英語聽力文摘 飲食與基因
The study of genes has shown that every individual is genetically unique, and this discovery leads to a host of questions as to the relationship between an individual’s genes and environmental factors such as diet.
That is, how does diet interact with one’s genetic make-up to affect one’s health? This is the primary concern of nutrigenomics. It is the study of how different foods interact with particular genes, affecting how these genes act or altering their structures.
Specifically, nutrigenomics is concerned with how chemicals in different foods can interact with particular genes to increase the risk of diseases such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and some cancers.
Nutrigenomics dictates that understanding how dietary chemicals regulate different genes will lead to individualized nutrition, the ability to design diets catered to one’s specific genetic make-up.
For example, the food pyramid developed by the USDA assumes that all Americans are the same and have the same dietary needs. Of course, the truth is that we’re not.
A lucky few of us can consume high fat diets and yet not develop heart disease, while others on moderate fat diets may develop heart disease.
Perhaps one day our doctors will read our DNA and take into account our genotype along with other environmental factors such as our physical activity. They may then prescribe us individualized diets, designed to match our unique nutritional needs.
This way, diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s may actually be slowed down or even prevented.
營養(yǎng)基因組學(xué)
由對基因的研究人們得出結(jié)論，每個人從遺傳學(xué)的角度來看都是獨(dú)一無二的。這一結(jié)論引出了一大堆的問題，例如人體基因與環(huán)境因素(如：飲食)之間的關(guān)系。
換句話說，飲食是如何與人體的基因相互作用，從而影響到人們的身體健康?這是營養(yǎng)基因組學(xué)關(guān)注的核心問題。營養(yǎng)基因組學(xué)是研究不同的食物是如何與特定的基因相互作用，進(jìn)而影響這些基因的活動以及結(jié)構(gòu)轉(zhuǎn)變的科學(xué)。
特別要說明一點(diǎn)，這門科學(xué)關(guān)注的問題是：不同食物中的化學(xué)物質(zhì)是如何與特定的基因作用來增加人體患病的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的，這些疾病可能是2型糖尿病、肥胖癥、心臟病和一些癌癥。
在營養(yǎng)基因組學(xué)研究中，如果了解膳食化合物如何影響不同的基因，便可以研究出個性化營養(yǎng)方案，還可以根據(jù)一個人特定的基因構(gòu)造來制定日常飲食計(jì)劃。
比如說，由美國農(nóng)業(yè)部發(fā)布的食物金字塔，我們可以做出假設(shè)：所有的美國人都是一樣的，人們有著同樣的飲食需求。當(dāng)然，事實(shí)并非如此。
只有少數(shù)的幸運(yùn)兒才可能在攝入高脂肪的食物后不患上心臟病，然，很多人就算食物脂肪含量適中也可能患上心臟病。
也許某一天，我們的醫(yī)生能解讀我們的DNA，同時(shí)將各人的基因型及其他的環(huán)境因素(如：體力活動)考慮在內(nèi)。其后，再根據(jù)各人獨(dú)特的營養(yǎng)需求開出個性化的飲食規(guī)定。這樣一來，像癌癥、老年癡呆這樣的病的患病率就可能有所降低，甚至是得到預(yù)防!
