voa

ndHealth

ThisistheVOASpecialEnglishHealthReport・

ythatsomefoods

areespeciallygoodforpreventingdia・

Manyfoodscontainsubstancesthatprotectagainsttissuedamage・Oneoftheis

tomatoes・Thesubstancelycopeneisreleadwhentomatoesarecooked・Lycopene

helpsreducetheriskofdevelopingcancerinthedigestivesystem,whichprocess

food・

Thedarkgreenvegetablespinachcontainsfolicacidthatpreventsproblemsin

developingfetus・Italsolowersbloodlevelsofhomocysteine・Highhomocysteine

levelshavebeenlinkedtoheartattacksandstrokes・Anothervegetable,broccoli,

canhelpprotectagainstcancersofthebreast,colonandstomach・

Oatshelplowerbloodpressureandprotectagainstheartdia・Theyalsomay

impi'ovethelevelsofsugarintheblood・Thisreducesthechaneeofdevelopingthe

dia,diabetes・

Fishthatcontainomegathreefattyacidshelppreventblockagesinthearteries・

Omegathreealsolowersbadcholesterolandmayprotectbraincellsfromdias

likeAlzheimer's・Fishthatprovidealotofomegathreeacidsaresalmon.

herring,mackerelandbluefish・

Garlicmayhelpprotecttheheartbyreducingcholesterolandmakingthebloodless

expertsalsosuggestcookingwitholiveoilbecauitalsohasbeen

showntohelppreventcancerandheartdia・

Studiesshowthatdrinkinggreenteamayhelppreventcanceroftheliverandstomach

・Greenteaalsoslowsthegrowthofbacteriainthemouth・Blueberrieshavebeen

showntohelpprotectagainstheartdiaandcancer・Theycanalsohelpprevent

someinfectionsbypreventingthebacteriafromattackingthebladder・

Expertssaytheskinsofredgrapescontainsubstancesthatincreathegoodkindof

cholesterolintheblood・Togetthisprotection,youcandrinkredwine・・・but

notmorethanafewglassaweek・Drinkingtoomuchalcoholcanbedangerous!

Eatingtoomuchchocolatecanincreaweight・Butrecentstudieshaveshownthat

substancesinchocolatecanhelppreventheartattacksandcancer・Theyhavealso

shownthatchocolateisnotasbadfortheteethashadbeenthought・Theexperts

saythebestchocolatetoeatisthedarkkindbecauitcontainsthemosthealthful

substances・

ThisVOASpecialEnglishHealthReportwaswrittenbyNancySteinbach・

fCousinsWhoMarry

ThisistheVOASpecialEnglishHealthReport・

Sometimespeoplewhoarefirstcousinsgetmarried・Twopeoplearefirstcousinsif

theirmothersaresisters,ortheirfathersarebrothers,orone'smotherandthe

otherrsfatherarebrotherandsister・Americanrearchersnowsayitisnotas

dangerousashadbeenthoughtforfirstcousinstohavechildren.

GraphicImage

Anewstudysaysthatfirstcousinsareonlyalittlemore1ikelythanotherstohave

achildwithariousphysicalormentalproblem,orageneticdia・Itsaysthe

chaneethatachildofunrelatedparentswi11bebornwithariousproblemis

betweenthreeandfourpercent・

Theriskforfirstcousinsisincreadbybetweentwoandthreepercent,toasmuch

asvenpercent・Onerearchersaysthismeansaboutninety-threepercentofthe

childrenoffirstcousinsarenormaL

Thesmallincreainriskexistsbecaupeopleinthesamefamilymaycarrythe

samegenesthatcaudia・Scientistssayatleastfive-thousanddiasare

parentshaveaharmfulgene,itismorelikelythat

whoarenotrelatedsharefewer

genes,sotheirchanceofpassingsuchasicknessontotheirchildrenislower.

AcommitteefromtheNationalSocietyofGeneticCounlorsreportedtheresultsof

theirinvestigationin"TheJournalofGeneticCounling・"Thegroupexaminedsix

majorstudiesdonebetweenNineteen-Sixty-FiveandTwo-Thousandinvolvingthousands

ofbirths・Thegroupbegantheinvestigationafterlearningthatsomegenetic

counlorsgavewronginformationtopeoplewhowantedtoknowiffirstcousinscould

safelyhavechildren.

Thegroupsaidinits1'eportthatnogenetictestsareneededbeforefirstcousins

haveachiId・TheirreportalsonotedthatAmericansfearsuchmarriagesmorethan

peopleinotherpartsoftheworld.

