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According to new US research filling up on leafy green vegetables could be a factor in keeping your brain healthy later in life, thanks to a nutrient called lutein. Carried out by the University of Illinois, the researchers set out to see if there was a notable difference in cognitive function between younger and middle-age participants with higher and lower lutein levels.
美國的新研究表明：多吃綠葉蔬菜可能會保持你的大腦健康，而這得歸因於一種叫做葉黃素的營養物質。伊利諾伊大學的研究人員開展了該項研究，他們想要觀察有較高葉黃素水平的年輕受試者和較低葉黃素水平的中年受試者之間的認知功能是否存在明顯差異。
Most previous studies have looked at lutein levels in older adults, after there has already been a period of cognitive decline, however the new study recruited 60 participants aged 25 to 45.
先前的大多數研究只觀察了老年人的葉黃素水平，而他們的認知功能本就有所衰退，這項新研究招募了60位25至45歲的受試者。
"As people get older, they experience typical decline. However, research has shown that this process can start earlier than expected. You can even start to see some differences in the 30s," said Anne Walk, first author of the paper. "We want to understand how diet impacts cognition throughout the lifespan. If lutein can protect against decline, we should encourage people to consume lutein-rich foods at a point in their lives when it has maximum benefit."
"隨著人們年齡的增長，他們會經歷一些典型的衰退。然而，研究表明：這一過程可能比預期更早。有些人30歲的時候就能看出差異了，"該文章的第一作者安妮·沃克（Anne Walk）說道。"我們想要了解在整個生命周期中，飲食對人們認知的影響。如果葉黃素能防止認知功能衰退，我們就應該鼓勵人們在生命中的某個階段多吃一些富含葉黃素的食物，因為這個階段能帶來最大的益處。"
Lutein is a nutrient that the body can't make on its own but it can be acquired through diet. As well as green leafy vegetables such as spinach and kale, it is also found in foods such as avocados and eggs. To measure levels of the nutrient in the participants the researchers looked at the participants' eyes, where lutein accumulates in the tissue, asking them look into a scope and respond to a flickering light.
葉黃素是身體自身無法產生的營養物質，但卻可以通過飲食獲得。菠菜、羽衣甘藍等綠葉蔬菜以及牛油果、雞蛋等食物都含有葉黃素。為了測量受試者體內的葉黃素水平，研究人員檢查了受試者的眼睛，因為葉黃素積累在眼睛的組織中，並讓他們看向一個區域，對閃光燈做出反應。
While the participants performed a task to measure their attention, the researchers used electrodes on the scalps to measure neural activity in the brain.
雖然受試者參加了測量他們注意力的任務，但研究員也在他們的頭皮上使用電極測量他們的大腦活動。
The results showed that, "The neuro-electrical signature of older participants with higher levels of lutein looked much more like their younger counterparts than their peers with less lutein," explained Walk, adding that, "Lutein appears to have some protective role, since the data suggest that those with more lutein were able to engage more cognitive resources to complete the task."
結果表明，"相比葉黃素水平較低的年紀較大的那些人，那些葉黃素水平較高的同齡人的神經電學特徵與年紀較小的受試者更相似，"沃克解釋道，並補充說，"葉黃素似乎能起到保護作用，因為數據顯示那些葉黃素水平較高的人能夠動用更多的認知資源完成任務。"
"Now there's an additional reason to eat nutrient-rich foods such as green leafy vegetables, eggs and avocados," concluded Naiman Khan, a professor of kinesiology and community health at Illinois. "We know these foods are related to other health benefits, but these data indicate that there may be cognitive benefits as well."
"這又給了人們一個多吃營養豐富的食物的理由，比如多吃綠葉蔬菜、雞蛋和牛油果，"伊利諾伊大學的運動學和社區健康學教授奈曼·汗總結道。"我們知道這些食物還有其它的健康益處，但這些數據表明它們也可能帶來認知益處。"