\"医学之父\"希波克拉底说过：\"让食物变成你的药，让药变成你的食物。\"作为一个生于公元前五世纪的希腊人，他的智慧远远超越了他所处的时代。如今，我们知道低脂肪而富含全麦、水果和蔬菜的饮食结构能增强我们的免疫力，并能减少癌症、心脏病和中风的发病率。 但是，这些还不完全。新的证据显示食品可能会影响健康人的思考和感觉方式。如果希波克拉底今天还在世的话，他也许会回顾他吃过的最后一顿饭，解释他兴奋（或忧伤）的心情。他可能还会改变自己的饮食习惯，使自己变得更幸福或更聪明。 Can milk make you happy?
Can fish make you smart?
Picture yourself lying in bed, your mind in turmoil. You toss and turn, but sleep won't come. Maybe a bedtime snack would help. What should you choose? If you think first of toaster waffles or popcorn, some experts would say you're on the right track. Foods high in complex carbohydrates---such as cereals, potatoes, pasta, crackers, or rice cakes---make many people relaxed and drowsy.
Missed that one? Try again. Suppose the weather's rotten, you forgot your homework, and your best friend's mad at you. What's good medicine when you're feeling low? A sugary cola or candy may give you a quick lift, but you'll crash just as quickly. Better choices may be Brazil nuts (for selenium), skim milk (for calcium), or a spinach salad (for folic acid). In research studies, all three of those nutrients have been shown to lift spirits and battle the blues.
Try one more. You have a math test coming up in the afternoon. You want to be sharp, but you usually feel sleepy after lunch. Is your best choice an energy fix of fries and a shake or a broiled chicken breast and low-fat yogurt? If you pick the high-fat fries and shake, you may feel sluggish and blow that test. The protein-rich chicken and yogurt are better choices. Protein foods energize, some experts say.
How does food affect mood and mind? The answer may lie in the chemistry of the brain and nervous system. Molecules called neurotransmitters are chemical messengers. They carry a nerve impulse across the gap between nerve cells. The release of neurotransmitter molecules from one neuron and their attachment to receptor sites on another keep a nerve impulse moving.
Nerve impulses carry messages from the environment to the brain, for example, the pain you feel when you stub your toe. They also carry messages in the other direction, from the brain to the muscles. That's why you back away from the obstacle that initiated the pain signal and exclaim, \"Ouch!\"
\"Many neurotransmitters are built from the foods we eat,\" says neuroscientist Eric Chudler of the University of Washington. Too little or too much of a particular nutrient in the diet can affect their production, Chudler says. For example, tryptophan from foods such as yogurt, milk, bananas, and eggs is required for the production of the neurotransmitter serotonin. Phenylalanine from beets, almonds, eggs, meat, and grains goes into making the neurotransmitter dopamine.
Dozens of neurotransmitters are known; hundreds may exist. Their effects depend on their amounts and where they work in the brain. The neurotransmitter serotonin, for example, is thought to produce feelings of calmness, relaxation, and contentment. Drugs that prevent its reuptake (into the neuron that released it) are prescribed to treat depression. In at least some healthy, non-depressed people, carbohydrate foods seem to enhance serotonin production and produce similar effects. \"It is the balance between different neurotransmitters that helps regulate mood,\" Chudler says.
Proper nutrition may also enhance brainpower. Chorine is a substance similar to the B vitamins. It's found in egg yolks, whole wheat, peanuts, milk, green peas, liver, beans, seafood, and soybeans. The brain uses it to make the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. To test the effects of chorine on memory and learning, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology gave memory tests to college students before increasing the amount of chorine in their subjects’ diets. Later, they retested. On the average, memories were better, and the students learned a list of unrelated words more easily.
