When it comes to physical health, mountains of evidence will tell you that a healthy diet is important.

谈到身体健康时，大量证据会告诉你健康饮食很重要。

 

And it is.

而且确实是这样的。

 

But a growing body of research is showing that diet is important for mental health, too.

但越来越多的研究表明，饮食对心理健康也很重要。

 

And before you click away, no, I'm not about to show you 10 superfoods to cure your depression! or anything.

在你点击离开之前，不，我不会给你展示十种超级食品来治愈你的抑郁症！或者别的什么。

 

Mental health is way more complicated than that, and everything from your genetics to your environment can affect it.

心理健康比这复杂得多，从你的基因到环境都会影响它。

 

But there is some evidence that diet also plays a role here.

但有一些证据表明，饮食也起到了一定的作用。

 

Studies have found a link between what people eat and their risk of mental illness — even when it comes to the severity of their symptoms.

研究发现人们的饮食和他们患精神疾病的风险之间存在联系，即使是涉及到症状的严重性时也是如此。

 

And if diet contributes to these conditions, well, maybe it can help treat them, too.

如果饮食引发了这些症状，那么，也许它也能帮助进行治疗。

 

There are all kinds of studies showing how diet and mental health are related.

有各种各样的研究表明，饮食和心理健康是如何联系在一起的。

 

Some focus on food in general — like a 2013 meta-analysis, which found that diets high in fruit, vegetables, fish, and whole grains may be associated with a reduced risk of depression.

一些研究关注的是一般性食物，比如2013年的一项元分析研究，该研究发现，富含水果、蔬菜、鱼类和全谷类的饮食可能与降低抑郁风险有关。

 

But other studies have found something more specific.

但是其他的研究发现了一些更具体的东西。

 

They've reported that, when it comes to mental health, it's not just about having a generally "healthy" or "unhealthy" diet.

他们报告说，当涉及到心理健康，不再只是普遍性“健康”或“不健康”饮食的问题。

 

Instead, specific nutrients² are sometimes involved.

相反，有时也会在其中涉及特定的营养成分。

 

For example, in a 2017 paper, researchers used data from a long-term health study to look at older adults diagnosed with depression.

例如，在2017年的一篇论文中，研究人员使用了一项长期健康研究的数据来考察被诊断患有抑郁症的老年人。

 

And they found that participants' levels of vitamins B12, B6, and folate all decreased in the year leading up to their diagnosis³.

他们发现，在确诊前一年，被试体内维生素B12、B6和叶酸的水平都有所下降。

 

Several other studies have also found that participants with depression and schizophrenia tended to have lower levels of folate than the general population.

 

其他几项研究也发现，抑郁和精神分裂症患者的叶酸水平往往低于一般人群。

 

Admittedly, this relationship is based on correlations⁴, which means they don't say a nutrient¹ caused anything.

诚然，这种关系建立在相关性的基础上，这意味着它们无法证实营养就是原因。

 

But it seems like there could be something going on here.

但似乎有什么事在发生。

 

And if so, there's a pretty good explanation for why: Those nutrients all act as antioxidants.

如果真是这样，有一个很好的解释：这些营养素都是抗氧化剂。

 

During daily life, chemical reactions in your body can split oxygen molecules⁵ into atoms with unpaired electrons, which are called free radicals⁶.

在日常生活中，体内的化学反应会将氧分子分裂成带有未配对电子的原子，这些电子称为自由基。

 

Without a second electron, these free radicals are unstable⁷, so they scavenge other cells to find an electron to pair with.

如果没有第二个电子，这些自由基是不稳定的，因此它们会清除其他细胞，以找到一个与之配对的电子。

 

That puts the body under stress and can ultimately cause inflammation or other damage.

这会让身体处于压力之下，并最终导致炎症或其他损伤。

 

Antioxidants are molecules that fight that stress by handing over their own electrons without becoming unstable themselves.

 

抗氧化剂是通过传递自己的电子，而不使自身变得不稳定的分子来对抗这种压力。

 

What does that have to do with mental health?

这和心理健康有什么关系？

 

Well, there's a lot of evidence for a link between certain mental health symptoms and inflammation.

有很多证据表明某些精神健康症状和炎症之间有联系。

 

The link is especially strong for depression, but papers have found some support for this connection with ADHD, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder⁸ as well.

这种联系对于抑郁症尤其重要，但是论文也发现了一些关于儿童多动症、精神分裂症和双相情感障碍的证据。

 

The research is ongoing⁹, but the general idea seems to be that inflammatory molecules may affect how chemicals are released in the brain.

这项研究正在进行中，但总体观点似乎是炎症分子可能影响化学物质在大脑中的释放。

 

In any case, the relationship has come up enough that some researchers have wondered

无论如何，这种关系已经发展到一定程度，以至于一些研究人员想知道，

 

if giving a patient nutrient supplements that fight inflammation could help ease their symptoms.

给患者提供对抗炎症的营养补充剂是否有助于缓解他们的症状。

 

And amazingly, it might — at least, in some cases.、

令人惊讶的是，至少在某些情况下是这样的。

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