Bom dia earthlings, thanks for stopping by DNews, I'm Trace.

感謝收看 DNews ，我是 Trace。

The Holy Month of Ramadan is wrapping up this week, and those Muslims who have been fasting for 15 hours a day or more will be able to enjoy food anytime once again.

伊斯蘭教的齋戒月即將在這周結束啦。穆斯林在經過一天 15 小時的禁食後終於可以想吃就吃了 。

It's not just Muslims who fast, Christians, Jews, Confucians, Hindus and other religions have followed the practice for thousands of years.

不只是穆斯林會禁食，基督教、猶太教、印度教和儒家人士等等也有這樣的傳統數千年了。

Non-religious folks fast too, usually for medical or dietary reasons.

非宗教人士也會禁食，通常是為了醫療或健康原因。

For some people, the idea of abstaining from food while the sun is in the sky is unfathomable, and they might feel that it's even unsafe!

對某些人來說，在陽光明媚的時候禁食的想法是不可思議的，他們可能會覺得這甚至不安全！

So science is here to demystify some fasting myths.

現在就請科學來幫我們釐清關於禁食的迷思。

A person is considered to be "fasting" if they've abstained from a meal for 8-12 hours.

一個人 8 到 12 小時沒有吃任何東西，就被視為在禁食。

So if you think about it, most people fast every night — and then BREAK their fast in the morning.

照這樣說來，每個人晚上都在禁食，隔天早上就解禁，

That's where the term BREAK-FAST comes from.

這也就是英文 Breakfast 的由來。

Fasting is a completely normal part of being an animal on the planet of earth.

禁食對地球上的動物來說是稀鬆平常的。

Many organisms eat only once a day or less, especially those eating high-calorie foods like meats.

有些有機生物甚至一天只進食一次，或根本沒進食，尤其把像肉類這種高熱量食物做為主食的動物。

Cold-blooded carnivores, like snakes, can go days between meals; whereas warm-blooded carnivores, like wolves or coyotes, they hunt daily.

冷血的肉食性動物， 比如說像蛇，他們可以好幾天不吃東西；溫血的肉食性動物，像野狼或土狼，則是每天狩獵。

Like the coyote, humans are built to be able to fast for a short period.

人類就跟土狼一樣，屬於短時間禁食的那種。

A day or so isn't going to hurt you and some studies have shown short-term fasts can actually extend lifespan.

一兩天不吃東西不會怎麼樣。有些研究甚至表示，短時間禁食可以延長壽命，

They can boost immunity and mental function, and so on and so forth.

可以刺激免疫及心理系統等等。

We did a whole video about that last Ramadan, so check it out.

我們在上次齋戒月的影片已經做過相關介紹了，可以去找來看。

A study published last month in Cell Stem Cell found that fasting two to four days at a time can cause a reduction in white blood cells, which sounds bad, but it's actually a good thing.

Cell Stem Cell 網站上個月發表一項研究指出，禁食時間長達二到四天會造成血液中白血球數下降，聽起來好像很慘，但其實沒那麼糟！

See, the cells that are killed off are the older or damaged immune cells, and when the body rebounds, it uses stem cells to create brand new, healthy ones.

因為被消滅的細胞是比較老而且有損壞的免疫細胞，當身體再度活絡起來，幹細胞就會製造全新健康的細胞。

Long-term fasting, on the other hand, is a whole other beast.

長時間禁食又是另一回事了。

When humans fast, our bodies go through a very predictable schedule.

人在禁食時人體會進入一個預定排程的模式。

Our bodies are great at squirreling away energy in the forms of fats and sugars.

我們的身體善於儲存能量，不管是以脂肪或糖類的方式。

But, like coyotes, ideally, we'd eat every day or so to replenish those reserves.

但就跟土狼一樣，照理說，我們每天都該吃東西以重新補充能量。

After 24-48 hours of fasting, the glycogen reserves stored in our liver and muscles — basically carbohydrates — are empty.

經過一至二天的禁食，儲存在肌肉和肝臟中的肝醣，大部分屬於醣類，就會用完了。

After two days, the body's figured out that it needs to feed on itself, and is going to start breaking down muscle and fat tissues.

