HEALTH REPORT - Foods and Health

HEALTH REPORT - April 3, 2002: Foods and Health

By Nancy Steinbach
Two new programs are replacing Science Report:

-- On Wednesdays, Health Report will describe new research and information about staying healthy
and treating disease.

-- On Thursdays, Education Report will explore educational issues and news about teaching and
learning in the United States and other countries.

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

Experts say the food people eat greatly affects their health. They say that some foods are especially good for
preventing disease.

Many foods contain substances that protect against tissue damage. One of these is
tomatoes. The substance lycopene is released when tomatoes are cooked. Lycopene
helps reduce the risk of developing cancer in the digestive system, which processes
food.

The dark green vegetable spinach¹ contains folic acid that prevents problems in

developing fetuses². It also lowers blood levels of homocysteine. High homocysteine
levels have been linked to heart attacks and strokes. Another vegetable, broccoli³, can help protect against cancers
of the breast, colon⁴ and stomach.

Oats help lower blood pressure and protect against heart disease. They also may improve the levels of sugar in
the blood. This reduces the chance of developing the disease, diabetes⁵.

Fish that contain omega three fatty acids help prevent blockages⁶ in the arteries⁷. Omega three also lowers bad
cholesterol⁸ and may protect brain cells from diseases like Alzheimer's. Fish that provide a lot of omega three
acids are salmon⁹, herring, mackerel and bluefish.

Garlic may help protect the heart by reducing cholesterol and making the blood less sticky. Health experts also
suggest cooking with olive oil because it also has been shown to help prevent cancer and heart disease.

Studies show that drinking green tea may help prevent cancer of the liver and stomach. Green tea also slows the
growth of bacteria in the mouth. Blueberries have been shown to help protect against heart disease and cancer.
They can also help prevent some infections by preventing the bacteria from attacking the bladder.

Experts say the skins of red grapes contain substances that increase the good kind of cholesterol in the blood. To
get this protection, you can drink red wine... but not more than a few glasses a week. Drinking too much alcohol
can be dangerous!

Eating too much chocolate can increase weight. But recent studies have shown that substances in chocolate can
help prevent heart attacks and cancer. They have also shown that chocolate is not as bad for the teeth as had been
thought. The experts say the best chocolate to eat is the dark kind because it contains the most healthful
substances.

This VOA Special English Health Report was written by Nancy Steinbach.

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1 spinach   

n.菠菜

参考例句：

• Eating spinach is supposed to make you strong.据说吃菠菜能使人强壮。
• You should eat such vegetables as carrot,celery and spinach.你应该吃胡萝卜、芹菜和菠菜这类的蔬菜。

2 fetuses   

n.胎，胎儿( fetus的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• DNA was extracted from fetuses at mid-gestation, about 10 days past conception. DNA从受孕大约10天后的中期妊娠胚胎中提取。 来自互联网
• Brucellosis is a disease that causes fetuses to abort in cattle. 普鲁士菌病是一种可以导致牲畜胎儿夭折的疾病。 来自互联网

3 broccoli   

n.绿菜花，花椰菜

参考例句：

• She grew all the broccoli plants from seed.这些花椰菜都是她用种子培育出来的。
• They think broccoli is only green and cauliflower is only white.他们认为西兰花只有绿色的，而菜花都是白色的。

4 colon   

n.冒号，结肠，直肠

参考例句：

• Here,too,the colon must be followed by a dash.这里也是一样，应当在冒号后加破折号。
• The colon is the locus of a large concentration of bacteria.结肠是大浓度的细菌所在地。

5 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

6 blockages   

n.堵塞物( blockage的名词复数 )；堵塞，阻塞

参考例句：

• The storms could increase the risks posed by river blockages. 暴风雨会增加因河道堵塞所造成的危险。 来自互联网
• An angiogram shows the location and severity of blockages in blood vessels. 冠状动脉造影能够显示血管内的阻塞位置以及阻塞的严重程度。 来自互联网

7 arteries   

n.动脉( artery的名词复数 )；干线，要道

参考例句：

• Even grafting new blood vessels in place of the diseased coronary arteries has been tried. 甚至移植新血管代替不健康的冠状动脉的方法都已经试过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This is the place where the three main arteries of West London traffic met. 这就是伦敦西部三条主要交通干线的交汇处。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 cholesterol   

n.（U）胆固醇

参考例句：

• There is cholesterol in the cell of body.人体细胞里有胆固醇。
• They are determining the serum-protein and cholesterol levels.他们正在测定血清蛋白和胆固醇的浓度。

9 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？