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Turmeric ginger shots, elderberry syrup, vitamin C tablets.
姜黄生姜饮，接骨木花糖浆，维生素C片。
No one likes to be sick, so it's 100 percent understandable why we're all intrigued by products that promise to boost our immune system.
没有谁喜欢生病，所以我们对那些承诺能增强免疫系统的产品很感兴趣，这是完全可以理解的。
The problem is that we often think about the immune system in the wrong way.
问题是我们对免疫系统的认识通常都是错的。
We think of it like a muscle that we can strengthen by feeding it lots of antioxidants and supplements.
我们都是把免疫系统看成一块肌肉，通过给它喂食大量的抗氧化剂和补充剂来增强它。
But that's just not how the immune system works.
但其实免疫系统不是这样工作的。
While the immune system can be suppressed and can be less effective -- for example, in people receiving chemotherapy -- the reverse, strengthening the system overall, just doesn't happen.
免疫系统会受到抑制，作用会稍微弱些——例如接受化疗的人的免疫系统——不过，免疫系统不会从整体上增强。
Our immune system is what protects us from the bacteria, viruses, fungi and toxins we encounter on a constant basis. It also plays an integral part in wound healing.
我们的免疫系统保护我们免受经常遇到的细菌、病毒、真菌和毒素的伤害，在伤口愈合中也起着不可或缺的作用。
It's an elegant network of cells, tissues and organs, all working together.
它是一个由细胞、组织和器官组成的精美的网络，所有这些都在一起工作。
You can think of the immune system in two broad terms, innate immunity and adaptive immunity.
你可以从两方面来想免疫系统，“先天免疫”和“适应性免疫”。
Innate immunity means nonspecific defense mechanisms, and this is our first line of protection.
“先天免疫”就是非特异性防御机制，是我们身体的第一道防线，
It helps fight off pathogens before they cause a problem. It's like a bouncer at the door of a club.
能够在病原体造成问题之前将它们击退，就如同俱乐部门口的保镖。
The innate immunity keeps invaders out or neutralizes them shortly after entry so they don't start a fight inside.
先天免疫系统将入侵者挡在门外，或在入侵者进入后不久将其中和，这样入侵者就无法在身体内发起战斗。
It can only recognize self, meaning what's allowed in the club, and nonself, meaning what's not allowed inside.
它只能识别自我，即俱乐部允许什么，非自我，即俱乐部不允许什么。
Think the physical barriers of our skin, the hairs in our nose, the eyelashes that blink out dirt, even vaginal discharge that prevents infections.
想想我们的皮肤的物理屏障：鼻子里的毛发，可以眨掉污垢的睫毛，甚至还有能够防止感染的阴道分泌物。
Now if a pathogen does manage to get past the first line of defense, we have another layer of protection, the adaptive immune system, which is more complex and targeted than our bouncer.
现在，如果病原体成功通过了第一道防线，那么我们还有另一层保护，即“适应性免疫系统”，它比我们的保镖更复杂，且更具针对性。
The adaptive immune system responds to antigens.
适应性免疫系统对抗原作出应答。
Antigens are unique proteins on the surface of pathogens, which helps identify what kind of pathogen it is. Kind of like a name tag.
抗原是存在于病原体表面的一种独特的蛋白质，它有助于识别病原体的种类，和名牌有点儿像。
Your immune system is constantly reading name tags, and when one is recognized as being on the no-entry list, the adaptive immune system creates special immune cells to attack, which are specialized white blood cells called lymphocytes.
免疫系统会不断地读取名牌，当某某被识别为“禁止进入”名单时，适应性免疫系统就会产生特殊的免疫细胞(一种被称为淋巴细胞的特殊白细胞)对它进行攻击.
Here's what's really amazing: our immune system remembers this process.
真正令人咋舌的是：我们的免疫系统记住了这一过程。
So the next time we're exposed to that same pathogen, our immune system recognizes it and remembers how to respond.
所以当下一次我们接触到同样的病原体时，我们的免疫系统会识别它并记住如何做出反应。
While we're not sure how many different antigens we can recognize, some scientists think that we produce over a billion antibodies.
