Eating less 'can boost your brain and help you remember more'
吃得少能刺激大腦智力 幫你提高記憶力

Eating less could help you remember more, researchers have found.
有研究者發(fā)現(xiàn)，吃得少能提高記憶力。

Skipping dessert and having an after-dinner coffee instead could also be good for your brain, as well as your waistline.
放棄餐后甜點(diǎn)，來一杯餐后咖啡，有益于你的腦子，也有助于控制你的腰圍。

The news comes from an Italian study into ‘calorific restriction’ – the idea that near-starvation rations boost health and extend life.
這樣的說法來自于一個(gè)意大利的關(guān)于“卡路里限制”的研究，而研究顯示，接近饑餓的食物配給能有助于促進(jìn)健康和延長(zhǎng)壽命。

Scientists have long known of the phenomenon, but have struggled to work out just what it is about severely cutting calories that improves health.
科學(xué)家們?cè)诤芫靡郧熬偷弥@種現(xiàn)象，但通過近期的努力鉆研，科學(xué)家們才知曉大量減少卡路里能增進(jìn)身體健康到底是怎么一回事。

Researcher Giovambattista Pani decided to focus on a protein called CREB1 that is known to be important to memory and learning.
科學(xué)家Giovambattista Pani決定對(duì)一種名為CREB1的蛋白質(zhì)作針對(duì)性研究，而這種蛋白質(zhì)對(duì)于學(xué)習(xí)能力和記憶能力是十分重要的。

In experiments on mice, he showed that cutting calories boosted learning if the animals could still make CREB1. He also showed that cutting calories boosts the amount of the protein made in the brain. The animals’ calorie count was only cut by 25 to 30 per cent. In human terms, this equates to about 600 calories a day.
在老鼠的實(shí)體試驗(yàn)中，他發(fā)現(xiàn)在老鼠大腦持續(xù)產(chǎn)出CREB1的情況下，減少卡路里能增加記憶能力。同時(shí)，他也得出，減少卡路里也能促進(jìn)大腦細(xì)胞數(shù)量的增長(zhǎng)。實(shí)驗(yàn)中只是讓小白鼠減少25-30%的卡路里攝入，而在人體內(nèi)，這相當(dāng)于每天減少600卡路里。

A cup of tea or coffee may also be beneficial, with studies crediting caffeine with upping the amount of CREB1 made in the body. The work by Dr Pani, of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Rome is detailed in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
研究顯示，咖啡因能讓身體多產(chǎn)CREB1蛋白質(zhì)。那么，喝一杯茶，或是品一杯咖啡會(huì)是非常有益。這個(gè)研究項(xiàng)目由羅馬圣心天主教大學(xué)的Pani博士負(fù)責(zé)，該研究的具體細(xì)節(jié)刊登在《國(guó)家科學(xué)院學(xué)報(bào)》的期刊論文上。

Dr Pani said: ‘It is just 25 to 30 per cent fewer calories. It is like not eating a cake at the end of the meal. This gives us a tool to better investigate this brain circuitry and try to figure out more drugs that do the same. We are trying a couple of compounds right now on animals but it is at a very preliminary stage.
Pani博士表示：“這項(xiàng)實(shí)驗(yàn)僅僅需要減少25-30%的卡路里，只是讓你感覺像是沒吃餐后甜點(diǎn)一樣。這為我們提供了更好的研究大腦路徑的方法，我們也嘗試找出更多的藥物減少卡路里，提高記憶。我們即將在活體上嘗試幾種復(fù)合物，但這還停留在非常初步的階段?！?/div>

Keeping the brain young could be of huge value in an ageing population. Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia affect more than 800,000 Britons, and the number expected to double in a generation.
在人口老齡化的今天，保持大腦活性將擁有巨大的價(jià)值。阿爾茨海默氏癥以及其它形式的癡呆癥影響著超過80萬英國(guó)人，而下一代患癡呆癥的人數(shù)將會(huì)是上述數(shù)據(jù)的兩倍。

Dr Pani said: ‘Our findings identify for the first time an important mediator of the effects of diet on the brain. This discovery has important implications to develop future therapies to keep our brain young and prevent brain degeneration and the ageing process. Our hope is to find a way to activate CREB1, for example through new drugs, so to keep the brain young without the need of a strict diet.’
Pani博士表示：“我們的研究第一次確認(rèn)了飲食習(xí)慣對(duì)大腦產(chǎn)生影響的中介物質(zhì)。這次的發(fā)現(xiàn)意義重大，我們可以研發(fā)出創(chuàng)新療法，讓我們的大腦保持活性，還能防止大腦衰退和老齡化進(jìn)程。我們希望尋求一種激活CREB1蛋白質(zhì)的方法，例如通過新藥（而不是制定嚴(yán)格的飲食計(jì)劃）就能讓大腦保持活性?！?/div>