It's never too late to rebuild neurons, so keep your brain healthy the way you keep your body healthy — by working out. Four tips from Dr. Oz to maintain a sharp mind.

　　要重建神经元，什么时候都不晚。因此要保持大脑健康的方法是，保持身体健康－而保持身体健康，则要通过锻炼。对于维持大脑聪慧，Oz医生在此给出了四个诀窍。

　　Mehmet Oz is a heart surgeon and the coauthor of You: Staying Young (Free Press).

Until just a few years ago, we doctors believed that the brain stopped making new neural connections — meaning that your memory began to get irreversibly worse — when the body stopped developing, usually in your early 20s. And we knew that, like any other body part, neurons weaken as we age. Loss of brain function due to neural breakdown was assumed to be a normal, unavoidable part of aging.

　　直到几年前，我们医生还认为大脑停止生长新的神经连接，－意味着你的记忆力开始不可挽回的变坏，－在身体停止发育时，往往是在你二十多岁初期。而且我们知道，如同身体的其他组织，神经元会随着我们年龄的增长而变弱。由于神经系统的衰弱而造成的大脑功能的损失被认为是人体成熟过程中一个正常的、不可避免的部分。

It turns out we were wrong. In the past few years, it has become clear that you can, in fact, make new neurons starting in your 20s and continuing well into old age. You can literally rewire the brain with new parts as the older parts wear out. How? Simple: Keep learning. Just as your body can pack on and condition new muscle, your brain can rebuild used-up neurons.

　　结果我们错了，在过去的几年里，已经变得很清楚，事实上，你可以生长新的神经元，从二十多岁开始，一直很好地持续到晚年。毫不夸张地说，你可以在大脑旧组织损耗的同时，生长出新的大脑连接。怎么做到的呢？很简单：保持学习。正如你的身体可以愈合和使新肌肉保持健康一样，你的大脑也可以重建疲惫不堪的神经元。

How strong is the evidence for this? Strong enough that a $200 million industry devoted to brain-boosting software — products like Brain Age, MindFit, and Lumosity that supposedly improve your memory function — has sprung up out of nowhere. The jury is still out on whether these programs actually sharpen the noggin as much as they claim to. But frankly, you don't need a fancy video game. All "mental fitness" means is keeping your memory intact — everything from phone numbers to how to throw a football. So what can you do to stay smart?

　　说明此事的根据有力到什么程度？有力到斥资两亿美元用于开发提升大脑的软件的产业已经出现在世界各地－像Brain Age, Mindfit,和Lumosity等产品被认为可以提高你的记忆功能。而评判委员会仍然公开指出，这些程序会是否像他们所主张的那样可以更好地使大脑聪明。不过坦白说，你不需要想象的视频游戏，所有 “智力健康”的意思是你的记忆力保持完整无损－从电话号码到如何踢足球的一切事物。那么为了保持聪慧，你能做些什么？

Keep blood pressure down. People with high blood pressure are more likely to develop cognitive impairment later in life.

　　保持低的血压。患有高血压的人，在晚年更有可能引发认知损伤。

Take an aspirin a day. One 162-milligram pill helps prevent damaging ministrokes in the brain's periphery and appears to reduce the buildup of beta-amyloid, a protein that sandbags the brain's neurons.

　　一天吃一片阿司匹林。一片162毫克的阿司匹林，有助于阻止对大脑神经末梢产生的微小的冲击。同时还会减少β淀粉的重建，这是一种阻止大脑神经元的蛋白质。

Eat more vitamins. Like E (in nuts and sunflower seeds), B6 and B12 (beef, tuna), and folic acid (leafy greens, citrus, berries), which help keep your brain's chemistry in balance.

　　多吃含维他命的食物。像维Ｅ（坚果和葵花籽富含），Ｂ6和Ｂ12（牛肉和金枪鱼富含），以及叶酸（绿叶蔬菜，柑橘类和浆果富含），这些有助于使你大脑内的化学变化保持平衡．

Exercise your brain. This is the best way to rebuild and strengthen those precious neurons. Learn to play chess or the guitar. When you're at a stoplight, try to recall the starting lineup of the '83 Celtics. See a movie that doesn't feature Ben Stiller. Or read, like, a book.

　　训练你的大脑。这是重建和加强这些珍贵神经元的最好方法。去学下棋或弹吉他，当你大脑亮起红灯时，试着回想起1983年凯尔特人队的全体先发球员。去看不是本·斯蒂勒主演的电影。或是阅读，比如一本书。

--How Do I Keep My Brain Smart?

--我如何使大脑保持聪明？