虽然我们不确定它能够识别多少种不同的抗原，但一些科学家认为人类体内产生了超过10亿种抗体。
But the important thing to remember is that our immune system has many different parts playing many different roles.
但需要记住的重要一点是，我们的免疫系统有很多不同的部分扮演着不同的角色。
That's what makes this concept of "boosting" so problematic.
这就是为什么“增强”这个概念如此悬而未决。
When people say "boost the immune system," what do they even mean?
人们所说的“增强免疫系统”是什么意思呢？
Do they mean boost the histamine that's released when exposed to poison ivy?
说的是增强接触毒葛时释放的组胺吗？
Well, that would you itch a lot more.
嗯，那样会更痒。
Do they mean supercharge your T and B cells? Might that lead your body to attack its own cells, as we see with autoimmune conditions?
是说让T细胞和B细胞超负荷运转吗？这可能会导致你的身体攻击自己的细胞，就像我们在自体免疫疾病中看到的那样吧？
Instead of thinking of a muscle that you can strengthen with one simple exercise, a better analogy may be a garden.
与其认为你可以通过简单的锻炼来增强肌肉，不如用花园来做一个更好的类比。
Your immune system has many components, just like a garden has many kinds of plants.
你的免疫系统有很多组成部分，就像花园里有很多种植物一样。
Each plant needs just the right amount of sun, shade and water.
每种植物都需要适量的阳光、树荫和水。
Too much sun might help one plant but destroys another.
过多的阳光可能会对一种植物有利，但会破坏另一种植物。
Increasing any single element can throw off the balance of the ecosystem overall.
增加任何单一元素都可能破坏整个生态系统的平衡。
If you're getting all the nutrients you need from a healthy, balanced diet, taking more of a single vitamin won't help your immune system function any better overall.
如果你从健康均衡的饮食中获得了所有你需要的营养，那么摄入过多的单一维生素对你的免疫系统的整体功能没有任何帮助。
For some vitamins, if you take in more than you need, your body will just get rid of the excess as waste.
对于某些维生素，如果你摄入了超过你所需要的量，那么你的身体会把多余的当做废物处理掉。
Vitamin supplements are only needed if you have a true real deficiency.
只有当你真的缺乏维生素时才需要补充维生素。
In fact, some studies tell us that vitamins and supplements, when they're not medically needed, may have negative effects.
事实上，一些研究告诉我们，当不需要维生素和补品时，它们可能会产生负面影响。
Things can go wrong with our immune system for sure, like allergies or autoimmune conditions and failure to catch abnormal cells.
我们的免疫系统肯定会出问题，比如过敏或自身免疫疾病，以及无法捕捉到异常细胞。
But the reasons for each of these things are complex and often not fully understood.
但这些事情的原因都很复杂，且通常没有被充分理解。
And they certainly won't be solved by some immune-boosting miracle pill.
而且这些问题肯定不会说通过某种增强免疫力的神奇药丸就能解决得了。
There is however, one thing that has been shown again and again to be incredible for your immune system. Vaccines.
不过，有一样东西已经一再被证明对免疫系统有很强的增强作用，那就是：疫苗。
Vaccines are truly genius. They contain a weakened or inactive part of a pathogen, like the flu, that includes its antigen name tag.
疫苗是真正的天才，它们含有病原体的弱化或非活性部分，如流感，包括其抗原名牌。
They trigger the body into making antibodies without needing to get sick from an illness first.
它们能够触发身体在不生病的情况下产生抗体。
Instead of boosting the immune system overall, they give the system exactly what it needs to respond to a specific pathogen quickly and aggressively.
它们不是全面增强免疫系统，而是给系统提供它所需要的东西，使其对特定病原体作出快速、积极的反应。
So get your immunizations and get your flu shot every year. Eat a healthy, balanced diet.
所以每年都要接种疫苗，接种流感疫苗，饮食要健康均衡。
If you want a healthy immune system, don't smoke and try to get enough sleep. And otherwise, just let your immune system do its thing.
如果你想要一个健康的免疫系统，就不要吸烟，尽量保证充足的睡眠。除此以外，就让你的免疫系统发挥作用吧。