Marriagesbetweenfirstcousinsareillegalinatleasttwenty-four?mericanstates

・However,nocountriesinEuropehavesuchlaws・Andmarriagesbetweencousinsare

desirableinmanypartsoftheMiddleEast,AfricaandAsia・Therearcherssay

theirstudyshowsthatsuchlawsintheUnitedStatesshouldbechanged・

ThisVOASpecialEnglishHealthReportwaswrittenbyNancySteinbach・

g

ThisistheVOASpecialEnglishHealthReport・

Rearchersagreethatintenphysicalexerciisnottheonlywaytogainbetter

health・Studiesshowthatwalkingveraltimesaweekcanlowertheriskofmany

dias・Theyincludeheartdia,stroke,diabetes,boneloss,arthritisand

galsocanhelpyouloweight・

GraphicImage

Fastwalkingisgoodfortheheart・Itlowersthebloodpressure・Itraisthe

cherssaywalkingcanreducethe

riskofsufferingaheartattackbyasmuchasfiftypercent・

Studieshaveshownthatwalkingforthirtyminutesadaycandelayandpossibly

preventthedevelopmentofTypeTwoDiabetes・Itcanpreventdiabetesamongpeople

whoareoverweightandatriskforthedia・

Walkingstrengthensthemusclessndbuildsupthebonestowhichtheyareattached.

Studiesshowthatwomenwhowalkedandtookcalciumdecreadtheirriskof

galsohelpathepain

ofarthritisinareaswherebonesarejoinedbystrengtheningthemusclesaround

thebones・

Walkingveraltimesaweekisagoodwaytocontrolyourweightandevenlo

bodyfat・Studiesshowitalsohelpadepression,feelingsofextremesadness

・Expertssaywalkingisoneofthesafestwaystoexerci・Thereisalowrisk

ofinjuries・Soitisgoodforpeoplewhoarestartinganexerciprogramforthe

firsttimeandforolderpeople・

Awalkingprogramiasytostart・Youshouldwearlooclothesandgoodshoes・

Shoesdesignedforwalkingarebest・

Youshouldstretchthemusclesinyourarms,legs,andbackbeforeandafteryou

hingisanimportantpartofanyexerciprogram・Ithelpsprevent

injuryandmusclepain.

Howfastshouldyouwalk?Youshouldbebreathinghardwhileyouarewalking・Yet,

youshouldbeabletotalk・Letyourarmsmovebackandforwardatyoursides

whileyouwalk・

Therearenorulestostartingawalkingprogram・Youmaywalkshortdistances・

Oryoumaywalkuphillstosti'engthenyourlegmuscles・Healthexpertssayyou

cangainthemostfromawalkingprogramifyouwalkaboutfivekilometersanhour

forthirtyminutesaday•Youshoulddothisaboutfivetimesaweek・ThisVOA

SpecialEnglishHealthReportwaswrittenbyLawanDavis・

4・TobaccoandCancer

ThisistheV0/SpecialEnglishHealthReport.

GraphicImage

ArecentreportbytheInternationalAgencyforRearchonCancersaysthedangers

oftobaccosmokearegreaterthanhadbeenthought・

TheInternatiorurlAgencyforRearchonCancerispartoftheWor1dHealth

dinLyon,France・Theagencyrearchesthecausofcancer

・Itidentifiesthenumberofpeoplewhodevelopcanceraroundtheworld・Andit

developsprogramsaimedatfindingwaystopreventthedia・Thenewreportis

partofarieswrittenbyindependentinternationalexpertsonthedangersof

differentchemicals・

Acommitteeoftwenty-nineexpertsfromtwelvecountriesdevelopedthereport・The

scientistxaminedmorethanfiftymedicalstudiesconcerningtobaccosmoking・The

groupsaysthattobaccouisthelargestcauofpreventablecancersaroundthe

ssaythatmorethanone-thousand-millionpeoplearoundtheworldsmoke

tobacco.

