改变饮食，延长寿命
Change Your Diet, Extend Your Life
刘立军 供稿
TRANSCRIPT
Diet is the behavior that’s been studied the most in terms of trying to affect things like aging and longevity ― and what scientists end up leaning on is what we call ‘epidemiological’ or observational data. They compare the diets that different people eat, and then they look at the features of those people using things like biological aging or disease risk or life expectancy. Do certain diets tend to correlate with certain outcomes?
There are really three components of diet that seem to be impacting aging: so the first is how much we eat, the second is what we eat, and the third is when we eat. So in terms of how much we eat, a lot of science went into this idea of caloric restriction. Caloric restriction isn’t starvation. It’s usually just about a 20% reduction in the overall calorie intake. In a lot of different animal models, so anything from a worm, fly, mouse, people have seen that when animals are caloric restricted, they tend to live longer.
When trying to figure out if something like caloric restriction is actually beneficial to the aging process in terms of slowing aging, one caveat is that humans today are not at baseline; we’re actually more prone to overeating. So, some researchers have figured out that it might not be the caloric restriction that’s actually the beneficial thing. So even if you can’t restrict your calories, just moving away from overeating is probably gonna have a beneficial effect for most people.
The other thing that’s been studied is this concept of what we eat. A lot of research has gone into whether things like a plant-based diet are actually beneficial to aging and longevity. And there seems to be some evidence that eating less animal products, more fruits and veggies, more whole foods is gonna be better overall; and also minimizing things like refined sugars, and the things that we know are bad for our health.
The third comes down to when we eat, and this is really a new field in aging and longevity science. So again, most people aren’t gonna be able to calorically restrict, but what scientists found is actually fasting can mimic some of the benefits that we’ve seen with caloric restriction. So if people can perhaps minimize their eating to a small window, we think that this can actually recapitulate a lot of the benefits that we’re seeing in the caloric restriction studies.
The idea of why things like caloric restriction or fasting might actually improve our aging process is because we think this evokes this idea of “hormesis” in our bodies. What hormesis refers to is a mild stressor that actually makes our bodies more resilient and robust to stress over time. So having these short-term mild stressors, whether it be fasting or whether it be a small caloric deficit, actually makes our bodies more resilient against a lot of the changes we see that increase with aging.
It’s not that easy to figure out what the optimal or ideal diet is for each of us, and we don’t know exactly how things, like genetics, are going to predispose people to different diets, but one way to do this is to keep track of things like our biological age measures to see how our diet is affecting us. So if you were to completely change your diet or introduce something like intermittent fasting, do you see that reflected in your measures?
The other things are just, functionally, how you’re feeling. So people who are older and more prone to things like muscle loss or weakness might actually need more protein than people who are younger, where science has shown that a low-protein diet might be beneficial. So it’s important to keep in mind that these things aren’t set in stone, and really need to be considered on a personalized basis.
As we move forward in the science and develop more of these biomarkers of aging, I think this will really start to accelerate our understanding of how diet impacts the aging process. Our lifestyle and our behaviors are actually gonna be the biggest contributors to how fast we’re aging.
VOCABULARY
1. epidemiological adj. 流行病学的
2. impact v. to have an effect on sth. （对某事物）有影响，有作用
3. caloric n. 热量
4. caveat n. (formal, from Latin) a warning that particular things need to be considered before sth. can be done 警告；告诫；提醒，注意事项
5. veggie n. 蔬菜
6. recapitulate v. to repeat or give a summary of what has already been said, decided, etc. 重述；概括
7. evoke v. to bring a feeling, a memory or an image into your mind 引起，唤起（感情、记忆或形象）。例如：The music evoked memories of her youth. 这乐曲勾起了她对青年时代的回忆。
8. hormesis n. 毒物兴奋效应，毒理学中用来描述毒物或放射线双相剂量效应的术语，即高剂量毒物对生物体有害，但低剂量毒物反而对生物体有益。
9. deficit n. the amount by which sth., especially an amount of money, is too small or smaller than sth. else 不足额；缺款额；缺少
10. predispose sb. to sth. / to do sth.: to influence sb. so that they are likely to think or behave in a particular way 使倾向于；使受……的影响
11. intermittent adj. stopping and starting often over a period of time, but not regularly 断断续续的；间歇的
12. prone to sth. / to do sth.: likely to suffer from sth. or to do sth. bad 易于遭受；有做（坏事）的倾向
13. biomarker n. 生物标志物，一种可以在生物体内检测到的物质，通常用于研究生物过程、疾病发展或治疗效果。
QUESTIONS
Listen to the news and choose the best answer to each question you hear.
