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Jul 27, 2025
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probiotics-benefits
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益生菌对健康的影响仍有争议，饮食中丰富的纤维和抗消化淀粉更能促进肠道菌群的多样性。虽然益生菌补充剂在市场上广泛存在，但缺乏严格的科学验证。合理的饮食，包括新鲜水果、蔬菜和发酵食品，能够有效支持肠道健康，而滥用抗生素则应避免。
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#益生菌 #健康饮食 #肠道菌群 #营养补充 #预防疾病 #心理健康 #科学研究 #生活方式 #食品科学 #膳食纤维
Science & technology | Well informed
科学技术 | 该你知道
Illustration: Cristina Spanò
Jul 18th 2025 | 3 min read
A DAZZLING menagerie of microbes live inside the human gut—by some counts a few thousand different species. Most residents of this gut microbiome are not the disease-causing kind. In fact, many do useful jobs, such as breaking down certain carbohydrates, fibres and proteins that the human body would otherwise struggle to digest. Some even produce essential compounds the body cannot make on its own, like B vitamins and short-chain fatty acids, which help regulate inflammation, influence the immune system and affect metabolism.
人体肠道内栖息着丰富多样的微生物群落——估计至少有几千种。大多数肠道菌群并非致病菌。不但如此，许多菌群都对人体有益，例如分解人体难以消化的碳水化合物、纤维和蛋白质。有些甚至能产生人体无法自行合成的必需物质，如B族维生素和短链脂肪酸，这些物质有助于降低炎症、调整免疫系统并影响新陈代谢。
As awareness of the microbiome has grown, the shelves of health-food shops have become stocked with products designed to boost good bacteria. These usually fall into two categories: probiotics, capsules containing live (but freeze-dried) bacteria that, in theory, spring back to life once inside your gut; and prebiotics, pills made of fibres that beneficial bacteria feed on.
随着我们对肠道菌群的认识不断加深，保健品店的货架上摆满了各种促进和增加有益菌群的产品。这些产品通常分为两类：一是益生菌，也就是含有活体（但经过冷冻干燥）益生菌的胶囊，理论上进入肠道后这些细菌会恢复活性；二是益生元，也就是益生菌赖以生存的纤维素制成的片剂。
There may be good scientific reasons to tend one’s microbiome. Having a diverse array of gut bugs, with plenty of the good kind, seems to confer broad health benefits. A varied microbial population can fend off pathogens by competing with them for nutrients and space. Reduced diversity, by contrast, has been linked to obesity, type-2 diabetes and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Evidence for causal links is growing: randomised-controlled trials have shown that tweaking the microbiome can accelerate weight loss, reverse insulin resistance and improve IBS symptoms.
“养殖”肠道菌群可能有科学依据。拥有丰富多样的肠道菌群，尤其是有益菌，似乎有益健康。通过争夺营养和生存空间，多样化的菌群能抵抗病原体。相比之下，菌群多样性减少，通常伴随着肥胖、2型糖尿病和肠易激综合征（IBS）。证明前后有因果关系的证据也在增加：随机对照试验表明，调整肠道菌群可以加速减肥、逆转胰岛素抵抗以及改善IBS症状。
The microbiome’s influence may stretch well beyond the gut. Microbes seem to be important for mood: people with depression have less microbial variety in their guts than those without do, for example. One study from 2016, published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, even found that transplanting the microbiome of a depressed person into a rat caused the animal to display behaviour characteristic of depression. An off-kilter microbiome has also been linked to respiratory infections: mice with fewer gut microbes are more likely to catch pneumonia or influenza.
肠道菌群的影响远可不止于肠道。它们对情绪也很重要：例如，患有抑郁症的人肠道菌群多样性就低于健康人群。2016年发表在《精神病学研究杂志》（Journal of Psychiatric Research）上的一项研究甚至发现，将抑郁症患者的肠道菌群移植到老鼠体内后，这些老鼠也表现出抑郁症相关的行为。失衡的肠道菌群还与呼吸道感染有关联性：肠道菌群较少的老鼠更容易患上肺炎或流感。
For a diverse microbiome, diet matters. Microbes thrive on foods rich in fibre and digestion-resistant starch, so munching on fresh fruit, vegetables, legumes and nuts is a good place to start. Fermented foods and drinks, such as yogurt, sauerkraut and kombucha, also contain friendly micro-organisms like Lactobacillus. Avoiding unnecessary antibiotics is important, as they wipe out good bacteria along with the bad.
要想拥有多样化的肠道菌群，饮食就至关重要。在富含纤维和抗消化淀粉的食物中，微生物成长繁殖格外旺盛，所以要多吃新鲜水果、蔬菜、豆类和坚果。发酵食品和饮料，如酸奶、酸菜和康普茶，也含有益生菌，例如乳酸菌。另外，非必要的时候，要避免使用抗生素，因为抗生素在消灭有害菌的同时，也会杀死有益菌。
Supplements seem equally appealing, but because they are not regulated as medicines, many have not been rigorously tested. “It is absolute cowboy territory in terms of marketing”, says Ted Dinan, a psychiatrist at University College Cork who studies the influence of the microbiome on mental health. Fortunately for consumers based in America, Britain and Canada, academics in those countries have developed apps (each called The Probiotic Guide) that can be used to search for probiotic products and check what scientific evidence, if any, backs them up. Nothing so comprehensive exists for prebiotics, as yet.