Thereportsaysthatone-halfofallpeoplewhosmokecigaretteswilldiefromdias

caudbysmokingtobacco・Theincludecancersofthelung,stomach,liver,kidney

ortalsosaystobaccoucausanevengreaternumberofdeaths

fromlungdias,heartdiaandstroke・

Thereportsaysotherkindsoftobaccoualsoincreathechancesofdeveloping

cancersofthelung,headandneck・Theincludesmokingcigars,pipesandbidis―

tobaccorolledinaleafthatispopularinSouthAsia・

Thereportalsosaysthatpeoplewhosmokeendangerthehealthofnon-smokerswho

breatheintobaccosmoke・Thenon-smokersarebreathinginasmalleramountof

cancer-causingchemicalsthanactivesmokersget・Butitisstillenoughtocau

deadlylungcancer・

However,thescientistsfoundnoincreadriskofcanceramongchildrenwhobreathe

inthiscond-handsmoke・Buttheysaytheydonotknowthelong-termeffectof

tobaccosmokeonchildrenastheygrowolder・Thescientistsalsosaytheirrearch

foundthatsmokingtobaccodoesnotcausomekindsofcancer・Thereisclear

evidencethatsmokinghaslittleornoeffectondevelopingbreastcancerorprostate

cancer・

ThisVOASpecialEnglishHealthReportwaswrittenbyNancySteinbach・

ionandGirls

ThisistheVOASpecialEnglishHealthReport・

AstudyintheUnitedStatesfindsthatgirlsandyoungwomenutobacco,drugsand

alcoholfordifferentreasonsthanboys・Itsaysyoungmalesgenerallyualcohol

ordrugsforexcitement・Ortheythinkitwillmakethemmorepopular・Youngfemales,

however,mayhopetofeelhappierorreducetensionorloweight・TheNational

CenteronAddictionandSubstanceAbuatColumbiaUniversityinNewYorkrelead

thefindings・Thecenterchairman,JophCalifano,sayspreventionprogramsare

oftendevelopedmoreformales・Hecalledforpi'ogramsdesignedforgirlsandyoung

women.

Therearephysical,psychologicalandsocialeffectsfromsmoking,drinkingandusing

drugs・Thereportsayssomeofthemayhappenmorequicklyandverelyinfemales

・Forexample,itsaystheyaremorelikelytobecomedependentontobaccothanmales

whosmokejustasmanycigarettes・Anditsaysfemaleshaveagreaterriskofbrain

damagefromtoomuchalcoho1.

ThereportnotesgeneralreductionsinsubstanceubyyoungAmericans・Butitsays

girlsinmanycashavecaughtupwithboysinratesofu・

Herearesomeotherfindings：

Girlsandyoungwomenwhodrinkcoffeearemuchlikeliertosmokeanddrinkalcohol

--andtostartsooner--thanthowhodonotdrinkcoffee・Thereportcalls

caffeinea"littleknownnwarningsign.

Girlswhodounhealthythingstoloweightdrinkmorealcoholthanthowhodonot

diet--eventhoughalcoholcancauweightgain・Also,evengirlswhodohealthy

thingstoloweightsmokemorethanthonotondiets・

Pubertyisatimeofhigherriskofsubstanceubygirls,especiallythowho

imesarewhengirlsrifromelementarytomiddleschool,

frommiddletohighschool,andfromhighschooltocollege・And,girlswhomove

oftenfromonehomeorcommunitytoanotherareatgreaterriskthanboys・

Thereportlistsanumberofwarningsignstowatchfor・Theincludedepression

andtoomuchconcernaboutappearance・Thestudyalsoremindsparentsandother

adultsthattheytexamples--goodorbad--bytheirownactions・

Morethanone-thousand-two-hundredgirlsandyoungwomenansweredquestionsaspart

ofthestudy・Mostwhotalkwiththeirparentsaboutsubstanceusaidthetalks

madethemless1ikelytosmoke,drinkorudrugs・

ThisVOASpecialEnglishHealthReportwaswrittenbyJerilynWatson.

6・ExplainingthePl且ceboEffect

I'mKatherineColewiththeV0/SpecialEnglishHealthReport・

Studiesofnewdrugstraditionallyinvolveatleasttwogroupsofpeople・Thepeople

inoneofthogroupsaregivenonlywhattheythinkisthedrug・Reallytheyget

aplacebo―aninactivesubstance・Thedrugisproveneffectiveifitperforms

betterthantheplacebo・

Somerearchersdonotthinkdrugstudiesshoulduplacebos・Theysayitmakes

morentocomparenewmedicinestodrugsalreadyonthemarket・Thenpeoplewould

knowifanewdrugisanybetter・

"Placebo*isLatinfor"Ishallplea・*Itmaycontainnothingmorethansugar・

Yetsomepeoplewhoaregivenaplaceboexperienceimprovementsintheirhealth・

Thisiscalledtheplaceboeffect・

Somedoctorsutheplaceboeffectintheirtreatments・Aninfluentialstudy

publishedinnineteenfifty-fivesaidplacebotreatmentsmadepatientsfeelbetter

thirty-fivepercentofthetime・

Butintwothousandone,Danishrearchersreportedthattheyhadexaminedmorethan

onehundredstudies・Theyfoundlittleevidenceofhealingasaresultofplacebos

・

Still,thereiscontinuedbeliefintheplaceboeffect・

ASwedishstudypublishedlastyearsuggestedthataplacebocanreducetheemotional

effectsofunpleasantexperiences・Thestudyinvolvedpeoplewholookedatimagesof

deadbodiesandotherunpleasantpictures・Thefindingsappearedinthejournal

Neuron.