1. What are the three aspects of diet that potentially impact aging, according to the passage?
A) Quantity we eat, quality of what we eat, and time when we eat.
B) Carbohydrate intake, vitamin intake, and fat intake.
C) Preference for meat or vegetables, frequency of meals, and portion size.
D) Personal preference, cultural cuisine, and availability of food.
2. How is “caloric restriction” defined in the context of the article?
A) Starvation or extreme dieting.
B) Refraining from eating certain types of food.
C) Around a 20% reduction in overall calorie intake.
D) Eating only during certain hours of the day.
3. Which dietary pattern does the passage suggest as potentially beneficial for aging and longevity?
A) Consuming more animal products.
B) High intake of refined sugars.
C) Eating less animal products and more plant-based foods.
D) A high-protein diet.
4. What is the concept of “hormesis” as described in the article?
A) A genetic predisposition to aging.
B) A diet based solely on hormones.
C) A mild stressor that makes our bodies more resilient over time.
D) A specific type of fasting regime.
5. What does the author suggest as a way to understand the effects of changing one’s diet?
A) Following popular diet trends.
B) Keeping track of biological age measures.
C) Consulting with a nutritionist.
D) Relying purely on how one feels physically.
KEY
1. What are the three aspects of diet that potentially impact aging, according to the passage?
A) Quantity we eat, quality of what we eat, and time when we eat.
B) Carbohydrate intake, vitamin intake, and fat intake.
C) Preference for meat or vegetables, frequency of meals, and portion size.
D) Personal preference, cultural cuisine, and availability of food.
【答案】A
【解析】细节题。出处是：There are really three components of diet that seem to be impacting aging: so the first is how much we eat, the second is what we eat, and the third is when we eat. 文章中指出影响衰老的饮食有三个组成部分：首先是我们吃多少，其次是我们吃什么，最后是我们何时吃。因此，正确答案是A。
2. How is “caloric restriction” defined in the context of the article?
A) Starvation or extreme dieting.
B) Refraining from eating certain types of food.
C) Around a 20% reduction in overall calorie intake.
D) Eating only during certain hours of the day.
【答案】C
【解析】细节题。出处是：Caloric restriction isn’t starvation. It’s usually just about a 20% reduction in the overall calorie intake.文章中定义了“卡路里限制”通常只是总热量摄入量减少约20%。因此，正确答案是C。
3. Which dietary pattern does the passage suggest as potentially beneficial for aging and longevity?
A) Consuming more animal products.
B) High intake of refined sugars.
C) Eating less animal products and more plant-based foods.
D) A high-protein diet.
【答案】C
【解析】推理题。来源：… there seems to be some evidence that eating less animal products, more fruits and veggies, more whole foods is gonna be better overall… 文章中提到吃更少的动物产品，更多的水果和蔬菜，更多的全食物，可能整体上会更好。因此，正确答案是C。
4. What is the concept of “hormesis” as described in the article?
A) A genetic predisposition to aging.
B) A diet based solely on hormones.
C) A mild stressor that makes our bodies more resilient over time.
D) A specific type of fasting regime.
【答案】C
【解析】细节题。出处：What hormesis refers to is a mild stressor that actually makes our bodies more resilient and robust to stress over time. 文章中描述了“hormesis”是一个轻微的压力源，使我们的身体随着时间流逝而变得更有韧性。因此，正确答案是C。
5. What does the author suggest as a way to understand the effects of changing one’s diet?
A) Following popular diet trends.
B) Keeping track of biological age measures.
C) Consulting with a nutritionist.
D) Relying purely on how one feels physically.
【答案】B
【解析】细节题。来源：… one way to do this is to keep track of things like our biological age measures to see how our diet is affecting us …文章中提到，跟踪测量我们的生物年龄是了解饮食如何影响我们的一种方式。因此，正确答案是B。
（封面图片来源于摄图网，版权归摄图网所有）