美国国家公共电台 NPR Eating Fish May Help City Kids With Asthma Breathe Better

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

It's long been known that air pollution can influence the risk of asthma¹ in children. Now there's emerging evidence diet can, too. NPR's Allison Aubrey reports on a new study from Johns Hopkins University that finds certain types of foods are linked to a decrease in asthma symptoms.

ALLISON AUBREY, BYLINE²: Maybe you've heard that expression that fish is brain food. Well, it turns out that fish might be good for the lungs, too. All those omega-3 fatty acids found in oily fish, they work in a fascinating way in our bodies. Emily Brigham is a pulmonologist at Johns Hopkins. She says as we break down these omega-3s molecules³ known as pro-resolving mediators are produced.

EMILY BRIGHAM: And what they do is that when there's an area of inflammation or when there's inflammation in the body, these molecules help to resolve that inflammation.

AUBREY: Given this effect, Brigham and her colleagues were curious. They studied a group of 135 kids in Baltimore with asthma. Many of them were exposed to high levels of indoor pollution, which can trigger or worsen symptoms. Now, during a six-month study, they found that higher consumption of omega-3s seemed to reduce the effects of air pollution on their symptoms.

BRIGHAM: Meaning that kids who were eating a higher level of omega-3 had fewer symptoms than kids that were eating a lower level of omega-3.

AUBREY: So omega-3s appear to be beneficial, but another group of fatty acids, omega-6s, seem to have the opposite effect. Omega-6s they're found in lots of processed foods that contain corn oil and other vegetable oils. And some of their byproducts are pro-inflammatory. Brigham says the results are preliminary, but they're not too surprising.

BRIGHAM: We know that asthma is a disease that's driven by inflammation and that that inflammation occurs primarily at the level of the lung.

AUBREY: So if diet can help reduce that inflammation, Brigham says it could be a good way to help kids prone⁴ to asthma maintain good health. Allison Aubrey, NPR News.

1 asthma   

n.气喘病，哮喘病

参考例句：

• I think he's having an asthma attack.我想他现在是哮喘病发作了。
• Its presence in allergic asthma is well known.它在过敏性气喘中的存在是大家很熟悉的。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 molecules   

分子( molecule的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

4 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。