每天两杯橙汁可减少心脏病风险大纲

Two glasses of orange juice a day can lower blood pressure and cut the risk of heart disease, scientists have found.

科学家们发现，一天两杯橙汁能够降低血压和减少患心脏病的风险。

They have discovered that middle-aged men who drank half-a-litre of juice every day for a month, equivalent to about two glasses, saw a significant decline in their blood pressure readings.

他们发现中年男子每天喝半升果汁（相当于两杯），坚持一个月，可以看到他们血压呈明显的下降趋势。

Findings published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition confirms the presence of a natural plant chemical called hesperidin - part of a class of disease-fighting compounds found in plant foods like tea, fruit, soya and cocoa.

在美国临床营养学杂志公布的研究结果证实了被称为橘皮苷的天然植物化学成分的存在。橘皮苷是一种在植物食品中，如茶，水果，大豆和可可，发现的抗病化合物。

Although previous studies have hinted orange juice may be good for the heart, scientists have been uncertain exactly what gives it its protective powers.

尽管之前的研究已经暗示橙汁可能对心脏有好处，科学家们还是不确定究竟是什么起到了这样积极的作用。

Heart disease is Britain's biggest killer with around 270,000 people suffering a heart attack every year and nearly one in three die before they even reach hospital.

心脏病是英国目前最大的杀手，每年有大约27万人忍受着心脏病发作的痛苦，有接近1/3的人在他们到达医院前死亡。

High blood pressure, which puts our arteries under greater pressure when the heart beats, affects one in five people and is one of the major risk factors contributing to a cardiac arrest.

高血压是造成心搏停止的主要风险之一。当心脏跳动时，影响1/5人的高血压会令我们的动脉承担更大的压力。

The World Health Organisation estimates that 50 percent of all heart attacks and strokes are due to raised blood pressure.

世界卫生组织估算50%的心脏病发作是由于血压的升高。

Guidelines state that the ideal limit for blood pressure is a systolic reading - the pressure inside the arteries when blood is forced through them - of 140mmHg.

准则指出理想的血压范围是140mmHg的收缩压的指数—当血液流经动脉时的压力。

When the heart relaxes - diastolic - the reading should be 90mmHg in a healthy heart.

当心脏放松到舒张时，一个健康的心脏的指数应该是90mmHg。To test their theory that it is hesperidin that gives orange juice its cardiovascular benefits, scientists at the University of Auvergne in France recruited 24 overweight but otherwise healthy middle-aged men.

究竟是橘皮苷在橙汁中起到了对心血管的好处吗？为了检验他们的理论，法国奥弗涅大学的科学家们招募了24位体重偏重但其他方面健康的中年男子。

Each one spent four weeks drinking half-a-litre of orange juice every day, followed by four weeks where they drank sweetened water and took a capsule containing hesperidin.

每个人在四个星期中每天喝半升的橙汁，之后的四周他们喝甜的水并且服用包含橘皮苷的胶囊。

In the final four weeks of the experiment, they drank the same water and took a dummy capsule that had no hesperidin in it.

在实验最后的四周，他们饮用同样的水并且服用不含橘皮苷的仿制胶囊。

The results showed that at the end of the orange juice experiment and the one where they took a hesperidin capsule, there was a significant decline in their diastolic blood pressure.

结果显示，在实验的最后，服用含有橘皮苷的胶囊的人的心脏舒张压呈现明显的下降趋势。

Average readings were between 3.2 and 5.5mmHg lower than after they took the dummy capsule with water.

平均的数字是在3.2-5.5mmHg之间，比他们服用仿制的胶囊和水之后低。

In a report on their findings, the researchers said: 'The main result was that four weeks of consuming orange juice, or purified hesperidin, significantly decreased diastolic blood pressure in healthy men.

在一份关于调查结果的报告中，研究人员说：“主要的结果是饮用四周的橙汁，或是纯化的橘皮苷，明显地降低了健康男性的心脏舒张压。”

'A three to four point reduction in diastolic blood pressure would reduce the incidence of coronary artery disease by 20 per cent.

“心脏舒张压3到4个点的降低将减少20%冠状动脉疾病的发病率。”

'Hesperidin could be responsible for the observed effects.'

“橘皮苷对可观察的效果是有责任的。”

However, patients taking blood pressure pills are advised to seek medical advice before drinking more as previous studies suggest certain fruit juices - including orange, grapefruit and apple - can reduce the effectiveness of some drugs.

但是，建议服用血压药的患者在服用比前面研究建议的特定果汁（包括橙汁，葡萄汁和苹果汁）多时还是要遵循医嘱，因为这些可能会降低药效。