Have you heard of HOMOCYSTEINE before? Have you done blood test and wonder what causes elevated homocysteine levels and what you can do to reduce it?
您听过同型半胱氨酸吗？您做过血液检查，并想知道是什么导致您的同型半胱氨酸水平升高吗？
Homocysteine is a specific type of amino acid that’s created in the body during metabolic processes. In healthy people, homocysteine is transformed into a benign product that keeps levels maintained, but when homocysteine isn’t properly metabolized, it builds up inside the body and acts similarly to a toxin. This causes inflammation to rise and creates more by-products that cause changes in cardiovascular, neurological and endocrine systems.
Having elevated homocysteine in the blood is associated with atherosclerosis ie heart attack and stroke and blood clot formation and perhaps development of Alzheimer’s disease.
同型半胱氨酸是身体代谢过程中所产生的氨基酸半胱氨酸的异种。同型半胱氨酸为一种含硫氨基酸，是氨基酸代谢过程中的重要中间产物。在健康人群中，同型半胱氨酸转化为保持良性的产物，但是当同型半胱氨酸未被正确代谢时，它会在体内聚积并且引起与毒素类似的作用。这会导致炎症升高并产生更多的副产物，进而导致心血管、神经系统和内分泌系统的变化。
血液中的同型半胱氨酸水平升高与动脉粥样硬化有关，即心脏病、中风以及血凝块形成，并可能发展为阿尔兹海默病。
Homocysteine level rises when we grow older. It also can be caused by smoking. We need to focus on taking care of ourselves as we grow older and limit the use of harmful substance. In addition, our diet is also important to make sure the severity and side effects of having high homocysteine level can be controlled and avoided.
同型半胱氨酸可能会随着年龄的增长而升高。它也可能是由吸烟引起的。随着年龄的增长，我们必须注重健康及限制有害物质的使用。除此之外，我们的饮食习惯可以确保控制和避免高同型半胱氨酸水平的升高。
Here are dietary tips to protect yourself from high homocysteine complications.
以下是一些可以保护自己免受高型半胱氨酸并发症的饮食秘诀：
- Increase fiber intake / 增加纤维摄取量
- Fiber helps protect your arteries and heart, improves digestion, help regulate your appetite, lowers overeating, and is even tied to healthier cognitive functioning. According to Management of Dyslipidaemia (2011), 20-30g a day of dietary fiber is recommended for patient with dyslipidaemia problem. The amount can be simplified as taking 2 servings of fruits and 3 servings of vegetables daily.
纤维有助于保护您的动脉和心脏、改善消化、调节食欲、降低暴饮暴食，甚至与提高个人的认知能力有关。根据血脂异常症管理（2011），血脂异常患者建议每日服用20至30克膳食纤维。这个数量可以简化为每日食用2份水果和3份蔬菜。
2. Limit Your Alcohol and Caffeine Intake / 限制您的酒精和咖啡因摄取量
- Only consume alcohol in very small amounts, roughly one to two drinks per day or ideally less. Caffeine is also tied to higher homocysteine, so try cutting back or eliminating your consumption.
饮用非常少量的酒精，每天饮用大约1至2杯酒，或者更少。咖啡因也与高同型半胱氨酸水平有关，因此尽量减少咖啡因的摄取量
3. Get enough Folate / 摄取足够的叶酸
- Research has shown that by increasing your intake of folate you can reduce your risk for problems related to high inflammation levels. Food that are high in folate include dark leafy vegetables, citrus fruits like papaya, orange and raspberries, beans, peas, lentils, seeds and nuts, broccoli, asparagus, avocado, okra, cauliflower, celery, carrot and corn.
研究表示，通过增加叶酸的摄取量，可以降低与高炎症水平有关问题的风险。富含高叶酸的食物包括深青叶蔬菜、柑橘类水果如木瓜、橙子及山莓、豆类、豌豆、扁豆、籽、坚果、西兰花、芦笋、鳄梨、秋葵、花椰菜、芹菜、胡萝卜和玉米。
4. Consume More Vitamin B6 and Vitamin B12 / 摄取更多的维他命B6和维他命B12
- Many patients with high homocysteine experience improvements in symptoms when they consume more B vitamins, especially vitamin B6 and B12. Vitamin B6 and B12 can help to increase metabolic functions, including methylation. They can also lower symptoms, such as cognitive dysfunction and fatigue. Foods that contain high vitamin B6 are seeds such as sunflower seed, flaxseed and pumpkin seed, nuts such as pistachio, walnut and hazelnut, fish like salmon and tuna,poultry and grass-fed beef. Foods that contain high vitamin B12 are fish like sardine, mackerel and salmon, grass-fed beef and lamb, eggs and also cheese.
许多患有高同型半胱氨酸的患者在摄取更多的维他命B群，尤其是维他命B6和维他命B12有助于改善同型半胱氨酸水平。维他命B6和维他命B12可以帮助提高代谢功能，包括甲基化。它们也可以降低认知功能障碍和疲劳。富含高维他命B6的食物是籽，如向日葵籽、亚麻籽和南瓜籽、坚果如开心果、核桃和榛子、鱼类如鲑鱼及金枪鱼、家禽以及草饲牛肉。富含高维他命B12的食物是鱼类如沙丁鱼、鲭鱼和鲑鱼、草饲牛肉和羊肉、鸡蛋及奶酪。
5. Avoid processed food and trans fats / 避免加工食品和反式脂肪
- As the level of homocysteine is increasing, this will increase the inflammation and make the body harder to detoxify toxins and heavy metals. Since processed foods contain synthetic chemical ingredients, it is advisable to avoid eating processed foods and food with high trans fats as much as possible.
随着同型半胱氨酸水平的增加，会增加炎症，使身体更难以解除毒素和重金属。由于加工食品含有合成化学成分，建议尽可能避免使用高反式脂肪的加工食品。
