Vitamin D

 

Broadcast: Feb 5, 2003
By Jerilyn Watson

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

For many years, scientists have known that people need Vitamin D. The body needs the vitamin to have normal levels of the elements calcium1 and phosphorus2. Vitamin D helps the body use calcium¹ to develop and strengthen bones and teeth. Studies show that lack of the vitamin is linked to an increased risk of broken bones. Extra Vitamin D may help prevent such breaks.

Health experts have traditionally believed that short periods of sunlight each day could provide enough Vitamin D. This is because human skin changes sunlight into Vitamin D. The body then can store this substance.

Recently, however, experts have warned that many people may not be getting enough Vitamin D. They say this is especially true of people who live in northern areas of the world. People who stay in their home, school or office for most of the day also may not be getting enough Vitamin D.

The Harvard University School of Public Health is in the northeastern city of Boston, Massachusetts. It says researchers studied patients who entered a Boston hospital. The study showed that fifty-seven percent of these patients lacked enough Vitamin D.

Some doctors now are telling patients to get at least a few minutes of sunshine every day. However, too much sunlight can cause skin cancers. So people who stay in the sun longer should use products to protect their skin.

People can also get Vitamin D in pills or food. Only a few foods naturally contain a lot of Vitamin D, however. They include fish and fish oils. The vitamin is also added to foods like milk and some cereals².

Scientists believe Vitamin D may also be important for health in other ways. The Harvard School of Public Health says research suggests a link between low vitamin D and increased risk of some cancers. These include cancer of the part of the intestine³ called the colon⁴.

Vitamin D also may protect against heart disease⁵. Last year, researchers studied almost ten-thousand older women. They were taking part in research on the bone-thinning disease, osteoporosis. Some of the women took Vitamin D pills. Others did not. The women who took the vitamin had about a thirty percent lower risk of dying⁶ of heart disease.

This VOA Special English Health Report was written by Jerilyn Watson.
1. calcium [5kAlsIEm] n. [化]钙(元素符号Ca)
2. phosphorus [5fCsfErEs] n. 磷

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 cereals   

n.谷类食品，谷类；麦片粥

参考例句：

• By cereals we mean wheat,oats,rye,barley,and all that.谈到谷物，我们指的是小麦、燕麦、黑麦、大麦之类的东西。
• Wheat and rice are cereals.小麦和水稻是谷类植物。

3 intestine   

adj.内部的；国内的；n.肠

参考例句：

• This vitamin is absorbed through the walls of the small intestine.这种维生素通过小肠壁被吸收。
• The service productivity is the function,including external efficiency,intestine efficiency and capacity efficiency.服务业的生产率是一个包含有外部效率、内部效率和能力效率的函数。

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 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

6 dying   

adj.垂死的，临终的

参考例句：

• He was put in charge of the group by the dying leader.他被临终的领导人任命为集团负责人。
• She was shown into a small room,where there was a dying man.她被领进了一间小屋子，那里有一个垂死的人。