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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
You’ve no doubt heard of “free radicals1,” those nasty chemicals that seem to contribute to heart disease, cancer and all sorts of human ailments2. Maybe you even take antioxidant vitamins to help get rid of these unwanted toxins3. Well, maybe you shouldn’t. Because a new study in the journal Cell Metabolism4 suggests that, when it comes to diabetes5, 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 radicals | |
n.激进分子( radical的名词复数 );根基;基本原理;[数学]根数 | |
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2 ailments | |
疾病(尤指慢性病),不适( ailment的名词复数 ) | |
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3 toxins | |
n.毒素( toxin的名词复数 ) | |
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4 metabolism | |
n.新陈代谢 | |
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5 diabetes | |
n.糖尿病 | |
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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 | |
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7 obese | |
adj.过度肥胖的,肥大的 | |
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