第1453期:Need glasses?Try kale instead

Do carrots really help you see in the dark? What about kiwis or kale? Can eating certain foods improve your eyesight or prevent your eyes degenerating? 

胡萝卜真的能帮助你在黑暗中看东西吗？猕猴桃或羽衣甘蓝呢？吃某些食物可以改善视力或防止眼睛退化吗？

Perhaps we should all be taking supplements to benefit our vision? Research in both the US and Ireland has shown that supplementing the diet with certain key chemicals can significantly benefit your vision. 

也许我们都应该服用补充剂来有益于我们的视力？美国和爱尔兰的研究表明，在饮食中补充某些关键化学物质可以显着改善您的视力。

These can be taken as supplements but they are also found widely in many green leafy plants and green and yellow fruit and vegetables.

这些可以作为补充剂服用，但它们也广泛存在于许多绿叶植物以及绿色和黄色水果和蔬菜中。

The retina is the part of our eye that contains cells sensitive to light. 

视网膜是我们眼睛的一部分，包含对光敏感的细胞。

The most delicate area of this tissue – the macula – is protected from harmful blue and UV light by yellowish ‘macular pigment’. This acts like sunglasses, blocking the damaging light. 这种组织最脆弱的区域——黄斑——被黄色的“黄斑色素”保护免受有害的蓝光和紫外线的伤害。这就像太阳镜一样，阻挡了有害的光线。

It comprises three pigments – lutein, zeaxanthin and meso-zeaxanthin.

它包含三种色素——叶黄素、玉米黄质和内消旋玉米黄质。

A research team led by Professor Nolan in Ireland has recently completed a year-long trial investigating the benefits of taking supplements of macular pigments. 

由爱尔兰诺兰教授领导的一个研究小组最近完成了一项为期一年的试验，调查服用黄斑色素补充剂的好处。

100 participants took part in the experiments. The results showed that by taking lutein, zeaxanthin and meso-zeaxanthin, there was a significant improvement in the protection of the macula, as well as in overall eyesight.

100名参与者参加了实验。结果表明，服用叶黄素、玉米黄质和内消旋玉米黄质后，对黄斑的保护以及整体视力都有显着改善。 

There was also some evidence that these chemicals can help to slow down macular degeneration, which is the main cause of sight loss in the UK. However, this is somewhat controversial.

还有一些证据表明，这些化学物质有助于减缓黄斑变性，黄斑变性是英国失明的主要原因。然而，这有些争议。

Lutein is a yellow compound found only in plants, which produce it to absorb light. We can get lutein by eating foods like kale and spinach. 

叶黄素是一种仅在植物中发现的黄色化合物，产生它来吸收光。我们可以通过吃羽衣甘蓝和菠菜等食物来获取叶黄素。

It is also present in egg yolk. Zeaxanthin, another yellow compound similar to lutein, is found in such foods as corn, yellow bell peppers and saffron.

它也存在于蛋黄中。玉米黄质是另一种类似于叶黄素的黄色化合物，存在于玉米、黄甜椒和藏红花等食物中。 

Meso-zeaxanthin is not generally found in food sources, though it can be found in some fish. It is created in the retina from ingested lutein. 

内消旋玉米黄质通常不存在于食物来源中，但可以在一些鱼类中找到。它是由摄入的叶黄素在视网膜中产生的。

It can be taken in supplements made with marigold extracts.

它可以在用万寿菊提取物制成的补充剂中服用。

As for carrots, it turns out that it’s the leafy green bits on the top that contain the key compounds beneficial to eyesight, rather than the vegetable itself. 

至于胡萝卜，原来是顶部的绿叶部分含有对视力有益的关键化合物，而不是蔬菜本身。

So next time you’re told carrots help you see in the dark, save them for the rabbit and chop up some kiwi instead!

所以下次当你被告知胡萝卜可以帮助你在黑暗中看东西时，把它们留给兔子吃，然后切一些猕猴桃吧！

词汇表

kale （蔬菜）羽衣甘蓝
to degenerate 下降，衰退
supplement 补充物，补充片剂
chemical 化学品
vision 视力
retina 视网膜
tissue 组织
macula 视网膜黄斑
pigment 色素
lutein 叶黄素
zeaxanthin 玉米黄素
meso-zeaxanthin 消旋玉米黃素
sight loss 失明
compound 化合物
saffron 藏红花
to ingest 摄取
marigold extract 万寿菊提取物