Comprehensive lifestyle changes including a better diet and more exercise can lead not only to a better physique, but also to swift and dramatic changes at the genetic level, U.S. researchers said on Monday. In a small study, the researchers tracked 30 men with low-risk prostate cancer(前列腺癌)who decided against conventional medical treatment such as surgery and radiation or hormone therapy.
The men underwent three months of major lifestyle changes, including eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and soy products, moderate exercise such as walking for half an hour a day, and an hour of daily stress management methods such as meditation(冥想). As expected, they lost weight, lowered their blood pressure and saw other health improvements. But the researchers found more profound changes when they compared prostate biopsies taken before and after the lifestyle changes. After the three months, the men had changes in activity in about 500 genes -- including 48 that were turned on and 453 genes that were turned off. The activity of disease-preventing genes increased while a number of disease-promoting genes, including those involved in prostate cancer and breast cancer, shut down, according to the study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The research was led by Dr. Dean Ornish, head of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California, and a well-known author advocating lifestyle changes to improve health. "It's an exciting finding because so often people say, 'Oh, it's all in my genes, what can I do?' Well, it turns out you may be able to do a lot," Ornish, who is also connected with the University of California, San Francisco, said in a telephone interview. "'In just three months, I can change hundreds of my genes simply by changing what I eat and how I live'. That's pretty exciting," Ornish said. "The implications of our study are not limited to men with prostate cancer."
60. The article basically states that a healthy lifestyle__________.
A. can even change your genes for the better.
B. has no effect on your genes.
C. is good for the environment.
D. helps men recover from prostate cancer.
61. Apart from eating healthy food and exercising, the men in the study__________.
A. were put under a lot of stress.
B. were walking for hours a day..
C. were taught stress management methods.
D. were thinking for a whole day.
62. In total, how many disease-preventing genes turned on as a result of the healthy lifestyle?
A. 30 B. 453 C.500 D. 48
63. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the article?
A. The men with low-risk prostate in the study lost weight and lowered their blood pressure.
B. A famous author and Dr. Dean Ornish led this research.
C. Dr. Dean Ornish expressed his optimism about this research in a telephone interview.
D. Conventional medical treatment has no effect on the men with prostate cancer.