The colder seasons are upon us, and that means so many wonderful things: falling leaves, cozy sweaters, crackling fireplaces, and the holidays. But, unfortunately, it also means flu season.
冬季就要來臨，落葉、厚毛衣、噼里啪啦的爐火、各種假期都要來了。但是，冬天也意味著流感來襲。

When your body begins showing signs of a nasty cold, like sneezing or congestion, or a whole body flu, like chills and fatigue, you might be inclined to hurry to the drugstore or your medicine cabinet to take over-the-counter meds—which may or may not work. But too often we forget about nature’s remedies for fighting the flu.
發(fā)現(xiàn)諸如打噴嚏、鼻塞或發(fā)抖、疲憊等流感癥狀時，有人可能會急忙去藥店買藥——通常都沒用。我們總是忘記，其實有更自然的方法治療流感。

Turns out, sipping a hot cup of tea is not only comforting while you're feeling under the weather, but according to research, it's chock-full of benefits to help you combat this season's biggest sickness.
喝杯熱茶能緩解身體不適，有調查顯示，熱茶有滿滿的好處，能幫助對抗冬季流感。

According to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, drinking black tea is a major immune booster. The study, out of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and Harvard Medical School, found that people who drank five cups of black tea a day for two weeks saw their immune system T cells pumping out 10 times more cold and flu virus-fighting interferon.
《美國國家科學院院刊》（Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences）有研究顯示，紅茶是提升免疫力的一大法寶。波士頓布列根和婦女醫(yī)院（Brigham and Women's Hospital）以及哈佛醫(yī)學院合作試驗表明，每天喝五杯紅茶，并堅持兩周的人免疫系統(tǒng)內的T細胞能夠產(chǎn)生十倍多的抗流感病毒干擾素。

“We worked out the molecular aspects of this tea component in the test tube and then tested it on a small number of people to see if it actually worked in human beings,” explained Jack F. Bukowski, MD, one of the study's researchers. According to Dr. Bukowski, the results are proof that five cups of tea a day can enhance the body's disease defenses. (Check out these other incredible benefits of black tea.)
研究人員醫(yī)學博士杰克·F·布科思拷說：“我們用試管分析紅茶的分子成分，在一小部分人身上做了實驗，看是否有效?！辈伎扑伎奖硎?，結果證明每天喝五杯茶能提高身體的疾病提抗力。

Green tea is another noteworthy flu-fighter thanks to its antioxidant quercetin, as well as an amino acid called L-theanine. Various studies have shown that quercetin acts as a potent antiviral agent, hindering viral replication of many respiratory viruses, including influenza virus. One study, published in the Journal of Medicinal Food found quercetin to inhibit the replication of a common cold virus in its initial stage of infection.
綠茶因其含有抗氧化物質槲皮素和氨基酸茶氨酸，也能抵抗流感。多項實驗表明，茶氨酸是抗病毒的潛在因素，能阻止很多呼吸道病毒復制，比如流感病毒。《藥用食材期刊》（Journal of Medicinal Food ）做過實驗，發(fā)現(xiàn)茶氨酸可以在感冒病毒感染初期抑制病毒復制。

A study completed by researchers at University of Florida and the Nutritional Science Research Institute and published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition found that L-theanine and decaffeinated green tea catechins are capable of boosting the body’s immune system. The results suggest that green tea can decrease the incidence and duration of cold and flu symptoms.
佛羅里達大學和營養(yǎng)科學研究院（Nutritional Science Research Institute）合作進行了一項實驗，結果發(fā)表在《美國營養(yǎng)學院期刊》上。實驗表明，茶氨酸和去咖啡因的綠茶兒茶酚都能提高人體免疫力。綠茶能降低感冒和流感癥狀發(fā)生的可能性，也能縮短癥狀周期。

“With this study, we were able to show that ingestion of a specific combination of decaffeinated tea polyphenols standardized to 45 percent EGCg and L-theanine, would enhance systemic immunity, and prevent cold and flu symptoms in healthy individuals. This is a significant finding,” said lead study author Susan S. Percival, PhD.
實驗主創(chuàng)蘇珊·S·皮思溫博士說：“我們在這個實驗中發(fā)現(xiàn)，攝入去咖啡因茶多酚中45%的茶多酚和兒茶酚，能夠提高免疫力，幫助健康的人抵抗感冒和流感。這項發(fā)現(xiàn)意義重大。”

The benefits of tea have long been accounted for, but it is easy to forget that a soothing cup does more than just satisfy you—it can prevent against pesky, and sometimes life-threatening, viruses like the flu.
茶的好處源遠流長，但是卻不止于此，茶還能防止討厭的流感病毒，有時候這些病毒甚至帶有致命風險。

（翻譯：阿忙）

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