“喂养” 你的肠道菌群

Did you know that in your gut （肠道）  you have a teeming colony of microorganisms？ You have literally trillions of them in your body. They include bacteria， viruses and fungi， and are collectively known as your microbiome（微生物群）. And while some microorganisms cause disease， many are crucial to your health， helping your immune system， digestion and even your brain function.

The more diverse our microbiome， the better our overall health. So， how can we improve our diversity？ “The single most important dietary factor we found for better gut health was the number of different plants we eat weekly， with 30 a week being the optimal number”， says Dr Tim Spector of the British Gut Project. This is because there are different beneficial chemicals found in different kinds of plants. 30 plants might sound like a lot， but it turns out that unexpected foods， not just your 5-a-day， count as “plants” too. For example， wholegrains like brown rice， oats， barley and quinoa， and legumes （豆类）– that’s food like lentils， chickpeas and beans， as well as nuts and seeds， will mean we get a whole host of microorganisms living inside our gut.

As a matter of fact， Christopher Gardner， a professor of medicine and author of a Stanford Medicine study of identical twins found that “a vegan diet can confer additional benefits such as increased gut bacteria and the reduction of telomere loss， which slows ageing in the body”.

But you don’t have to become completely plant-based. Probiotics（益生菌）help the microbiome too. These are live bacteria and yeasts that can be found in yoghurt and fermented food like sauerkraut（泡菜）. And food from animals can have health benefits. Meat is high in protein and nutrients like choline， which helps with memory， mood and muscle control.

As a consequence， for better physical and mental health， grab those plants and strengthen your microbiome.

（材料选自BBC网站，有删改）

1.What can we learn about microorganisms according to Paragraph 1？

A. Millions of microorganisms are in our guts.

B. No microorganisms are good for your health.

C. Microorganisms is also called microbiome.

D. All microorganisms aren’t good for your health.

2. Which of the followings can count as plants？

A. Rice， oats and lentils.

B. Barley， quinoa and chickpeas.

C. Beas， nuts and yoghurt.

D. Oats， barley and seeds.

3. What does the underlined word “confer” in Paragraph 3 probably mean？

A. Provide.       B. Destroy.         C. Help.       D. Solve.

4.What’s mainly talked about in Paragraph 4？

A. There’s no need for our foods to be complete plants.

B. The reason why probiotics are helpful to our health.

C. Food from animals can be of benefit to our health.

D. Meat helps with memory， mood and muscle control.

1. D。（剩余301字）