How the food you eat affects your brain

How the food you eat affects your brain

饮食对大脑的影响

If you sucked all of the moisture out of your brain and broke it down to its constituent nutritional content,

如果将你大脑里所有的水分都吸干，然后按不同的营养成分进行分类，

what would it look like?

会是什么样子呢？

Most of the weight of your dehydrated brain would come from fats, also known as lipids.

脱水后，大脑的重量主要来自于脂肪，也被认为是脂质。

In the remaining brain matter, you would find proteins and amino acids, traces of micronutrients, and glucose.

在剩余的物质中，你会发现有蛋白质和氨基酸，微量营养素以及葡萄糖。

The brain is, of course, more than just the sum of its nutritional parts,

当然，大脑不仅仅是这些营养物质的简单加总。

but each component does have a distinct impact on functioning, development, mood, and energy.

这些营养物质确实各有分工，影响着身体运作、机能发展、情绪变化及能量消耗。

So that post-lunch apathy, or late-night alertness you might be feeling, well, that could be simply be the effects of food on your brain.

我们可能都有过，午饭后乏力易困，或是夜幕已深我们仍难以入眠，这些体验都可能是食物对大脑产生的影响。

Of the fats in your brain, the superstars are omegas 3 and 6.

大脑里的脂质中，Omegas-3和Omegas-6是其中的明星成员。

These essential fatty acids, which have been linked to preventing degenerative brain conditions, must come from our diets.

这些人体必须的脂肪酸，被认为能组织脑功能的退化，它们必须通过食物才能摄取。

So eating omega-rich foods, like nuts, seeds, and fatty fish, is crucial to the creation and maintenance of cell membranes.

所以，食用富含Omega脂肪酸的食物，比如坚果、食物种子以及脂质含量较高的鱼类对细胞膜生成和维护是非常关键的。

And while omegas are good fats for your brain, long-term consumption of other fats,

Omega这类脂质对大脑来说是有益脂肪，但长期食用对其它脂质，

like trans and saturated fats, may compromise brain health.

比如反式脂肪和饱和脂肪，却可能会危害脑部健康。

Meanwhile, proteins and amino acids, the building block nutrients of growth and development, manipulate how we feel and behave.

同时，蛋白质和氨基酸，生长和发育的基本营养素，控制着我们的感觉和行为,

Amino acids contain the precursors to neuotransmitters,

氨基酸含有构成神经递质的前体蛋白，

the chemical messengers that carry signals between neurons, affecting things like mood, sleep, attentiveness, and weight.

神经递质就是在神经元之间传递信号的化学物质,会影响人类的情绪、睡眠、注意力及体重。

They're one of the reasons we might feel calm after eating a large plate of pasta, or more alert after a protein-rich meal.

这是人们在吃了一大份意大利面后会变得镇定的原因之一，或许也是为什么人们吃了一顿富含蛋白质的晚餐后会觉得精神。

The complex combinations of compounds in food can stimulate brain cells to release mood-altering norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin.

食物中复合物的复杂组合会刺激大脑细胞释放影响情绪的降肾上腺素、多巴胺和血清素。

But getting to your brain cells is tricky, and amino acids have to compete for limited access.

但它们想要进入脑部细胞并非易事，氨基酸还需抢占有限的通道以进入脑细胞。

A diet with a range of foods helps maintain a balanced combination of brain messengers,

饮食结构多样化能帮助脑部传输元素数量平衡、相互协作，

and keeps your mood from getting skewed in one direction or the other.

以保证你的情绪不会有偏向的波动。

Like the other organs in our bodies, our brains also benefit from a steady supply of micronutrients.

像我们身体中的其它器官一样，稳定供给微量营养元素也会有益大脑。

Antioxidants in fruits and vegetables strengthen the brain to fight off free radicals that destroy brain cells,

水果和蔬菜中的抗氧化剂能增强大脑抵抗破坏脑细胞的自由基的能力，

enabling your brain to work well for a longer period of time.

从而使你的大脑能够在更长的时间内正常工作。

And without powerful micronutrients, like the vitamins B6, B12, and folic acid,

如果没有这些强大的微量营养元素，如维他命B6、B12及叶酸，

our brains would be susceptible to brain disease and mental decline.

我们会易出现脑部疾病和智力下降的病症。

Trace amounts of the minerals iron, copper, zinc, and sodium are also fundamental to brain health and early cognitive development.

微量的矿物铁、铜、锌和钠也是大脑健康和早期认知发展所需的基本元素。

In order for the brain to efficiently transform and synthesize these valuable nutrients, it needs fuel, and lots of it.

为了使大脑能更有效地转化和合成这些重要的营养物质，大脑需要能量，大量的能量。

While the human brain only makes up about 2% of our body weight, it uses up to 20% of our energy resources.

尽管人类大脑只占到体重的2%，但它却消耗了超过20%的能量。

Most of this energy comes from carbohydrates that our body digests into glucose, or blood sugar.

大多数的能量来自碳水化合物，我们的身体将这些碳水化合物消化成葡萄糖或者血糖。

The frontal lobes are so sensitive to drops in glucose.

大脑前庭对葡萄糖供给下降十分敏感。

in fact,that a change in mental function is one of the primary signals of nutrient deficiency.

实际上，心智功能产生的变化就是营养不足的一个重要信号。

Assuming that we are getting glucose regularly, how does the specific type of carbohydrates we eat affect our brains?

假设我们能不断获取葡萄糖，那么我们食用特定种类的碳水化合物是如何影响我们的大脑的呢？

Carbs come in three forms: starch, sugar, and fiber.

碳水化合物有三种形式：淀粉、糖类和纤维素。

While on most nutrition labels, they are all lumped into one total carb count,

尽管在大多数营养成分表中，它们都计入在碳水化合物的含量中。

The ratio of the sugar and fiber subgroups to the whole amount affect how the body and brain respond.

糖类和纤维素各自在总量中所占的比例会影响我们身体和大脑的反应。

A high glycemic food, like white bread, causes a rapid release of glucose into the blood, and then comes the dip.

高血糖食物，如白面包，会迅速释放大量葡萄糖进入血液中，

Blood sugar shoots down, and with it, our attention span and mood.

之后血糖含量又迅速下降，当血糖含量降低时，我们的注意力和情绪也随之下降。

On the other hand, oats, grains, and legumes have slower glucose release, enabling a steadier level of attentiveness.

另一方面，燕麦、谷物和豆类释放葡萄糖较为缓慢，能使注意力保持更稳定。

For sustained brain power, opting for a varied diet of nutrient-rich foods is critical.

为了让脑力可持续使用，选择饮食多样化是至关重要的。

When it comes to what you bite, chew and swallow,

涉及到你要吃、要咀嚼吞咽的食物时，

your choices have direct and long-lasting effect on the most powerful organ in your body.

你的选择会直接并长久地影响到你身体中最强大的器官。