紅葡萄酒一直以來都被推崇為一種健康飲品。如今，葡萄酒中據說有益健康的成分──白藜蘆醇──在日常營養補充品、飲料、甚至一種新的營養食品（銷售商宣稱這種營養棒可以幫助你延年益壽，有助于預防癌癥和其他疾病）中也可以獲得了。直到最近之前，白藜蘆醇有益健康的證據都只限于動物試驗數據，不過現在初步的人體試驗已經得出了讓人感興趣的結果。
Red wine has long been touted as a health elixir. Now wine’s purported health-giving ingredient, resveratrol, is available in daily supplements, beverages and even a new nutritional bar claimed by sellers to help you live longer and help prevent cancer and other diseases. Until recently, the evidence for resveratrol has been animal data, but preliminary human testing has yielded intriguing results.
白藜蘆醇是葡萄和其他植物中的一種成分。市場上的很多營養補充品都是從日本結草中提取白藜蘆醇，而結草是一種既豐富又便宜的白藜蘆醇來源。瑞士Royal DSM NV公司銷售一種人工合成的“resVida”。營養補充品、一種非酒精水果口味飲料和新推出的Winetime巧克力水果棒中都含有這種成分。
Resveratrol is a substance found in grapes and other plants. Many of the supplements on the market extract it from the Japanese knotweed plant, which is a plentiful and inexpensive source. Switzerland’s Royal DSM NV sells a synthetic version called resVida, which is found in supplements, a nonalcoholic fruit-flavored beverage and the new Winetime chocolate-fruit bar.
研究人員在動物試驗中發現，白藜蘆醇可以防止或放緩從癌癥到心血管疾病等一系列疾病的發展，甚至能延長一些生物體的壽命。自2008年以來，在科學會議上至少展示了五項人體試驗，表明白藜蘆醇有益人體，包括改善心臟血液流動、更好地控制糖尿病等。
Resveratrol has found been found in animal studies to prevent or slow progression of illnesses from cancer to cardiovascular disease -- and even to extend the life span of some organisms. Since 2008, at least five human studies have been presented at scientific meetings showing human benefits, ranging from improved blood flow to the heart to better control of diabetes.
最新的結果令人振奮，不過一些科學家說，公眾開始服用營養補充品還為時尚早。取決于劑量的不同，一片營養補充劑中白藜蘆醇的含量相當于數十甚至數百瓶葡萄酒的含量。目前還不知道對人體適宜的劑量，而且并不是說越多越好。
The newest results are exciting, but some scientists say it is too early for the public to begin taking supplements, which contain as much resveratrol in one pill as dozens or hundreds of bottles of wine, depending on the dose. The proper dose for humans isn’t yet known -- and more isn’t necessarily better.
康涅狄格大學醫學院的研究人員發現，小劑量白藜蘆醇可以保護小鼠的心臟免遭人為引發的心臟病突發，而大劑量實際上會加重心臟病突發。
Researchers at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine in Farmington found that lower doses of resveratrol protected rats’ hearts from artificially induced heart attacks while high doses actually made the attacks worse.
伊利諾伊大學芝加哥分校流行病學教授奧士安斯基(S. Jay Olshansky)說，盡管在人體上已經進行了一些安全性研究，大劑量是否會產生長期副作用，這一點還不清楚；我再怎么強調都不為過：不要在自己身上做試驗。
While some safety studies have been conducted on humans, it is too early to know if there are long-term side effects of high doses, says S. Jay Olshansky, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Illinois at Chicago. ’I cannot emphasize enough: Do not experiment on your own body,’ he says.
沒有人知道白藜蘆醇確切的作用機理，不過科學家們認為，它可以激活一系列的基因，對人體的各項功能造成連鎖反應。人體研究數據包括從Sirtris Pharmaceuticals Inc.的一項研究得出的結果。這項研究包括由100人組成的對照組。研究發現，服用了葛蘭素史克生產的自主配方補充品SRT501的糖尿病患者體內血糖水平降低，不過這種營養補充品尚未上市。
No one knows exactly how resveratrol works, but scientists believe it activates a wide range of genes, creating a cascade-like effect on a variety of body functions. Human data include a 100-person placebo-controlled study by Sirtris Pharmaceuticals Inc. that found lowered blood-glucose levels in diabetics who took the GlaxoSmithKline unit’s proprietary formulation, SRT501, not yet on the market. |
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