維生素D——陽光帶來的健康生活

Did you know that the five countries with the lowest prevalence of MS are Zambia, Zimbabwe, Indonesia, Cameroon, and Malawi? And the five with the highest rates are Canada, San Marino, Denmark, Sweden and Hungary. Notice anything? It is actually true that, with just a small number of exceptions, the further away from the equator you live, the more common you'll find MS to be. But why?

你知道多發性硬化發病率最低的五個國家是贊比亞，津巴布韋，印度尼西亞，喀麥隆，馬拉維嗎？而發病率最高的國家是譯圣馬力諾，加拿大，丹麥，瑞典和匈牙利。其他的呢？有這樣一個事實——你住的地方離赤道越遠，多發性硬化的發病率就越高，當然也有些例外。但是為什么呢？

Scientists think it might have something to do with the sunshine. Or, more specifically, with the vitamin D that you produce through sun exposure.

科學家認為那可能與陽光有些關系。或者，具體來說是與暴露在陽光下產生的維生素D有關。

The Sunshine Vitamin

陽光維他命

Everyone loves a bit of sunshine – whether on holiday or at home – and maintaining a decent level of vitamin D has long been regarded as part of a healthy lifestyle. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to a range of diseases including rickets, heart disease, cancer, depression and now MS. Of course, jetting off to the beach once a year isn't necessarily going to affect your chances of developing MS, but the research does indicate a possible link between a lack of vitamin D in early childhood and the likelihood of developing the condition: vitamin D plays an important role in bone development, and evidence suggests it is also crucial to the immune and neuromuscular systems in the body.

我們都愛死了陽光——無論是出門在外還是在家——維持體內適宜的維生素D水平已經被視為一種健康的生活方式。體內維生素D的缺乏會引發一系列的疾病，這些疾病包括：佝僂病、心臟病、癌癥、體質弱，以及現在的多發性硬化。當然，一年去一次沙灘也不一定會對多發性硬化有多少幫助，但是研究也表明幼年時期維生素D的不足可能與某些疾病還是存在著某些關連的：維生素D對骨骼的形成非常重要，也有數據表明維生素D對人體的免疫系統和神經肌肉系統也有重要作用。

So could vitamin D also play a role in the management of MS? Low levels of vitamin D have indeed been linked to a greater number of relapses and increased disability in people with MS. These studies offer a glimpse at the role that sunshine may play in helping the body cope with major diseases. But it is very difficult to assess the true effects of vitamin D because you can't tightly regulate the amount of sun exposure that people receive.

在應對多發性硬化時，維生素D真的能有那么重要的作用嗎？人體內維生素D的含量較低時確實會導致某些疾病的病變以及多發性硬化的惡化幾率增加。這些研究證明了在某些情況下陽光確實能幫助人體應對某些主要的疾病，因為我們不能精確地計算出人們到底能接受到多少的陽光，所以想要評估維生素D真正能對人體產生多大的影響就變得很困難。

Walk on the Sunny Side of the Street

活在陽光下

Although following a healthy, balanced diet is always good for many reasons, sunlight remains the body's main source of vitamin D. A big concern among nutritionists is that our worries about over-exposure to the sun's rays have made us overly cautious in slapping on the sunscreen and preventing the body from producing the vitamin D it needs. More people are also now spending more time inside, and the rise in obesity shows how society has become more sedentary and less active.

盡管健康的均衡的飲食對我們的健康已經有好處，陽光也是人體內維生素D的主要來源。大多數營養學家的顧慮是由于我們極度擔太陽曬太多，接受到的紫外線增多，然后就會抹很多的防曬霜，從而導致我們的身體沒法合成足夠的維生素D來滿足我們身體的需要。大多數人待在房間內的時間較多，體重的普遍增加也表明人們坐著做事的情況和不愛運動的情況是如何的多。

Do remember, though – while it's important to get your sunshine fix, it's essential to be sun savvy and be very careful never to let your skin burn. While many things are pointing towards the potential benefits of vitamin D in MS, more research is needed before any firm conclusions can be drawn.

但是也要牢記——曬太陽很重要，了解一些陽光的相關知識也是很有必要，以防皮膚被灼傷。還有許多現象都顯示出維生素D對多發性硬化有潛在的作用，在任何結論得出之前都需要做大量的調查研究。

While the scientists are hard at work on that research, （safely） enjoy the sun and all the feel-good factors that go along with it. You never know, that sunshine get-away might just be doing more for you and your MS than beating the winter blues.

