Folic acid protects baby hearts 叶酸可保护婴儿心脏

时间：2009-05-13 06:53:47

（单词翻译:单击）

Mandatory1 fortification of bread with folic acid would slash2 the risk of babies being born with a heart problem, experience from Canada shows.

加拿大研究表明，面包里强制加入叶酸可降低新生儿的心脏问题。

 

Flour can be fortified3 with folic acid

Rates of severe congenital（天生的，先天的） heart defects among newborns in Quebec fell significantly after the move to fortify4 flour and pasta（生面团） began in 1998.

The British Medical Journal online study lends support to calls for introducing fortification to Europe.

But others argue against this, saying it would inevitably5 harm some people.

The fear is that adding folic acid to products like bread could harm some elderly people if they are deficient6 in other B vitamins.

In extreme cases, this can cause irreversible（不可逆转的） damage to the nervous system.

There is also concern that it may also increase the risk of certain cancers, including bowel7（肠） cancer, in some people.

In 2007 the UK's watchdog, the Food Standards Agency, agreed with expert recommendations to fortify bread or flour with folic acid.

Since then, at the request of the Chief Medical Officer, an expert working group on folate（叶酸） has been considering the results of recent trials looking at the effect of folic acid on the risk of some types of cancer.

The group is expected to report back to Sir Liam Donaldson this summer.

Risk reduction

Folic acid is a synthetic8（合成的，人造的） form of folate, a B vitamin found in a wide variety of foods including liver and green leafy vegetables.

Pregnant women and those trying to conceive（构思，怀孕） are already advised to take folic acid supplements to reduce the risk that their baby will have a "neural9 tube（神经管）" birth defect like spina bifida（脊柱裂）.

But uptake（摄取，领会） is not ideal, particularly because some pregnancies10 are unplanned and can go unnoticed for some weeks.

The latest work suggests folic acid also cuts the risk of baby heart defects.

In the seven years after fortification（防御工事） was introduced there was a 6% drop per year in the birth prevalence（传播，流行） of severe heart defects.

This compares with a 9% drop in neural tube defects.

Writing in the BMJ, lead author Professor Louise Pilote of McGill University in Montreal, said: "Given that severe congenital heart defects require complex surgical11 interventions12 in infancy13 and are associated with high infant mortality rates, even a small reduction in the overall risk will significantly reduce the costs associated with the medical care of these patients and the psychological burden on patients and their families."


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1 mandatory BjTyz     
adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者
参考例句：
  • It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
  • There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。
2 slash Hrsyq     
vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩
参考例句：
  • The shop plans to slash fur prices after Spring Festival.该店计划在春节之后把皮货降价。
  • Don't slash your horse in that cruel way.不要那样残忍地鞭打你的马。
3 fortified fortified     
adj. 加强的
参考例句：
  • He fortified himself against the cold with a hot drink. 他喝了一杯热饮御寒。
  • The enemy drew back into a few fortified points. 敌人收缩到几个据点里。
4 fortify sgezZ     
v.强化防御，为…设防；加强，强化
参考例句：
  • This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。
  • This treaty forbade the United States to fortify the canal.此条约禁止美国对运河设防。
5 inevitably x7axc     
adv.不可避免地；必然发生地
参考例句：
  • In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
  • Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。
6 deficient Cmszv     
adj.不足的，不充份的，有缺陷的
参考例句：
  • The crops are suffering from deficient rain.庄稼因雨量不足而遭受损害。
  • I always have been deficient in selfconfidence and decision.我向来缺乏自信和果断。
7 bowel Bszzy     
n.肠(尤指人肠)；内部，深处
参考例句：
  • Irritable bowel syndrome seems to affect more women than men.女性比男性更易患肠易激综合征。
  • Have you had a bowel movement today?你今天有排便吗？
8 synthetic zHtzY     
adj.合成的，人工的；综合的；n.人工制品
参考例句：
  • We felt the salesman's synthetic friendliness.我们感觉到那位销售员的虚情假意。
  • It's a synthetic diamond.这是人造钻石。
9 neural DnXzFt     
adj.神经的，神经系统的
参考例句：
  • The neural network can preferably solve the non- linear problem.利用神经网络建模可以较好地解决非线性问题。
  • The information transmission in neural system depends on neurotransmitters.信息传递的神经途径有赖于神经递质。
10 pregnancies 2fedeb45162c233ee9e28d81888a2d2c     
怀孕，妊娠( pregnancy的名词复数 )
参考例句：
  • Since the wartime population needed replenishment, pregnancies were a good sign. 最后一桩倒不失为好现象，战时人口正该补充。
  • She's had three pregnancies in four years. 她在四年中怀孕叁次。
11 surgical 0hXzV3     
adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的
参考例句：
  • He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
  • All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。
12 interventions b4e9b73905db5b0213891229ce84fdd3     
n.介入，干涉，干预( intervention的名词复数 )
参考例句：
  • Economic analysis of government interventions deserves detailed discussion. 政府对经济的干预应该给予充分的论述。 来自辞典例句
  • The judge's frequent interventions made a mockery of justice. 法官的屡屡干预是对正义的践踏。 来自互联网
13 infancy F4Ey0     
n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期
参考例句：
  • He came to England in his infancy.他幼年时期来到英国。
  • Their research is only in its infancy.他们的研究处于初级阶段。

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