Therearcherssaidtheeffectsinthebrainweresimilartothoenwhenplacebos

havebeenudasapaintreatment・Inbothcas,theysaid,expectationsof

improvementareamajorinfluence・

Butmorethanexpectationsmightexplainwhyplacebosappeareffectivesometimes・

RearchersledbyScotSimpsonattheUniversityofAlberta,inCanada,justhada

aminedtwenty-onestudies・

Thecompareddeathratesbetweenpatientswhoalwaystooktheirmedicineand

thowhodidnot・

Evenpatientswhotookplaceboshadbetterresultsthanthowhodidnotfollow

doctorrsorders・Therearchersethisfindingassupportfortheideaofaso-

calledhealthyadherereffect・Thatis,apersonwhotakesadrugtreatmentas

directedmayalsodootherthingsto1iveahealthy1ife・

AndthatistheVOASpecialEnglishHealthReport・Youcandownloadfree

cinlenglish・・I'm

KatherineCole・

gHealthybyWashingYourHands

ThisistheV0/SpecialEnglishHealthReport・

Handwashingisapowerfulwaytopreventthespreadofdia・

TheWorldBank,theUnitedNationsandtheLondonSchoolofHygieneandTropical

Washinghandswithsoap

undthatone

millionlivescouldbesavedeachyearifpeoplewashedtheirhandswithsoapoften

・Theysaidthatprogramstoincreahandwashingwithsoapcouldbeamongthemost

effectivewaystoreduceinfectiousdia・

Doctorssaymanydiascanbepreventedfromspreadingbyhandwashing・The

includepinworms,influenza,thecommoncold,itisandinfectious

diarrhea・

Handwashingdestroysgermsfromotherpeople,animalsorobjectsapersonhastouched

・Whenpeoplegetbacteriaontheirhands,theycaninfectthemlvesbytouching

theireyes,noormouth・Thenthepeoplecaninfectotherpeople・Theexperts

saytheeasiestwaytocatchacoldistotouchyournooreyesaftersomeonenearby

rwaytobecomesickistoeatfoodpreparedbysomeone

whohandswerenotclean.

Theexpertssaythathandwashingispeciallyimportantbeforeandafterpreparing

food,beforeeatingandafterusingthetoilet・Peopleshouldwashtheirhandsafter

handlinganimalsoranimalwaste,ertssayitis

alsoagoodideatowashyourhandsafterhandlingmoneyandaftersneezingorcoughing

・Anditisimportanttowashyourhandsoftenwhensomeoneinyourhomeissick・

Theexpertssaythemosteffectivewaytowashyourhandsistorubthemtogether

whileusingsoapandwarmwater・Theysayyoudonothavetouspecialantibacterial

soap・Besuretoruballareasofthehandsforabouttentofifteenconds・The

nthehandswithwateranddrythem・

Alcohol-badhandsanitizersarerubbedintothehandsanddonotrequiresoapand

water・Expertssaytheproductsmustcontainatleastsixtypercentalcoholtobe

effectiveinkillingmostbacteriaandvirus・

Expertsalsosaythatpeoplewhoupublicbathroomsanddrytheirhandswithapaper

towelshoulduthetoweltoturnoffthewater・Then,beforethrowingitaway,u

thesamepapertoopenthebathroomdoor・

AndthatrstheVOASpecialEnglishHealthReport,writtenbyNancySteinbach・For

morenewsandinformationabouthealth,cialeng]ish・・I'mSteve

Ember.

&TheABCsofAllergies

ThisistheVOASpecialEnglishHealthReport.

Anallergyisanunusuallystrongreactiontoasubstance・Manythingscancau

allergies・suallyproducepolleninthe

spring,grassinthesummerandweedsinthefal1aspartoftheirreproductive

process・

Seasonalallergiesarethe

mostcommonkind

Othercausincludeorganismssuchasdustmitesandmolds・Chemicals,plantsand

deadskinparticlesfromdogsandcatscanalsocauallergicreactions・Socan

inctstingsandsomefoods・

Themostcommonkindofallergicreactionisitchy,wateryeyesandablockedor

wateryno・actionscanbelife-

threatening―forexample,whenbreathingpassagesbecomeblocked・

staminedrugsmay

offeraneffectivetreatment・Anothertreatmentudinsomecasiscalled

ntisinjectedwithsmallamountsoftheallergy-causing

aisthatlargerandlargeramountsaregivenovertimeuntilthe

patientdevelopsaresistancetotheallergen.