核心词汇
picture v. 想象，设想; (常后接介词as) ，相当于imagine turmoil n. 骚动，混乱（disorder=mess） snack n. 小吃，零食；
on the right track(在合适或正确的小路或轨道上)，比喻为：做某事情是对的。 drowsy a. 昏昏欲睡的，催眠的，沉寂的；动词：drowse=doze off=sleep rotten a. 腐烂的，腐朽的；比喻为：糟糕的，坏的 give sb. a lift=make you refreshed 给某人提神 crash v. 崩溃，撞碎，垮台
skim n. 脱脂 v. 撇去，去除；浏览，略读 spirits(用做复数时，表示“情绪，心情”的意思，比如be in high spirits情绪高涨, be in low spirits 情
绪低落，它还有“酒，酒精”的意思，如果是“精神”，就只用作单数。) battle 战斗，斗争，用做动词，就是：与„做斗争，抑制 blues 忧虑，悲伤。
sluggish a. 懒散的，懒惰的
blow the test 直译为：吹打考试，可以理解为：考砸了。 energize v. (ize是常用的动词后缀)，能源化，提供能量
lie in=consist in 存在于，lie with（后面常接表示人的单词） nervous system(医学词汇) 神经系统；nerves 神经 attachment 依附，附属于；爱恋，依恋(后常接介词to)；形容词短语：be attached to附属于，爱上某人；
receptor 接收器；感觉感官 impulse 冲动，萌动；脉冲 back away 后退，躲开
obstacle 障碍物，阻碍物obstacle n. 障碍，妨碍，干扰；The process is not the road itself, but
rather the attitudes and feelings people have, their caution or courage, as they encounter new
experiences and unexpected obstacles. 成长过程不是道路本身，而是当遇到新情况或意外困难时所持的
态度和情感，是慎重行事还是勇往直前。 initiate 开始，创始，启动
signal 信号；sign n. 招牌，迹象；v. 签字，签名；
exclaim 呼喊，大叫
diet 饮食；dietary 饮食的，be/go on a diet节食
depend on/upon=rely on=count on=rest on/upon=hinge on/upon(注意动词后接介词on和upon的意思是一样的)
依靠，取决于
be thought to 被认为是
relaxation n. 放松，松弛，娱乐，休闲
enhance v. 提高，增强; enhance living standards 提高生活水平 regulate=control=manipulate=supervise 控制，制约 subject 实验对象，科目，主题，主语；v. 使„受到(subject„to); 形容词短语be subject to 受到„影响
on the average 总体说来
参考译文
喝牛奶能让你快乐吗？吃鱼能使你变聪明吗？
设想一下你躺在床上，脑子里却一片混乱。你辗转反侧，但总也睡不着。也许在睡觉时吃点零食会对你有帮助。你应当选择吃些什么呢？如果你的首选是威化饼或爆米花，那么一些专家就会说你选对了。富含复合碳水化合物的食品，比如麦片、土豆、面食、饼干或米糕，会使许多人感到放松和困倦。
你选错了吗？再试一次。假如天气糟糕，你忘了做家庭作业，同时你的好朋友又对你大发雷霆。在你情绪低落之时，什么对你来说是一剂良药呢？一杯甜可乐或一块糖果可能会使你情绪很快高涨，但你的情绪又会很快崩溃。也许更好的选择是吃些巴西胡桃（获得更多的硒），脱脂牛奶（获得更多的钙），或菠菜沙拉（获得更多的叶酸）。研究表明，上述三种营养素都会使人们情绪高涨，抑制忧虑。
再试一次吧。下午你将参加数学考试。你想要精力充沛，可你总是在午饭后感到昏昏欲睡。能使你精神饱满的最佳选择是薯条和奶昔，还是鸡胸肉和低脂酸奶？如果你选中了高脂肪的薯条和奶昔，你就会感到非常懒散，很可能考砸了。高蛋白的鸡肉和酸奶是较好的选择。有些专家说蛋白质食品给人们提供能量。
食物是怎样影响人的情绪和思维的呢？答案可能存在于人的大脑和神经系统的化学结构。被称为神经递质的分子是化学信使。它们（这些信使）把携带神经脉冲穿过神经细胞之间的空隙。神经递质分子从一个神经元释放后，会附着到另一个接受感官上，从而令神经脉冲不断地运动。
神经脉冲能够把周边环境的信息传输到大脑中，例如，当你脚趾被绊了一下时，你就会感到疼。神经脉冲也能从相反的方向传递信息，比如说从大脑到肌肉。这就是为什么当障碍物产生疼痛的信号时，你就会躲开障碍物，并且大喊：\"哎哟!\"
华盛顿大学的神经科学家埃里克•查德勒说：\"许多神经递质是靠我们所吃的食物形成的。\" 查德勒指出，过多或过少地通过饮食摄入一种营养素可以影响这些神经递质的形成。例如，来自诸如酸奶、牛奶、香蕉和鸡蛋的色氨酸会产生神经递质的血清素。来自甜菜、杏仁、鸡蛋、肉和谷物中的苯基丙胺酸会形成神经递质的多巴胺。 已知的神经递质有数十种，但实际存在的可能有几百种。它们产生的效果取决于本身的数量和它们在大脑中运转的位置。例如，神经递质血清素被认为会产生平静、放松和满足的
感觉。治疗情绪低落时，大夫就开出一些能够防止它返回（即进入到释放出它的神经元中）的药。至少在一些健康和情绪不低落的人当中，碳水化合物食物似乎能够促进血清素的生成并能产生类似效应。查德勒说：\"不同神经递质之间的平衡帮助调节人的情绪。\" 恰当的营养能提高人的脑力。胆碱是一种类似于维生素B的物质。它存在于蛋黄、全麦、花生、牛奶、菜豆、肝、蚕豆、海鲜和黄豆中。大脑利用这种物质生成神经递质的乙酰胆碱。为了检测胆碱对记忆和学习的影响，麻省理工学院的研究者们对大学生进行了记忆测验。随后，他们在试验对象的饮食中增加胆碱的量，随后又重新实验。从总体上来看，学生的记忆力有所提高，他们能够更加容易地学会一系列不相关的单词。
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