VOA慢速英语 2007 0103a

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

In recent years, research has suggested more health value from vitamin D than had once been thought.


Vitamin D is found in eggs and other foods and is also added to milk

Vitamin D is produced naturally in the blood. Sunlight is a major source. It is also found in some foods. These include eggs, liver and some fish. Vitamin D is also found in pills. Vitamin D helps to increase levels of calcium¹ in the blood. It helps build strong bones and teeth. It also helps in muscle development.

It also appears to do more than just protect against rickets². That serious bone disease was the reason vitamin D was added to milk. Rickets is now rare in the western world. But it is still a common childhood disease in developing countries. Rickets can cause bone pain and weakness, teeth problems and muscle loss.

Now researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston say vitamin D might protect against multiple sclerosis, also called MS.

MS is a progressive disease of the central nervous system that affects about two million people around the world. There is no cure. MS causes problems with speech and movement. The level of severity can differ from person to person. But is usually seriously disabling³.

The study in Boston involved blood samples from more than seven million members of the American military. It found that people with higher levels of vitamin D had lower rates of MS. It found that the chance of developing MS was sixty-two percent lower among those with the highest level of vitamin D than those with the lowest level.

Alberto Ascherio led the study. He says vitamin D may become a future treatment for MS. But, he says first scientists must carry out a large, controlled study in which some people get vitamin D and others do not.

This is not the first study to show a possible relationship between vitamin D and multiple sclerosis. But it has provided the clearest evidence of a direct link.

The National Institutes of Health says some studies also suggest vitamin D may protect against some kinds of cancer, especially colon⁴ cancer. But it says more human studies are needed to learn if a lack of vitamin D increases the risk of cancer...or if treatment with large amounts of vitamin D could protect against the disease.

And that's the Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver⁵. You can get transcripts⁶ of our health reports, and download audio, at www.unsv.com. I'm Steve Ember

1 calcium   

n.钙(化学符号Ca)

参考例句：

• We need calcium to make bones.我们需要钙来壮骨。
• Calcium is found most abundantly in milk.奶含钙最丰富。

2 rickets   

n.软骨病，佝偻病，驼背

参考例句：

• A diet deficient in vitamin D may cause the disease rickets.缺少维生素D的饮食可能导致软骨病。
• It also appears to do more than just protect against rickets.除了防止软骨病，它还有更多的功能。

3 disabling   

使无能力( disable的现在分词 )； 使残废； 使伤残； 使无效

参考例句：

• Rheumatoid arthritis is perhaps the most severe and disabling type of the disease. 类风湿性关节炎可能是其中最严重，最能致残的一种类型。
• There was an error disabling the Inbox Assistant rules. 禁用收件箱助理程序规则时出错。

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 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

6 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句