因為飲食不良而失明?吃薯條最多的青少年失明了

A 14-year-old boy goes to the doctor with complaints of tiredness. He's an extremely picky eater. (Think a daily diet of French fries, plus snacking on Pringles potato chips, white bread and some processed pork.) But overall, he appears OK. He's not overweight and takes no medications.
一個疲倦的14歲男孩帶著抱怨去看醫(yī)生。他是個非常挑食的人。(想想每天吃炸薯條，外加品客薯片、白面包和一些加工過的豬肉。)但總的來說，他看起來還不錯。他沒有超重，也沒有吃藥。
Tests show he has low levels of vitamin B12 and anemia, so he's given B12 injections and diet advice. But a year later, he has begun to lose his vision. Then, by age 17, he's legally blind.
測試顯示，他的維生素B12和貧血水平較低，因此他接受了B12注射和飲食建議。但一年后，他開始失去視力。17歲時，他失明了。 Turns out, the boy's highly limited daily diet — lacking in healthy foods, vitamins and minerals — had led to optic neuropathy. That's the conclusion of researchers from the University of Bristol in England, who have published a case study in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
原來，這個男孩的日常飲食非常有限——缺乏健康的食物、維生素和礦物質(zhì)——導(dǎo)致了視神經(jīng)病變。這是英國布里斯托爾大學(xué)的研究人員得出的結(jié)論，他們在《內(nèi)科醫(yī)學(xué)年鑒》上發(fā)表了一項研究案例。
"This case highlights the impact of diet on visual and physical health, and the fact that calorie intake and BMI are not reliable indicators of nutritional status," Dr. Denize Atan, the study's lead author and a consultant senior lecturer in Ophthalmology at Bristol Medical School, said in a statement.Not everyone is convinced by the case study.
“這個案例強(qiáng)調(diào)了飲食對視覺和身體健康的影響，而卡路里攝入量和BMI并不是營養(yǎng)狀況的可靠指標(biāo)，”該研究的主要作者、布里斯托爾醫(yī)學(xué)院眼科高級顧問講師丹尼澤·阿坦博士在一份聲明中說。并不是每個人都相信這個研究案例。
"It's intriguing," say Allen Taylor, the director of the Nutrition and Vision Laboratoryat the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts. "But it's important to remember it's a study of only one case, with very limited information in it," Taylor says.
“這很有趣，”美國農(nóng)業(yè)部塔夫茨大學(xué)人類衰老營養(yǎng)研究中心營養(yǎng)與視覺實驗室主任艾倫·泰勒說。“但重要的是要記住，這只是一個案例的研究，其中的信息非常有限，”泰勒說。
Taylor says he'd like to know more about how the teen ended up with permanent vision loss, given that optic neuropathy is very uncommon and usually temporary.
泰勒說，考慮到視神經(jīng)病變非常罕見，而且通常是暫時性的，他想知道更多關(guān)于這個青少年最終是如何永久性失明的。
But he says the case study could serve as a wake-up call to remind people of the importance of good nutrition.
但他表示，該案例研究可以作為一個警鐘，提醒人們注意良好營養(yǎng)的重要性。
"There is, absolutely, a link between poor diet and vision loss," Taylor explains. But, he says usually, people don't develop symptoms until much later in life.
泰勒解釋說:“毫無疑問，不良的飲食習(xí)慣和視力下降之間存在聯(lián)系。”但是，他說，通常直到很晚的時候人們才會出現(xiàn)這種癥狀。
He points to a study he and his collaborators published back in 2014, which found that poor-quality diets can increase the risk of age-related macular degeneration. This can lead to blurry vision and can make reading more difficult. It usually occurs after age 60.
他指出，他和他的合作者在2014年發(fā)表的一項研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，低質(zhì)量的飲食會增加年齡相關(guān)性黃斑變性的風(fēng)險。這會導(dǎo)致視力模糊，使閱讀更加困難。通常發(fā)生在60歲以后。
"Conversely, the more one subscribes to a diet rich in fruits and veggies, whole grains, the less the risk for AMD," Taylor says.
泰勒說:“相反，一個人的飲食中富含水果和蔬菜，全谷物，患老年性黃斑變性的風(fēng)險就越低。” People in Taylor's study who consumed plenty of vegetables, legumes, fruits, whole grains, tomatoes and seafood had a lower risk of developing AMD. On the other hand, people who consumed a diet rich in red meat, processed meat, high-fat dairy products, French fries and refined grains had a higher risk of developing the condition.
在泰勒的研究中，食用大量蔬菜、豆類、水果、全谷物、西紅柿和海鮮的人患AMD的風(fēng)險較低。另一方面，飲食中富含紅肉、加工肉類、高脂肪乳制品、炸薯條和精制谷物的人患這種疾病的風(fēng)險更高。
Taylor says it's important to note that the quality of the carbohydrates you eat really does seem to matter.
泰勒說，重要的是要注意你吃的碳水化合物的質(zhì)量似乎真的很重要。
Consuming a lot of refined carbohydrates, including foods such as white bread, chips, crackers and sweets, is linked to a higher risk of developing AMD and some forms of cataracts. Taylor and his collaborators are trying to understand how refined carbohydrates may inflict damage on the cells within our eyes and bodies.
攝入大量精制碳水化合物，包括白面包、薯片、餅干和糖果等食物，會增加患AMD和某些白內(nèi)障的風(fēng)險。泰勒和他的合作者正試圖了解精制碳水化合物是如何對我們眼睛和身體內(nèi)的細(xì)胞造成損害的。