新奇事件簿 禁食有益身体健康（在线收听）

Scientists have conducted tests on mice showing that fasting could have many health benefits. Fasting is eating or drinking very little or nothing for a short period of time. It is usually around 24 hours but can be for a few days. The tests were carried out by scientists at universities in the USA and Italy. They found that occasional fasting in mice could reduce the risk of diabetes, heart disease, cancer and other diseases. The scientists fed mice for four days on a low-calorie, low-protein and low-carbohydrate but high-fat diet. They then gave the mice just 10% of their normal calorie intake for three days. The scientists found this diet made the pancreas in the mice work better.

科学家对老鼠进行了实验，发现禁食有许多健康益处。禁食是指在比较短的一段时间内，食用或饮用很少的食物或水，甚至不吃不喝。持续的时间通常是24小时，也可以持续几天。实验由美国和意大利几所大学的科学家进行。他们发现，老鼠偶尔禁食可以减少糖尿病，心脏病，癌症和其他疾病的风险。科学家连续四天给老鼠喂食低卡路里，低蛋白质和低碳水化合物，但是高脂肪的饮食。然后连续三天给他们提供的热量只有正常情况下摄入能量的10%。科学家发现，这种饮食可以让老鼠体内的胰腺更好地运作。

The pancreas is an organ in the body that uses special cells called beta cells to produce the hormone insulin. The body uses insulin to break down glucose (a kind of sugar) in the blood. People with diabetes have trouble producing enough insulin so they have health problems because there is too much sugar in their blood. This can cause death. In type 1 diabetes, the pancreas stops producing insulin. In type 2 diabetes, either not enough insulin is produced or the insulin that is produced has no effect. Scientists said the mice on the fasting diet produced increased amounts of beta cells and insulin. They said their results were very promising and that tests now need to be done on humans.

胰腺是体内一个器官，使用一种名叫β-细胞的特殊细胞来生成胰岛素。身体利用胰岛素来分解血液中的葡萄糖。糖尿病人不能生成足够的胰岛素，血液中血糖过多，因此会出现健康问题。糖尿病严重者会导致死亡。在1型糖尿病中，胰腺停止生成胰岛素。在2型糖尿病中，胰腺不能生成足够的胰岛素，或者生成的胰岛素无效。科学家表示，禁食的老鼠生成的β-细胞和胰岛素数量都有所增加。他们表示，他们的结果非常有价值，现在还需要对人进行实验。