IntheUnitedStates,expertstimatethatuptofourpercentofadultsandupto

eightpercentofyoungchildrenhavefoodallergies・Everyyeartheallergiescau

aboutthirtythousandcasofanaphylaxis,averereactionthatrequiresimmediate

treatment・

Itcanresultintroublebreathingandinsomecasdeath・TheNationalInstitute

ofAllergyandInfectiousDiassaysonehundredtotwohundredpeopledie・It

saysmostofthereactionsarecaudbypeanutsandtreenutssuchaswainuts・

Peoplecanalsobeallergictomedicines・The?mericanAcademyofAllergy,Asthma

andImmunologysaysaboutfivetotenpercentofbadreactionstocommonlyud

medicinesareallergic・Inotherwords,aperson'simmunesystemoverreactsand

producesanallergicreaction・Themostcommonreactionsincludeskinrashes,itching,

breathingproblemsandswellinginareassuchastheface・

Buttheacademyestimatesthatallergicreactionstodrugscauonehundredsix

antibioticssuchas

penici11inareamongthedrugsmorelikelythanotherstoproduceallergicreactions

・indsineludesome

anesthesiamedicines,vaccinesandbiotechno1ogy-producedproteins・Andthatrsthe

VOASpecialEnglishHealthReport,writtenbyMarioRitterandCatyWeaver・I'mSteve

Ember・owntoCutHIVRiskinBreastfedBabies

ThisistheVOASpecialEnglishHealthReport・

Wetalkedlastweekaboutthevalueofbreastfeedingforababyrsdevelopment・But

gettingthemilkintothebabycanemdifficult,atleastatfirst・Sohereis

someadvice・

Ababybreastfeeds

aybeexpertsata

hospitalorotherhealthcenterwhocanshowanewmotherveraldifferentpositions

forbreastfeeding・

to

bringthebabytothebreastinstead・Thebaby'smouthshouldbeopenaswideas

possiblesothatal1ofthenippleandareaarounditfitinside・

Ababyshouldbefedoftenatthebeginning,usuallyabouteverytwohours・TheMayo

ClinicintheUnitedStatesalsonotesitisbesttofeedbeforeababygetstoo

ssaythatwhenamotherbreastfeedsoften,ithelpsincreahermilk

product!on.

WomencanleammoreaboutbreastfeedingfrombooksorsupportgroupsortheInternet

・Butsomemothersfacedifficultdecisions・

Indevelopingcountries,breastfeedingremainsaleadingwayforbabiestobecome

infectedwiththeAIDSvirus・Yetformulamixedwithdirtywatercanmakeababy

sick.

Earlierthisweek,ataconferenceinBoston,AIDSexpertsreportedgoodnews・

Theysaidastudyofabouttwothousandbabiesshowedthatthedrugnevirapinecan

cuttheriskofHIVinfectionthroughbreastfeeding・

Nevirapineiswidelyudindevelopingcountriestopreventinfectedmothersfrom

passingthevirustotheirbabiesduringchildbirth・Thebabiesarecurrentlygiven

nevii'apinejustonce,atbirth・

Butthisiswhatthestudyfound：Babiesgivennevirapinedailyforsixweekshad

abouthalftherateofHIVinfectionsasthogivenonlyasingledo・Bysixmon

thsofage,theysti11hadalmostone-thirdlessriskofinfectionordeath.

Scientistsreportedthatsixweeksofnevirapineappearedtobeassafeasthe

singledogivenundercurrentguidelines・TeamsfromJohnsHopkinsUniversityin

MarylandledthestudywithinvestigatorsfromEthiopia,IndiaandUgand&Intwo

thousandsixtheUnitedNationschangeditspoliciesonbreastfeedingbyHIV-

infectedmothers・Thenewadvicesupportsbreastfeedingforsixmonthsifmothers

donothavemoneyforbasicfoodsorbabyformula・Theideaisthatthebenefits

ofbreastfeedingaregreaterthantherisks・

Expertssaynewbornswhoarenotbreastfedhavefivetoventimestheriskof

dyingfrompneumoniaordiarrheacomparedtobreastfedbabies・

Andthat'stheV0?SpecialEnglishHealthReport,writtenbyCatyWeaver・I'm

FaithLapidus・