, too, recovered after treatment.
這不是RCVS第一次與Carolina Reaper辣椒聯(lián)系在一起。2018年，紐約醫(yī)生報(bào)告了一例34歲男子在吃辣椒比賽中吃了這種辣椒后發(fā)病的情況。在接下來的幾天里，他出現(xiàn)了嚴(yán)重的頸部和頭部疼痛，以及劇烈的雷擊樣頭痛。掃描顯示他腦部動(dòng)脈意外變窄。經(jīng)過治療，他也康復(fù)了。

"RCVS should be considered in the differential diagnosis in patients who present with thunderclap headache after ingestion of cayenne [capsaicin-containing] pepper, which is a vasoactive substance," they concluded.
醫(yī)生總結(jié)道：“在食用了辣椒素含量較高的辣椒后出現(xiàn)雷擊樣頭痛的患者，應(yīng)該考慮到RCVS的可能性?！?/p>

But the brain's vasculature may not be the only big concern from extreme capsaicin doses. A 2012 case study from Turkey reported that a healthy 25-year-old man suffered a heart attack after taking cayenne pepper pills marketed for weight loss. Tests indicated that the cause of the heart attack was spasms of the coronary arteries. The researchers noted similar effects had been seen in rat hearts.
但是，大腦的血管系統(tǒng)可能并不是辣椒素過量引起的唯一健康問題。2012年土耳其的一項(xiàng)案例研究報(bào)告稱，一名健康的25歲男子在服用了減肥辣椒丸后心臟病發(fā)作。測試表明，心臟病發(fā)作的原因是冠狀動(dòng)脈痙攣。研究人員注意到，在大鼠心臟中也觀察到了類似的效果。

"We suggest that this product, which may increase the risk of life-threatening cardiovascular events, be closely supervised and controlled by relevant institutions worldwide," the authors wrote of the cayenne pepper pills.
研究人員針對辣椒丸寫道：“我們建議全球相關(guān)機(jī)構(gòu)密切監(jiān)督和控制這種可能增加危及生命的心血管事件風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的產(chǎn)品。”

It's unclear how the Paqui chip's capsaicin levels compared to those in the weight-loss pills—and if the levels are even standardized in each of the individual chips. Or, as the Mississippi doctors speculated, if the Carolina Reaper contains "a unique vasoactive substance" beyond capsaicin. But, for now, it's not out of the question that capsaicin alone could have led to death.
目前尚不清楚Paqui玉米片的辣椒素水平與減肥辣椒丸中的水平相比如何，也不清楚每片玉米片中的辣椒素含量是否標(biāo)準(zhǔn)化?；蛘撸缑芪魑鞅戎莸尼t(yī)生推測的那樣，Carolina Reaper含有辣椒素之外的“一種獨(dú)特的血管活性物質(zhì)”。但就目前而言，辣椒素存在致死可能性。

Dr. Peter Chai, an associate professor of emergency medicine and medical toxicology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, told the Associated Press that the capsaicin could be deadly on its own.
波士頓布萊根婦女醫(yī)院急診醫(yī)學(xué)和醫(yī)學(xué)毒理學(xué)副教授皮特·柴博士告訴美聯(lián)社，辣椒素本身可能致命。

"It’s possible eating these chips with high concentration of capsaicin could cause death," Chai said. "It would really depend on the amount of capsaicin that an individual was exposed to. At high doses, it can lead to fatal dysrhythmia or irreversible injury to the heart."
他表示：“吃食用含有高濃度辣椒素的薯片可能會導(dǎo)致死亡。這取決于一個(gè)人攝入的辣椒素劑量。在高劑量下，辣椒素可能導(dǎo)致致命的心律失?；?qū)π呐K的不可逆損傷。”

來源：Ars Technica
編輯：董靜