A cleanse won't detox your body -- but here's what will | Body Stuff with Dr. Jen Gunter | TED

Transcriber:

"Should I do a cleanse?"

譯者: Riley Huang 審譯者: Helen Chang

「我應該做體內淨化嗎?」

I hear people asking this question a lot.

這是我很常聽到別人問我的問題。

If you're hoping it will remove toxins from your body,

如果你希望這能排出你身體裡的毒素，

that's just not going to happen.

那你可能要失望了。

(Music)

（音樂）

[Body Stuff with Dr. Jen Gunter]

［珍·甘特的有關人體］

Detoxes and cleanses are very popular.

現在身體排毒和淨化很流行。

They come in many forms,

有很多種方式，

from charcoal-infused lemonades to detox teas,

像是喝木炭檸檬水和排毒茶，

and they often have a hefty price tag.

價格通常都很昂貴。

The idea of cleansing isn't anything new --

身體淨化已經不是甚麼新鮮事，

it's been around for thousands of years.

它已經存在數千年了。

For centuries, medicine and religion were deeply intertwined,

醫學和宗教一直以來都是密不可分的，

and there was a lot of focus on ridding the body

而且很多都著重在去除身體中

of impurities and sickness related to bad or imbalanced humors.

和體液不良或不平衡 有關的雜質和疾病。

Bloodletting, purging, fasting --

放血、通腸、斷食──

they were all well-regarded treatments.

這些都是備受推崇的療法。

Today, the wellness industry

現今的健康產業運用我們想

has picked up on our desire to rid ourselves of things.

去除身體中不好的東西的慾望。

They've taken the word "detox,"

他們將「排毒」這種用來戒除 毒癮及酒癮的藥物治療的詞，

the medical treatment for people with drug and alcohol addictions,

and used it to apply to market cleanses.

運用在銷售體內潔淨產品上。

They make it sound like pouring liquid cleaner down plumbing,

它們聽起來像是將清潔液倒入體內，

getting rid of all the dirty stuff.

排出所有的髒東西。

But the reason that sounds right to us

但為什麼我們會認為這是正確的呢？

is it's a rooted in a lack of understanding

那是因為我們對於肝臟的運作方式

of how our liver works.

缺乏了解。

The liver is located in our upper right abdomen.

肝臟位於我們腹部的右上方。

It's somewhere around half the size of a football --

它大約和半顆足球一樣大

an American football --

──半顆美式足球──

and weighs three pounds.

重量大約是 1.36 公斤。

It does many, many jobs that keep our bodies running,

它為了讓我們身體保持運作， 做了非常非常多工作，

from assisting the immune system,

從促進免疫系統

to creating proteins for blood clotting,

到製造凝血所需的蛋白質，

to sending out the cholesterol we need to produce hormones.

再到輸送產生賀爾蒙所需的膽固醇。

The liver is also a key organ for dealing with harmful substances.

肝臟也是一個對抗 有害物質的重要器官。

You can think of it almost like a factory.

你可以把它想像成一座工廠。

It takes nutrients from substances that we consume,

它從我們攝取的食物、 飲料、藥物中吸收營養，

food, drinks, medicines,

breaks them down

再將他們分解，

so they can either be packaged in a way that's usable --

轉換為可被人體利用的形式

like cholesterol and protein, for instance --

──例如膽固醇和蛋白質──

or removed as waste in the bile or via the kidneys,

或是變成體內廢物，

usually in the form of urine.

經由膽汁或腎臟， 通常以尿液的形式排出。

Let's look at what happens

我們來看看，

when the liver encounters some specific substances.

當肝臟遇到一些特定 物質時會發生甚麼事。

What about alcohol?

酒精怎麼樣?

That’s a substance that’s fine in smaller, moderate amounts

那是一種攝取少量、適量沒問題，

but becomes poisonous in excess.

但過量就會有毒的物質。

When we drink, alcohol passes through our liver,

當我們喝酒時， 酒精會通過我們的肝臟，

and the liver breaks it down in three steps.

而肝臟會以三步驟分解它：

First, enzymes convert the alcohol to acetaldehyde,

首先，酵素會將酒精轉化為乙醛，

a substance that can damage cells over time.

一種會逐漸損害細胞的物質。

But acetaldehyde is quickly converted into acetate,

但是乙醛在被分解成 二氧化碳和水之前，

a much more stable intermediate,

會被迅速轉化為醋酸鹽，

before it breaks down into carbon dioxide and water.

