Spinach may cause Alzheimer's disease in at-risk people.
菠菜也许会使高危人群患上阿兹海默症(老年痴呆症)。
The salad leaf's iron-rich content may damage the brain similar to how the compound causes metal to rust, according to the researchers.
研究人员称,这种叶菜类蔬菜中富含铁的物质可能会损害大脑,其原理类似于化合物使金属生锈。
People with high levels of iron alongside the protein amyloid, which has previously been associated with Alzheimer's, are more likely to experience rapid cognitive decline.
淀粉样蛋白此前已被认为与阿兹海默症有关。体内铁和淀粉样蛋白含量高的人,更容易出现认知能力的迅速衰退。
Those with high amyloid but low iron levels are less at-risk of the disease.
体内淀粉样蛋白含量高但铁含量低的人患阿兹海默症的风险相对较小。
Removing such "rust" from the brain could prevent or delay the degenerative condition.
将“铁锈”从大脑中移除可以预防或延缓这种退化性疾病的发生。
Lead author Dr Scott Ayton from the University of Melbourne, said: 'The rusting you see on iron metal is the same rusting reaction that occurs in the brain,' The Express reported.
据《每日快报》报道,来自墨尔本大学的首席作者斯科特·艾顿博士说:“金属铁表面的生锈过程和大脑中发生的生锈反应是一样的。”
However, the researchers do not recommend people cut back on their dietary iron intake to reduce their Alzheimer's risk. This is because the amount of the iron in the brain appears unrelated to levels in the blood or a person's food intake.
但研究人员不建议人们减少膳食中铁的摄入量来降低患阿兹海默症的风险。这是因为大脑中的铁含量似乎与血液中或个人饮食摄入中的含铁水平无关。
Dr Ayton said: 'We don't have any evidence that the amount of iron you eat, or the amount that is measured in your blood, has any impact on the amount of iron in your brain, so we are not recommending people change what they eat based on our research.'
艾顿博士说道:“我们没有任何证据说明你摄入的铁或是你血液中测量出来的铁,对你大脑中的铁含量有任何的影响。因此我们不会基于本研究去建议人们改变饮食。”