http://www.sina.com.cn 2004/05/14 15:23 視聽英語Ladder AI雜志
Having memory problems? Maybe you’re eating too much
有記憶方面的問題嗎？也許你吃得太多
It seems an inevitable part of aging–as our bodies grow older, our ability to remember gradually fades. It starts early for some people, but by the tim e we reach our 50 and 60s, most of us find that many things we should remember are simply slipping our minds. But new evidence suggests that it’s possible to slow, and even reverse, time’s effects on your mind.
當(dāng)我們的身體變老，我們的記憶力也逐漸衰退，這似乎是衰老過程中無可避免的一部分。這在某些人身上出現(xiàn)得很早，但是當(dāng)我們到了五六十歲的時候，我們當(dāng)中多數(shù)人都會發(fā)現(xiàn)很多我們應(yīng)該記得的事都被忘記了。但是新的證據(jù)顯示，要減緩或甚至倒轉(zhuǎn)時間對你腦袋的影響是有可能的。
While it was previously believed that the brain could not create new cells, studies have found that learning new things actually does stimulate brain growth and helps protect against diseases that affect the mind.
先前大家相信大腦無法制造新的細(xì)胞，但研究發(fā)現(xiàn)學(xué)習(xí)新事物的確會刺激大腦生長，并有助于保護(hù)大腦免受影響智力的疾病所侵襲。
Professor Eric Kandel, who won a Nobel Prize for his study of the biology of the human memory, says best way to save your memories is to keep your brain in good shape.“Continue to use your mind actively,”he suggests.“Continue to work. In fact, take on difficult tasks. Learn another language.”Through this kind of mental exertion, he says, people can keep their memories whole into their 80s and 90s.
因研究人類記憶生物學(xué)而榮獲諾貝爾獎的艾瑞克·坎戴爾教授說，拯救你記憶的最佳辦法就是讓你的大腦保持良好的狀態(tài)。“持續(xù)積極地使用你的大腦。”他建議，“持續(xù)地工作。事實(shí)上，要接受困難的任務(wù)。學(xué)習(xí)其他語言。”他說，通過這種精神鍛煉，人們可以讓記憶一直完整地保持到八九十歲。
In addition, many doctors are finding that what you eat may also affect how well you remember things. Mark Mattson, a researcher at the National Institute on Aging, says that reducing the amount of calories fed to older rats and mice by 30 percent has helped enhance learning and memory.
此外，許多醫(yī)生也發(fā)現(xiàn)，你所吃的東西也會影響你的記憶力。國家老化學(xué)會的研究員馬克·麥特森說，把給年齡較大的老鼠的食物熱量降低30%，對提高它們的學(xué)習(xí)力和記憶力有幫助。
This is bad news for people who eat too much, and Dr. Jeff Victoroff of the University of Southern California says, "The typical American diet is almost perfectly designed to wreck the brain."
這對吃太多的人來說是個壞消息。南加州大學(xué)的杰夫·維克托若夫博士說：“典型的美式飲食幾乎完全是設(shè)計(jì)來損害大腦的。”
While it’s hard for many people to control their diet like that, many doctors are saying that even small steps can make a big difference. Cutting back on alcohol, or eating more fatty fish, like salmon or tuna, can have a big effect on your memory in the long run.
雖然對很多人來說，要像那樣控制飲食很困難，但許多醫(yī)生都說，即使是小小的一步也可以造成很大的不同。減少酒精的攝取，或多吃含油脂的魚，例如大大麻哈魚或金槍魚，從長遠(yuǎn)來看就可以對你的記憶產(chǎn)生很大的影響。