吃补充剂好像很值得尝试，但因为补充剂不像药品一样受到严格监管，许多产品的效果都未经过严格测试。爱尔兰科克大学学院研究肠道菌群对心理健康影响的精神病学家Ted Dinan说：“在营销方面，补充剂简直是一个完全不受限制的领域”。不过，美国、英国和加拿大的消费者还算幸运，这些国家的学者开发了应用程序（叫The Probiotic Guide，益生菌指南），可用来搜索益生菌产品，并查证这些产品的科学依据（如果有的话）。目前，益生菌尚无类似的产品指南。
Taking the wrong product may not do much good, but it probably won't do much harm either. "You really cannot overdose on probiotics," says Glenn Gibson, a microbiologist at the University of Reading. Taking too many prebiotics, however, could temporarily disrupt the microbiome. The likely side-effect? "Gas," he says. "But that's more just antisocial than anything else."■
如果选错了产品，虽然可能没啥效果，但也不会有太多害处。雷丁大学微生物学家Glenn Gibson说：“益生菌过量基本上没有坏处。”但是，摄入过多益生菌就可能暂时扰乱肠道菌群平衡。最可能的副作用是什么？“就是排气，”他说，“但这更多只能让人尴尬，而不会有害健康。”■
单词短语
menagerie
n. a collection of wild animals that are kept privately or to show to the public （私人豢养或供公众观赏的一群）野生动物
The whole menagerie seemed to be there, from birds to bunnies, lizards to insects.
那里似乎聚集了各种动物，从鸟儿、兔子，到蜥蜴和昆虫，应有尽有。
比喻义：五花八门、形形色色的事物集合
在原文”A dazzling menagerie of microbes live inside the human gut.”中，menagerie比喻肠道中的微生物种类繁多，就像微生物世界中的“动物园”一样。
The menagerie of ancient DNA helps paint a picture of life at some of the sites.
丰富多样的古代DNA有助于还原部分遗址的生活图景。
microbe
n. a very small living thing, especially one that causes disease, that can only be seen with a microscope 微生物；（尤指致病的）细菌
Without regular cleaning, humidifiers become hotspots for mold, mildew, and other microbes that can become airborne.
如果不经常清洁，加湿器容易滋生霉菌和其他能够随空气传播的微生物。
（mold和mildew都是“霉”的意思，差别在于mildew是白色、灰色的霉斑，一般生长在材质表面；mold则是黑色、蓝色、红色或绿色等，而且会渗透到材质当中。）
microbiome
n. the microorganisms (=living things too small to be seen) that exist in a particular environment or in the human body 微生物群落
A Human Microbiome Project is planned to sequence the DNA of the many bacterial species present in humans.
“人类微生物组计划”要对存在于人体内的多种细菌种类DNA进行定序。
spring to life
to suddenly become very active or busy 突然活跃或忙碌起来
After about eight o’click, the city springs to life.
大约八点过后，整个城市突然热闹起来。
confer
v. to exchange ideas on a particular subject, often in order to reach a decision on what action to take（常指为达成行动决议而）商讨，商议，协商
I need some time to confer with my lawyer.
我想花点时间跟我的律师商量一下。
v. to give an official title, honor, or advantage to someone 授予（称号、荣誉）；赋予（优势）
An honorary doctorate was conferred on him by Columbia University.
哥伦比亚大学授予他荣誉博士学位。
fend off
to push or send away an attacker or other unwanted person 抵挡，推开，击退
She spent the entire evening fending off unwanted admirers.
她整个晚上都在打发那些讨厌的追求者。
to avoid dealing with something that is unpleasant or difficult 避开，回避
Somehow she managed to fend off the awkward questions.
不知怎的，她还是成功回避了那些尴尬的问题。
pathogen
n. any small organism, such as a virus or a bacterium that can cause disease 病原体
It is a dangerous pathogen.
这是一种危险的病原体。
off-kilter
kilter可以表示“平衡”或“协调”，也可以表示“状况”或“状态”。因此我们可以用”off-kilter”或者”out of kilter”来形容“失去平衡”、“失调”。另外，”off-kilter”和”out of kilter”还可以用来形容人的精神状态，意为“状况不佳”或“精神萎靡”。
After a sleepless night, I felt a bit off-kilter all day.
一夜没睡，我这一天都有些精神不振。
wipe out
to destroy something completely 完全摧毁
One bad harvest could wipe out all of a grower’s profits for the previous two years.
一次失收可能会让种植者前两年的收益全部抵销掉。
to lose control, especially in a vehicle, and have an accident （尤指车辆）失控，出事故
I was going too fast and I wiped out on the bend.
我开得太快了，在拐弯处失去控制。
as yet
until and including this time 直到现在
We haven’t needed extra staff as yet, but we may in the future.
到目前为止，我们尚不需要增加员工，但将来也许会需要。
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