VOA标准英语2010年-Studies Find Increasing Health Benefit

Michael Irwig gives staff lectures on Vitamin D at George Washington University Hospital

The U.S. Institute of Medicine is involved in a study that will likely result in an increase in the recommended daily intake¹ of vitamin D.  Research shows vitamin D affects nearly every area of the body and low levels of vitamin D can have serious consequences.

It's the vitamin associated with the sun that we absorb through our skin, and increasingly block out when we use sunblock, to avoid getting skin cancer.

Vitamin D is also available in some foods, but as the world gets fatter, Vitamin D gets trapped in body fat.

What doctors are now discovering is that many people don't have enough vitamin D.

That's why Dr. Michael Irwig gives lectures on Vitamin D to the staff at the George Washington University Hospital.

"Vitamin D has become a very hot topic in medicine now as we are discovering very high levels of vitamin D deficiency in our population, not only in the U.S., but worldwide," said Dr. Irwig.

Vitamin D helps our bodies absorb calcium² and helps form and maintain strong bones.  Extreme vitamin D deficiency causes deformities in children and weak bones in adults.

Doctors rarely see these conditions.  But studies have linked vitamin D deficiency to a number of serious health problems, including heart disease, several types of cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes³, Alzheimer's disease and some autoimmune disorders⁴.

Low levels of vitamin D are even associated with high blood pressure.

"What's very interesting about vitamin D is that it's involved all throughout the body, and it's involved on a local level, so you can have vitamin D active in the breasts, in the prostate, in the colon⁵, and it's thought that the locally-acting vitamin D is helping⁶ to protect the body against these cancers, regulating how cells grow and how cells die," added Dr. Irwig.

Doctors are also finding connections between vitamin D and pregnancy⁷. 

"There have been some studies showing that if you give pregnant women 4,000 units of vitamin D a day, their rates of complications in pregnancy are much decreased," noted⁸ Dr. Irwig.  "If you look at things like infection, pre-term delivery, even gestational diabetes mellitus, they are all reduced with givng pregnant women higher doses of vitamin D."

The Institute of Medicine, which advises the U.S. government on health, is expected to update its recommended amount of vitamin D by September.  It currently recommends 200 to 600 units of vitamin D daily.  But many experts, including Dr. Irwig, recommend adults take 1,000 to 2,000 units a day, an amount only possible to get though supplements.
 

1 intake   

n.吸入，纳入；进气口，入口

参考例句：

• Reduce your salt intake.减少盐的摄入量。
• There was a horrified intake of breath from every child.所有的孩子都害怕地倒抽了一口凉气。

2 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。

3 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。

4 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。