When it comes to what you bite, chew and swallow, your choices have a direct and long-lasting effect on the most powerful organ in your body：your brain. So which foods cause you to feel so tired after lunch? Or so restless at night? Mia Nacamulli takes you into the brain to find out.

当我们讨论你咬的、咀嚼的和吞咽的食物时，你的选择会直接并长久地影响你身体中最强大的器官：你的大脑。那么，哪些食物会让你在午饭后感到疲惫？或是在深夜焦躁不安？Mia Nacamulli将带你进入大脑去探寻答案。

How the food you eat affects your brain

食物如何影响你的大脑

Your Brain on Food If you sucked all of the moisture out of your brain and broke it down to its constituent nutritional content, what would it look like? Most of the weight of your dehydrated brain would come from fats, also known as lipids. In the remaining brain matter, you would find proteins and amino acids, traces of micronutrients, and glucose. The brain is, of course, more than just the sum of its nutritional parts, but each component does have a distinct impact on functioning, development, mood, and energy. So that post-lunch apathy, or late-night alertness you might be feeling, well, that could simply be the effects of food on your brain.

食物中的大脑 如果把大脑中的水分全部吸干，并分解成各种营养成分，大脑会是什么样子呢？脱水大脑的大部分重量来自脂肪，也称为脂质。在剩余的脑物质中，你会发现蛋白质和氨基酸、微量元素和葡萄糖。当然，大脑不仅仅是各部分营养的总和，但每一部分都对大脑的功能、发育、情绪和能量有明显的影响。因此，你可能会感到午餐后的冷漠或深夜的警觉，这可能只是食物对大脑的影响。

Of the fats in your brain, the superstars are omegas 3 and 6. These essential fatty acids, which have been linked to preventing degenerative brain conditions, must come from our diets. So eating omega-rich foods, like nuts, seeds, and fatty fish, is crucial to the creation and maintenance of cell membranes. And while omegas are good fats for your brain, long-term consumption of other fats, like trans and saturated fats, may compromise brain health.

在大脑中的脂肪中，超级明星是欧米伽 3 和 6。这些必需脂肪酸与预防大脑退行性疾病有关，它们必须来自我们的饮食。因此，食用富含欧米伽的食物，如坚果、种子和肥鱼，对细胞膜的形成和维护至关重要。虽然欧米伽是对大脑有益的脂肪，但长期食用其他脂肪，如反式脂肪和饱和脂肪，可能会损害大脑健康。

Meanwhile, proteins and amino acids, the building block nutrients of growth and development, manipulate how we feel and behave. Amino acids contain the precursors to neurotransmitters, the chemical messengers that carry signals between neurons, affecting things like mood, sleep, attentiveness, and weight. They're one of the reasons we might feel calm after eating a large plate of pasta, or more alert after a protein-rich meal.

与此同时，蛋白质和氨基酸作为生长发育的基本营养素，会影响我们的感觉和行为。氨基酸含有神经递质的前体，神经递质是神经元之间传递信号的化学信使，会影响情绪、睡眠、注意力和体重等。这也是我们在吃了一大盘意大利面后会感到平静，或在吃了一顿富含蛋白质的饭菜后会更加警觉的原因之一。

The complex combinations of compounds in food can stimulate brain cells to release mood-altering norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin. But getting to your brain cells is tricky, and amino acids have to compete for limited access. A diet with a range of foods helps maintain a balanced combination of brain messengers, and keeps your mood from getting skewed in one direction or the other. Like the other organs in our bodies, our brains also benefit from a steady supply of micronutrients.

食物中复杂的化合物组合可以刺激脑细胞释放改变情绪的去甲肾上腺素、多巴胺和血清素。但是，氨基酸要进入大脑细胞并不容易，它们必须在有限的通道中竞争。含有多种食物的饮食有助于保持大脑信使的平衡组合，使你的情绪不会向一个方向或另一个方向倾斜。与身体的其他器官一样，大脑也受益于稳定的微量营养素供应。

Antioxidants in fruits and vegetables strengthen the brain to fight off free radicals that destroy brain cells, enabling your brain to work well for a longer period of time. And without powerful micronutrients, like the vitamins B6, B12, and folic acid, our brains would be susceptible to brain disease and mental decline. Trace amounts of the minerals iron, copper, zinc, and sodium are also fundamental to brain health and early cognitive development.

水果和蔬菜中的抗氧化剂能增强大脑抵抗破坏脑细胞的自由基的能力，使大脑能够长时间保持良好的工作状态。如果没有强大的微量营养素，如维生素 B6、B12 和叶酸，我们的大脑就很容易患上脑部疾病和智力衰退。微量的矿物质铁、铜、锌和钠也是大脑健康和早期认知发展的基础。

In order for the brain to efficiently transform and synthesize these valuable nutrients, it needs fuel, and lots of it. While the human brain only makes up about 2% of our body weight, it uses up to 20% of our energy resources. Most of this energy comes from carbohydrates that our body digests into glucose, or blood sugar. The frontal lobes are so sensitive to drops in glucose, in fact, that a change in mental function is one of the primary signals of nutrient deficiency.

为了让大脑有效地转化和合成这些宝贵的营养物质，它需要燃料，而且需要大量的燃料。虽然人脑只占体重的 2%，但却要消耗高达 20% 的能量资源。这些能量大部分来自碳水化合物，被人体消化成葡萄糖或血糖。事实上，大脑额叶对葡萄糖的下降非常敏感，精神功能的变化是营养缺乏的主要信号之一。

Assuming that we are getting glucose regularly, how does the specific type of carbohydrates we eat affect our brains? Carbs come in three forms：starch, sugar, and fiber. While on most nutrition labels, they are all lumped into one total carb count, the ratio of the sugar and fiber subgroups to the whole amount affect how the body and brain respond. A high glycemic food, like white bread, causes a rapid release of glucose into the blood, and then comes the dip. Blood sugar shoots down, and with it, our attention span and mood. On the other hand, oats, grains, and legumes have slower glucose release, enabling a steadier level of attentiveness.

假设我们经常摄入葡萄糖，那么我们所吃的碳水化合物的具体类型会如何影响我们的大脑呢？碳水化合物有三种形式：淀粉、糖和纤维。虽然在大多数营养标签上，它们都被归结为一个碳水化合物总量，但糖和纤维亚类与总量的比例会影响身体和大脑的反应。高血糖食物，如白面包，会使葡萄糖迅速释放到血液中，然后出现下降。血糖骤降，我们的注意力和情绪也随之下降。另一方面，燕麦、谷物和豆类食品的葡萄糖释放速度较慢，能让我们的注意力更稳定。

For sustained brain power, opting for a varied diet of nutrient-rich foods is critical. When it comes to what you bite, chew, and swallow, your choices have a direct and long-lasting effect on the most powerful organ in your body.

要想持续保持脑力，选择营养丰富的多样化食物至关重要。当你咬东西、咀嚼和吞咽时，你的选择会对你身体中最强大的器官产生直接而持久的影响。