How the food you eat affects your gut - Shilpa Ravella

翻译人员: Liu Qi 校对人员: Tianji (Homer) Li

Trillions of bacteria, viruses, and fungi live on or inside of us,

数万亿细菌、病毒和真菌 生活在我们身上及体内，

and maintaining a good, balanced relationship with them

和它们保持良好平衡的关系

is to our advantage.

是对我们有利的。

Together, they form the gut microbiome,

它们一起形成肠道微生物群，

a rich ecosystem that performs a variety of functions in our bodies.

这是一个丰富的生态系统， 在我们的身体中发挥各种作用。

The bacteria in our guts can break down food the body can't digest,

肠道细菌可以分解 体内无法消化的食物，

produce important nutrients,

产生重要的营养物质，

regulate the immune system,

调节免疫系统，

and protect against harmful germs.

防止有害细菌。

We don't yet have the blueprint

我们目前还无法明确

for exactly which good bacteria a robust gut needs,

健康的肠道需要哪些有益细菌，

but we do know that it's important for a healthy microbiome

但我们确切地知道， 对于健康的微生物群来说，

to have a variety of bacterial species.

拥有多种细菌非常重要。

Many factors affect our microbiomes,

影响微生物群的因素有很多，

including our environment,

包括环境、

medications like antibiotics,

药品，如抗生素，

and even whether we were delivered by C-section or not.

以及我们是否生于剖腹产。

Diet, too, is emerging as one of the leading influences

饮食也渐渐变成了 影响肠道健康的

on the health of our guts.

主要因素之一。

And while we can't control all these factors,

虽然无法控制所有因素，

we can manipulate the balance of our microbes

但我们可以通过关注饮食

by paying attention to what we eat.

来控制体内微生物群的平衡。

Dietary fiber from foods like fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, and whole grains

来自水果、蔬菜、坚果、豆类 和全谷类食物的膳食纤维

is the best fuel for gut bacteria.

是肠道菌群最好的补给。

When bacteria digest fiber,

当细菌分解纤维时，

they produce short chain fatty acids that nourish the gut barrier,

它们会产生短链脂肪酸， 滋养肠道屏障，

improve immune function,

改善免疫功能，

and can help prevent inflammation, which reduces the risk of cancer.

帮助预防炎症， 从而降低癌症风险。

And the more fiber you ingest,

摄入的纤维越多，

the more fiber-digesting bacteria colonize your gut.

肠道中消化纤维的细菌就越多。

In a recent study, scientists exchanged the regular high-fiber diets

在最近的一项研究中，

科学家们将南非农村人 长期食用的高纤维饮食，

of a group of rural South Africans

with the high-fat, meat-heavy diets of a group of African-Americans.

换成非洲裔美国人的高脂多肉饮食。

After just two weeks on the high-fat, low-fiber, Western-style diet,

改用高脂肪、低纤维的 西式饮食仅仅两周后，

the rural African group showed increased inflammation of the colon,

非洲农村人实验组出现结肠炎症增加、

as well as a decrease of butyrate.

丁酸盐减少的现象。

That's a short chain fatty acid thought to lower risk of colon cancer.

这种短链脂肪酸， 可以降低患结肠癌的风险。

Meanwhile, the group that switched to a high-fiber, low-fat diet

与此同时，改用高纤维、 低脂肪饮食的实验组

had the opposite result.

则出现相反的结果。

So what goes wrong with our gut bacteria when we eat low-fiber processed foods?

当我们摄入低纤维加工食品时， 肠道细菌出现了什么问题呢？

Lower fiber means less fuel for the gut bacteria,

对于肠道细菌来说， 纤维越少意味着补给越少，

essentially starving them until they die off.

致使肠道细菌挨饿，直至死亡。

This results in less diversity

这会使细菌多样性减少，

and hungry bacteria.

并产生饥饿细菌。

In fact, some can even start to feed on the mucus lining.

事实上，有些细菌甚至 开始吃黏液层。

We also know that specific foods can affect gut bacteria.

特定的食物也会影响肠道细菌。

In one recent microbiome study,

在最近的一项微生物组研究中，

scientists found that fruits,

科学家发现水果、

vegetables,

蔬菜、

tea,

茶、

coffee,

咖啡、

red wine,

红酒、

and dark chocolate

以及黑巧克力

were correlated with increased bacterial diversity.

都可以增加细菌多样性。

These foods contain polyphenols,

这些食物含有多酚，

which are naturally occurring antioxidant compounds.

一种天然抗氧化剂。

另一方面，

On the other hand,

foods high in dairy fat,

乳脂含量高的食物，

like whole milk, and sugar-sweetened sodas

如全脂牛奶，加糖的苏打水

were correlated with decreased diversity.

则会使细菌多样性降低。

How food is prepared also matters.

如何烹制食物也很重要。

Minimally processed, fresh foods generally have more fiber

最低限度加工的新鲜食品 通常含有更多纤维，

and provide better fuel.

可以提供更多营养。

So lightly steamed,

所以清蒸的，

sautéed,

淡炒的，

or raw vegetables

或生的蔬菜

are typically more beneficial than fried dishes.

通常比油炸菜品更有益。

There are also ways of preparing food that can actually introduce good bacteria,

还有一些食物制作方法， 可以切实地将有益细菌，

also known as probiotics, into your gut.

也称为益生菌，引入肠道。

Fermented foods are teeming with helpful probiotic bacteria,

发酵的食物中含有大量有益的益生菌，

like lactobacillus

如乳酸杆菌

and bifidobacteria.

和双歧杆菌。

Originally used as a way of preserving foods

在制冷工艺发明之前，

before the invention of refrigeration,

本来是作为一种保存食物的方式。

fermentation remains a traditional practice all over the world.

发酵这种传统工艺 一直广泛流传于全世界。

Foods like kimchi,

韩国泡菜、

sauerkraut,

德国酸菜、

tempeh,

印尼豆豉

and kombucha

和红茶菌等食物

provide variety and vitality to our diets.

为我们的饮食提供了多样性和活力。

Yogurt is another fermented food that can introduce helpful bacteria into our guts.

酸奶是另一种可以为肠道 带来有益菌的发酵食品，

That doesn't necessarily mean that all yogurt is good for us, though.

但这并不意味着所有的 酸奶对我们都是有益的。

Brands with too much sugar and not enough bacteria

那些糖分较多、 细菌较少的品牌

may not actually help.

可能对我们没有好处。

These are just general guidelines.

这些只是一般指导原则。

More research is needed before we fully understand

要彻底了解食物与我们体内 微生物群之间的相互作用，

exactly how any of these foods interact with our microbiomes.

还需要很多研究。

We see positive correlations,

我们看到了正向相关性，

but the insides of our guts are difficult places to make direct observations.

但肠道内部很难进行直接观察。

For instance, we don't currently know

例如，我们目前还不知道

whether these foods are directly responsible for the changes in diversity,

是这些食物直接 改变了细菌多样性，

or if something more complicated is happening.

还是发生了更加复杂的过程。

While we're only beginning to explore the vast wilderness inside our guts,

仅仅是刚开始研究肠道世界内部，

we already have a glimpse of how crucial our microbiomes are for digestive health.

我们就已经初窥微生物 对消化系统健康的重要性。

The great news is we have the power to fire up the bacteria in our bellies.

好消息是我们可以 调动肠道里的细菌。

Fill up on fibers,

补充纤维、

fresh and fermented foods,

多吃新鲜和发酵食品，

and you can trust your gut to keep you going strong.

剩下的事情放心交给肠道， 它会让你变得强壮。