Did you know that the five countries with the lowest prevalence of MS are Zambia, Zimbabwe, Indonesia, Cameroon, and Malawi? And the five with the highest rates are Canada, San Marino, Denmark, Sweden and Hungary. Notice anything? It is actually true that, with just a small number of exceptions, the further away from the equator you live, the more common you’ll find MS to be. But why?
你知道多发性硬化发病率最低的五个国家是赞比亚，津巴布韦，印度尼西亚，喀麦隆，马拉维吗？而发病率最高的国家是译圣马力诺，加拿大，丹麦，瑞典和匈牙利。其他的呢？有这样一个事实——你住的地方离赤道越远，多发性硬化的发病率就越高，当然也有些例外。但是为什么呢？
Scientists think it might have something to do with the sunshine. Or, more specifically, with the vitamin D that you produce through sun exposure.
科学家认为那可能与阳光有些关系。或者，具体来说是与暴露在阳光下产生的维生素D有关。
The Sunshine Vitamin
阳光维他命
Everyone loves a bit of sunshine – whether on holiday or at home – and maintaining a decent level of vitamin D has long been regarded as part of a healthy lifestyle. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to a range of diseases including rickets, heart disease, cancer, depression and now MS. Of course, jetting off to the beach once a year isn’t necessarily going to affect your chances of developing MS, but the research does indicate a possible link between a lack of vitamin D in early childhood and the likelihood of developing the condition: vitamin D plays an important role in bone development, and evidence suggests it is also crucial to the immune and neuromuscular systems in the body.
我们都爱死了阳光——无论是出门在外还是在家——维持体内适宜的维生素D水平已经被视为一种健康的生活方式。体内维生素D的缺乏会引发一系列的疾病，这些疾病包括：佝偻病、心脏病、癌症、体质弱，以及现在的多发性硬化。当然，一年去一次沙滩也不一定会对多发性硬化有多少帮助，但是研究也表明幼年时期维生素D的不足可能与某些疾病还是存在着某些关连的：维生素D对骨骼的形成非常重要，也有数据表明维生素D对人体的免疫系统和神经肌肉系统也有重要作用。
So could vitamin D also play a role in the management of MS? Low levels of vitamin D have indeed been linked to a greater number of relapses and increased disability in people with MS. These studies offer a glimpse at the role that sunshine may play in helping the body cope with major diseases. But it is very difficult to assess the true effects of vitamin D because you can’t tightly regulate the amount of sun exposure that people receive.
在应对多发性硬化时，维生素D真的能有那么重要的作用吗？人体内维生素D的含量较低时确实会导致某些疾病的病变以及多发性硬化的恶化几率增加。这些研究证明了在某些情况下阳光确实能帮助人体应对某些主要的疾病，因为我们不能精确地计算出人们到底能接受到多少的阳光，所以想要评估维生素D真正能对人体产生多大的影响就变得很困难。
Walk on the Sunny Side of the Street
活在阳光下
Although following a healthy, balanced diet is always good for many reasons, sunlight remains the body’s main source of vitamin D. A big concern among nutritionists is that our worries about over-exposure to the sun’s rays have made us overly cautious in slapping on the sunscreen and preventing the body from producing the vitamin D it needs. More people are also now spending more time inside, and the rise in obesity shows how society has become more sedentary and less active.
尽管健康的均衡的饮食对我们的健康已经有好处，阳光也是人体内维生素D的主要来源。大多数营养学家的顾虑是由于我们极度担太阳晒太多，接受到的紫外线增多，然后就会抹很多的防晒霜，从而导致我们的身体没法合成足够的维生素D来满足我们身体的需要。大多数人待在房间内的时间较多，体重的普遍增加也表明人们坐着做事的情况和不爱运动的情况是如何的多。
Do remember, though – while it’s important to get your sunshine fix, it’s essential to be sun savvy and be very careful never to let your skin burn. While many things are pointing towards the potential benefits of vitamin D in MS, more research is needed before any firm conclusions can be drawn.
但是也要牢记——晒太阳很重要，了解一些阳光的相关知识也是很有必要，以防皮肤被灼伤。还有许多现象都显示出维生素D对多发性硬化有潜在的作用，在任何结论得出之前都需要做大量的调查研究。
While the scientists are hard at work on that research, (safely) enjoy the sun and all the feel-good factors that go along with it. You never know, that sunshine get-away might just be doing more for you and your MS than beating the winter blues.
科学家在这方面已经做了大量的工作，享受阳光，享受阳光带给你的一系列能让你感觉舒适的东西。你不知道的是，阳光带给你的有很多，绝不只是对防治多发性硬化有帮助，也不只是能一扫冬日的阴霾。
