许多人仍在等着甲型H1N1流感疫苗轮到自己，其实他们在自家厨房也能做很多事，帮助抵抗疾病，建立强壮的免疫系统。

While many people are still waiting for swine-flu vaccine to become available in their area, there is a lot they can do in their own kitchens to help fight off disease and build a strong immune system.

日渐发展的营养免疫学领域的科学家们正发现新的证据，表明营养在对抗流感等流行疾病方面扮演着复杂的角色。专家说，富含维他命A（色彩鲜艳的水果和蔬菜）和锌（海鲜、干果和全麦）的餐食能够为身体提供抵抗疾病、愈合伤口以及患病时存活下来所需的能量。

Scientists in the growing field of nutritional immunology are unveiling new evidence of the complex role that nutrition plays in fighting off infectious diseases like influenza. A diet rich in nutrients such as vitamin A, found in colorful fruits and vegetables, and zinc, found in seafood, nuts and whole grains, can provide the critical fuel the body needs to fight off disease, heal injuries, and survive illness when it does strike, experts say.

科学家们仍在研究营养成份与免疫系统相互作用的复杂方式。矿物质仍有许多地方不为科学家们所知，比如说锌，包括它们如何被人体吸收，以及扮演何种角色。但科学家们知道，某些维他命和矿物质可以提升人体的抗感染能力：比如，对健康老年人的研究显示，在增加服用维他命E之后，老人对疫苗的免疫反应增强了，降低了感染。

Scientists are still studying all the complex ways in which nutrients interact with the immune system. There is still much that they don't know about minerals such as zinc, for instance, including how they are absorbed and all the roles they play in the body. But scientists do know that certain vitamins and minerals can improve the body's ability to fight off infection: Studies in healthy elderly adults, for example, have shown an improved immune response to vaccination and fewer infections after receiving extra doses of vitamin E.

哈佛大学公共健康学院(Harvard School of Public Health)研究人员Anuraj Shankar说，为了制造抵抗感染的免疫细胞，人体必须从血液循环系统迅速获取营养成分。如果不摄入足够的维他命和矿物质，就无法制造所需数量的免疫细胞，而制造出来的免疫细胞也可能有问题。这样一来就不可能对感染做出有效的应对。

To create immune cells to fight off a specific infection, the body has to rapidly draw nutrients from the bloodstream, says Anuraj Shankar, a researcher at the Harvard School of Public Health. 'If you don't have an adequate intake of vitamins and minerals, you won't be able to produce the number of immune cells you need, and the immune cells you do produce may be compromised,' Dr. Shankar says. That makes it impossible to mount an effective response to infection, he says.

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