兩天後，身體會自動察覺該補充營養，於是就開始分解肌肉組織和脂肪。

Obviously, water is important too.

想當然，水分也是很重要的。

72 hours without water is dangerous, so while straight food fasting isn't so bad for you in a short burst, 72 hours is the beginning of medical dehydration.

人只要 72 小時沒有喝水就有危險，所以在這短時間內不吃固體食物，不會對你有害，但 72 小時不喝水人體就會脫水，

So drink water, no matter what.

所以不管如何，一定要喝水。

Some of you might already be Yahoo-ing to get the lowdown on a fasting diet, but the problem is, humans don't really work that way.

想必你們一定在網路上查到不少斷食的方法，但問題是，一般根本不會那樣做！

When you fast, you lose a few pounds right away, but that's mainly liquid weight, and it will be replaced as soon as you eat again, which is another thing.

斷食的時候，你可能馬上少了幾公斤，但那只是體內水分的流失，你一吃東西馬上又補回來。

Researchers at Cornell asked college students to fast for 18 hours, and then offered them a buffet-style meal (not unlike Iftar, or community meals after sundown during Ramadan).

康乃爾大學的研究人員就做了一項實驗：請大學生禁食 18 小時後，提供自助式餐點給他們 (不是伊斯蘭教的那種晚上吃的集體開齋飯)。

The most popular foods were those that were high in calories, carbs and starches, because our cells don't know if we're ever going to eat again!

最多人拿來吃的食物屬於高熱量食物像是醣類和澱粉，因為我們體內的細胞不知道何時能再吃東西！

Therefore, they turn on the cravings for carbs and fats which might fend off long-term starvation.

所以他們選擇醣類、澱粉或脂肪，避免長時間肚子餓的情況再發生。

But that's silly, you know you're going to eat again, so don't listen to your reptilian brain!

這樣做其實很蠢，因為你知道你會再吃東西啊！所以不要隨便聽你的大腦指示好嗎？！

Ideally, a human coming off of a fast would eat vegetables and fruits.

理想情況下，禁食後的人會吃蔬菜和水果。

Lean meats and maybe a few carbs can be part of the meal, too, but not a big part.

瘦肉和碳水化合物會有一些，但分量絕對不多。

Ultimately, fasting puts stress on the systems of your body, but low-level stress that isn't going to hurt you, and it might build up the systems -- similar to how exercisebuilds muscles.

最後一點，斷食固然會對你的身理系統造成一些負擔，但這種程度的負擔不會對你有害，反而對你的生理系統有幫助，就跟運動可以強壯你的肌肉是一樣的道理。

Fasting isn't dangerous or deadly, as long as it's done properly and in partnership with a healthy diet and exercise.

斷食沒有那麼危險或致人於死，只要掌控得宜再搭配正確的飲食和運動就可以了。

If you decide to fast, let us know why and how you've done it! You know, 'cause we're curious.

如果你想要斷食，告訴我們為什麼吧，還有你怎麼執行？我們很想知道你的斷食之旅是怎麼樣。

You can fill us in on your journey in the comments, or send us a tweet @DNews or me, @TraceDominguez.

你可以在下方留言，或在推特留言給 DNews 或我也行。

Speaking of journeys, if you want to know how MSL Curiosity got to Mars, and what the heck it's doing up there come to our SpaceOut on July 30th at 4pm Pacific Time!

說到「旅程」， 你們知道美國NASA的火星探測車「好奇號」成功抵達火星了嗎？想知道更多細節， 7 月 30日太平洋時間下午四點，請準時鎖定 SpaceOut。

We're getting experts from NASA JPL who actually work with the rover on Mars every sol -- that's Martian for Day!

我們會邀請 NASA 噴射推進實驗室的專家們來到現場，他們的任務就是在火星上和探測車共事，可以說是現代版的火星人了！

See, you're learning already!

看，你已經學到一些東西了！

Get over there and RSVP. Thanks for watching DNews eveybody and please subscribe.

記得收看並留言回覆。感謝收看！不要忘了訂閱 DNews。