一種比較穩定的中間物。

These are components our body can handle.

這些是人體比較能應付的成分。

Now let's look at a popular cleanse --

現在來看看一種很熱門的潔淨食品

cayenne, pepper, lemon juice drink,

──卡宴辣椒粉檸檬汁

to help your liver flush toxins.

怎麼幫助肝臟排毒。

You drink it, it gets digested,

你喝下它之後，它被消化，

nutrients get absorbed in the blood and arrive at the liver.

營養素在血液中被吸收並到達肝臟。

The liver processes these nutrients the same way it processes everything else.

肝臟用像是處理其他東西 一樣的方式處理這些營養素。

It packages whatever's useful that came from the lemon and the pepper

它吸收檸檬和辣椒裡有用的物質，

and disseminates it throughout the body.

再輸送到全身。

Whatever it can't use becomes waste.

沒有用的物質就會變成廢物。

There's nothing particularly magical about mixing cayenne and lemon.

混合卡宴辣椒粉和檸檬 並沒有甚麼神奇的地方。

Doing a cleanse doesn't "clean the pipes,"

體內淨化並不是像清潔水管一樣，

and it doesn't make your liver work any better or faster.

而且他不會讓你的肝臟 運作得更好或更快。

At best, you might lose a few pounds on a cleanse,

你頂多會因為攝取這些 排毒產品而瘦了幾磅，

because you aren't eating much.

因為你吃的不夠。

At worst, you could go into starvation mode.

在最糟的情況下， 你可能會進入饑餓模式。

You could throw off your electrolyte balance,

這會導致電解質不平衡，

not to mention disrupt your intestinal flora and bowel function.

更不用說會破壞腸菌族及腸道功能。

Clearly, having a healthy liver is extremely important.

很明顯的，擁有一個 健康的肝臟非常重要。

The best things you can do: don't smoke,

你能做的就是：不要抽菸、

eat a balanced diet, exercise regularly and get lots of sleep,

均衡飲食、規律運動和獲得充足睡眠，

but there are some more liver specific things to do.

除此之外還有其他事情會影響到肝臟。

Don't consume too much alcohol,

不要喝太多酒，

as it can cause a variety of problems over time,

因為長期下來會造成很多不同的問題，

from fatty liver disease to cirrhosis of the liver,

像是脂肪肝、肝硬化，以及肝癌。

to liver cancer.

Read the warning labels on medications

記得閱讀藥品上的標籤，

as some can damage your liver when you don't take them as directed.

因為如果你不按照指示服用， 有些藥品會損害你的肝臟。

You've probably heard about hepatitis,

你或許聽過肝炎，

which can be caused by a viral infection of the liver

他是因病毒感染肝臟而引起的， 有可能會很嚴重。

that can be very serious.

Get the vaccine for hepatitis B, if you haven't already.

如果你還沒打過 B 型肝炎的疫苗，快去施打。

And if you're an adult who hasn't been screened for hepatitis C,

如果你是還沒篩檢過 C 型肝炎的成年人，

consider talking to your doctor about testing options,

可以考慮和你的醫生 討論是否需要檢查，

as too many people don't realize they have it.

因為有太多人都不知道 自己有感染 C 型肝炎。

Finally, be careful with supplements and herbs,

最後，注意營養補充品和草藥，

particularly anything marketed as bodybuilding

特別是那些標榜幫助 雕塑體態和減肥的產品。

or a weight loss supplement,

as these are not nearly as well-regulated as you would think.

因為它們的監管並沒有 你想像中的那麼好。

20 percent of liver injury due to medication in the United States

在美國有 20％的肝損傷

is actually caused by these kinds of supplements.

實際上是由營養品引起的。

So talk to your doctor before you start them.

所以建議在你服用 營養品之前，先跟醫生討論。

So many things are sold to us as self-care,

有太多產品是以自我保健的 名義推銷給我們，

淨化產品也不例外，

and cleanses are no exception,

but I believe the best self-care is just learning more about our bodies.

但我相信最好的自我保健， 就是多了解自己的身體。

That way, we can tune out all the noise

這樣，我們就可以排除所有的雜訊，

and make informed decisions on what we really need.

並就我們真正的需要做出明智的決定。