60秒科学:Antioxidants-Diabetes Connection

Antioxidants-Diabetes¹ Connection
In a study in the journal Cell Metabolism², some mice given antioxidants were more likely to become diabetic, because free radicals³ help muscle cells respond to insulin. Karen Hopkin reports.

You’ve no doubt heard of “free radicals”, those nasty chemicals that seem to contribute to heart disease, cancer and all sorts of human ailments⁴. Maybe you even take antioxidant vitamins to help get rid of these unwanted toxins⁵. Well, maybe you shouldn’t. Because a new study in the journal Cell Metabolism suggests that, when it comes to diabetes, free radicals can be good for you—and and antioxidants might make things worse.

Free radicals can damage vital cell components⁶, and our bodies produce them naturally as we metabolize food. So, it stands to reason if we eat lots and lots of food, we’ll make tons of radicals. And put ourselves at risk of becoming seriously obese⁷, and developing diabetes. All of which is bad.

But it’s actually not that simple. You see, in addition to being potentially harmful, free radicals are also necessary for cells to communicate. In particular, they help muscle cells respond to insulin. So, mice that can’t get rid of their free radicals actually do well on a high-fat diet, and it’s only when they’re given antioxidants that they get diabetes. If all that makes your head hurt, go for a nice walk. Because exercise is still good for you.
 

1 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

2 metabolism   

n.新陈代谢

参考例句：

• After years of dieting,Carol's metabolism was completely out of whack.经过数年的节食，卡罗尔的新陈代谢完全紊乱了。
• All living matter undergoes a process of metabolism.生物都有新陈代谢。

3 radicals   

n.激进分子( radical的名词复数 )；根基；基本原理；[数学]根数

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals. 一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The worry is that the radicals will grow more intransigent. 现在人们担忧激进分子会变得更加不妥协。 来自辞典例句

4 ailments   

疾病（尤指慢性病），不适( ailment的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His ailments include a mild heart attack and arthritis. 他患有轻度心脏病和关节炎。
• He hospitalizes patients for minor ailments. 他把只有小病的患者也送进医院。

5 toxins   

n.毒素( toxin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The seas have been used as a receptacle for a range of industrial toxins. 海洋成了各种有毒工业废料的大容器。
• Most toxins are naturally excreted from the body. 大部分毒素被自然排出体外。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

7 obese   

adj.过度肥胖的，肥大的

参考例句：

• The old man is really obese,it can't be healthy.那位老人确实过于肥胖了，不能算是健康。
• Being obese and lazy is dangerous to health.又胖又懒危害健康。