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随身英语Need glasses? Try kale instead. 视力不好吃羽衣甘蓝试试 Play audio file吃胡萝卜真的可以帮助保护视力吗？保护和提高视力的秘密到底是什么？吃保健品或多吃某些食物能有帮助吗？研究显示人们可以通过食用含有叶黄素的膳食补充剂来提高视力。叶黄素可以保护视网膜免受有害光线的损伤。本期《随身英语》介绍对人眼和视力有益的食物。 课文内容 Do carrots really help you see in the dark? What about kiwis or kale? Can eating certain foods improve your eyesight or prevent your eyes degenerating? Perhaps we should all be taking supplements to benefit our vision? Research in both the US and Ireland has shown that supplementing the diet with certain key chemicals can significantly benefit your vision. These can be taken as supplements but they are also found widely in many green leafy plants and green and yellow fruit and vegetables. The retina is the part of our eye that contains cells sensitive to light. The most delicate area of this tissue – the macula – is protected from harmful blue and UV light by yellowish ‘macular pigment’. This acts like sunglasses, blocking the damaging light. It comprises three pigments – lutein, zeaxanthin and meso-zeaxanthin. A research team led by Professor Nolan in Ireland has recently completed a year-long trial investigating the benefits of taking supplements of macular pigments. 100 participants took part in the experiments. The results showed that by taking lutein, zeaxanthin and meso-zeaxanthin, there was a significant improvement in the protection of the macula, as well as in overall eyesight. There was also some evidence that these chemicals can help to slow down macular degeneration, which is the main cause of sight loss in the UK. However, this is somewhat controversial. | 