科學家在這方面已經做了大量的工作，享受陽光，享受陽光帶給你的一系列能讓你感覺舒適的東西。你不知道的是，陽光帶給你的有很多，絕不只是對防治多發性硬化有幫助，也不只是能一掃冬日的陰霾。維生素D——陽光帶來的健康生活

Did you know that the five countries with the lowest prevalence of MS are Zambia, Zimbabwe, Indonesia, Cameroon, and Malawi? And the five with the highest rates are Canada, San Marino, Denmark, Sweden and Hungary. Notice anything? It is actually true that, with just a small number of exceptions, the further away from the equator you live, the more common you'll find MS to be. But why?

你知道多發性硬化發病率最低的五個國家是贊比亞，津巴布韋，印度尼西亞，喀麥隆，馬拉維嗎？而發病率最高的國家是譯圣馬力諾，加拿大，丹麥，瑞典和匈牙利。其他的呢？有這樣一個事實——你住的地方離赤道越遠，多發性硬化的發病率就越高，當然也有些例外。但是為什么呢？

Scientists think it might have something to do with the sunshine. Or, more specifically, with the vitamin D that you produce through sun exposure.

科學家認為那可能與陽光有些關系。或者，具體來說是與暴露在陽光下產生的維生素D有關。

The Sunshine Vitamin

陽光維他命

Everyone loves a bit of sunshine – whether on holiday or at home – and maintaining a decent level of vitamin D has long been regarded as part of a healthy lifestyle. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to a range of diseases including rickets, heart disease, cancer, depression and now MS. Of course, jetting off to the beach once a year isn't necessarily going to affect your chances of developing MS, but the research does indicate a possible link between a lack of vitamin D in early childhood and the likelihood of developing the condition: vitamin D plays an important role in bone development, and evidence suggests it is also crucial to the immune and neuromuscular systems in the body.

我們都愛死了陽光——無論是出門在外還是在家——維持體內適宜的維生素D水平已經被視為一種健康的生活方式。體內維生素D的缺乏會引發一系列的疾病，這些疾病包括：佝僂病、心臟病、癌癥、體質弱，以及現在的多發性硬化。當然，一年去一次沙灘也不一定會對多發性硬化有多少幫助，但是研究也表明幼年時期維生素D的不足可能與某些疾病還是存在著某些關連的：維生素D對骨骼的形成非常重要，也有數據表明維生素D對人體的免疫系統和神經肌肉系統也有重要作用。

So could vitamin D also play a role in the management of MS? Low levels of vitamin D have indeed been linked to a greater number of relapses and increased disability in people with MS. These studies offer a glimpse at the role that sunshine may play in helping the body cope with major diseases. But it is very difficult to assess the true effects of vitamin D because you can't tightly regulate the amount of sun exposure that people receive.

在應對多發性硬化時，維生素D真的能有那么重要的作用嗎？人體內維生素D的含量較低時確實會導致某些疾病的病變以及多發性硬化的惡化幾率增加。這些研究證明了在某些情況下陽光確實能幫助人體應對某些主要的疾病，因為我們不能精確地計算出人們到底能接受到多少的陽光，所以想要評估維生素D真正能對人體產生多大的影響就變得很困難。

Walk on the Sunny Side of the Street

活在陽光下

Although following a healthy, balanced diet is always good for many reasons, sunlight remains the body's main source of vitamin D. A big concern among nutritionists is that our worries about over-exposure to the sun's rays have made us overly cautious in slapping on the sunscreen and preventing the body from producing the vitamin D it needs. More people are also now spending more time inside, and the rise in obesity shows how society has become more sedentary and less active.

盡管健康的均衡的飲食對我們的健康已經有好處，陽光也是人體內維生素D的主要來源。大多數營養學家的顧慮是由于我們極度擔太陽曬太多，接受到的紫外線增多，然后就會抹很多的防曬霜，從而導致我們的身體沒法合成足夠的維生素D來滿足我們身體的需要。大多數人待在房間內的時間較多，體重的普遍增加也表明人們坐著做事的情況和不愛運動的情況是如何的多。

Do remember, though – while it's important to get your sunshine fix, it's essential to be sun savvy and be very careful never to let your skin burn. While many things are pointing towards the potential benefits of vitamin D in MS, more research is needed before any firm conclusions can be drawn.

但是也要牢記——曬太陽很重要，了解一些陽光的相關知識也是很有必要，以防皮膚被灼傷。還有許多現象都顯示出維生素D對多發性硬化有潛在的作用，在任何結論得出之前都需要做大量的調查研究。

While the scientists are hard at work on that research, （safely） enjoy the sun and all the feel-good factors that go along with it. You never know, that sunshine get-away might just be doing more for you and your MS than beating the winter blues.

科學家在這方面已經做了大量的工作，享受陽光，享受陽光帶給你的一系列能讓你感覺舒適的東西。你不知道的是，陽光帶給你的有很多，絕不只是對防治多發性硬化有幫助，也不只是能一掃冬日的陰霾。