医生担心碘缺乏现象卷土重来
📖 逐句对照翻译
A century ago, iodine deficiency affected children across much of the United States.
一个世纪前，碘缺乏症影响了美国大部分地区的儿童。
The problem mostly disappeared during the 1900s after iodine was added to common foods.
这个问题在20世纪基本消失了，因为碘被添加到了常见食物中。
But doctors are now seeing higher iodine deficiency rates.
但医生们现在发现碘缺乏率有所上升。
The rises are blamed on dietary changes and new food manufacturing methods.
这些增长被归咎于饮食变化和新的食品制造方法。
What is iodine?
碘是什么？
Iodine is an element found in seawater and in some soils — mostly in coastal areas.
碘是存在于海水和某些土壤中的一种元素——主要分布在沿海地区。
A French chemist accidentally discovered the substance in 1811.
一位法国化学家在1811年意外发现了这种物质。
Iodine’s name comes from a Greek word meaning violet-colored.
碘的名字来源于一个希腊词，意为紫罗兰色。
Later in the 1800s, scientists began to understand that people need iodine to control their metabolism and stay healthy.
在19世纪后期，科学家开始认识到人们需要碘来控制新陈代谢并保持健康。
The element is also important for a child’s brain development.
该元素对儿童的大脑发育也很重要。
One sign of iodine deficiency is an increase in size, or swelling, of the neck.
碘缺乏的一个迹象是颈部增大或肿胀。
This growth in the neck is known as a goiter.
颈部出现的这种肿大称为甲状腺肿。
It can appear when the thyroid gland grows to make up for too little iodine to produce hormones that control certain body processes.
当甲状腺为了弥补碘元素过少而增大，以产生控制某些身体过程的激素时，就会出现这种情况。
In the early 1900s, goiters were commonly seen in children in some parts of the United States.
20世纪初，美国一些地区的儿童中常见甲状腺肿。
Some of the children showed other symptoms in addition to goiters.
一些儿童除了甲状腺肿外，还表现出其他症状。
These included being smaller or experiencing deafness.
这些包括体型较小或患有耳聋。
Adding iodine to salt
在食盐中添加碘
In the past, public health experts realized they could not solve the iodine deficiency problem by feeding everyone seaweed and seafood.
过去，公共卫生专家意识到，他们无法通过让每个人都食用海藻和海鲜来解决碘缺乏问题。
But they learned iodine can be included with table salt.
但他们了解到碘可以添加到食盐中。
This form of salt, known as iodized salt, first became available in 1924.
这种形式的盐被称为加碘盐，最早于1924年面世。
By the 1950s, more than 70 percent of U.S. households used iodized table salt.
到20世纪50年代，超过70%的美国家庭使用加碘食盐。
Bread and some other foods also had iodine.
面包和其他一些食物也含有碘。
As a result, iodine deficiency in the U.S. became rare.
因此，碘缺乏在美国变得罕见了。
But diets have changed over the years.
但多年来，饮食习惯已经发生了变化。
Processed foods now make up a large part of the American diet.
加工食品现在构成了美国人饮食的很大一部分。
Although these foods contain a lot of salt, it is not iodized.
虽然这些食物含有大量盐分，但并非加碘盐。
Leading bread makers also no longer add iodine.
主要面包生产商也不再添加碘。
And for people who do salt their food, it is popular now to use kosher salt, Himalayan rock salt or other products that do not contain iodine.
而对于给食物加盐的人来说，现在流行使用犹太盐、喜马拉雅岩盐或其他不含碘的产品。
“People have forgotten why there’s iodine in salt,” said Dr. Elizabeth Pearce of Boston Medical Center.
波士顿医疗中心的伊丽莎白·皮尔斯博士说：“人们已经忘记了为什么盐里要加碘。”
She is a leader in the Iodine Global Network, a nongovernmental agency working to end conditions linked to iodine deficiency.
她是全球碘网络（一家致力于消除碘缺乏相关疾病的非政府机构）的负责人。
Pearce noted there had been a reported 50 percent drop in U.S. iodine levels studied during the 1970s through the 1990s.
皮尔斯指出，据报道，从20世纪70年代到90年代的研究中，美国人的碘水平下降了50%。
How much iodine is enough?
多少碘才足够？
While most Americans are getting enough iodine through diet, doctors worry this is not the case for women and children – the two groups most likely to be hurt by iodine deficiency.
虽然大多数美国人通过饮食摄入了足够的碘，但医生担心女性和儿童的情况并非如此——这两个群体最容易受到碘缺乏的伤害。
The American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical groups advise that all pregnant and breastfeeding women get 150 micrograms of iodine each day.
美国儿科学会及其他医学组织建议，所有孕妇和哺乳期妇女每天应摄入150微克碘。
In the last 15 years or so, U.S. researchers have increasingly reported seeing mild iodine deficiency in pregnant women.
在过去15年左右的时间里，美国研究人员越来越多地报告称，孕妇中存在轻度碘缺乏的情况。
A Michigan State University study of about 460 pregnant women found about 25 percent of them were not getting enough.
密歇根州立大学一项针对约460名孕妇的研究发现，其中约25%的人摄入量不足。
That study’s lead writer, Jean Kerver, noted that many vitamins for pregnant women do not contain iodine.
该研究的主要作者让·克尔弗指出，许多孕妇维生素并不含碘。
As a result, doctors suggest that pregnant or breastfeeding women check labels to make sure the vitamins or supplements they take have iodine.
因此，医生建议孕妇或哺乳期妇女检查标签，确保他们服用的维生素或补充剂含有碘。
Some studies have linked even mild iodine deficiency to a lower score on an intelligence test known as an intelligence quotient (IQ) test.
一些研究甚至将轻度碘缺乏与智商（IQ）测试得分较低联系起来。
But experts say there has not yet been enough research to establish exactly how the U.S. population is being affected by iodine deficiency.
但专家表示，目前还没有足够的研究来确切证实美国人口是如何受到碘缺乏影响的。
Dr. Monica Serrano-Gonzalez of Brown University said she and other doctors had seen five cases of iodine deficiency in children visiting a local health center in Providence, Rhode Island.
布朗大学的莫妮卡·塞拉诺-冈萨雷斯博士表示，她和其他医生在罗德岛普罗维登斯的一家当地健康中心接诊时，发现了五例儿童碘缺乏症病例。
“We’re concerned this may be increasing, especially in patients with restricted diets.”
我们担心这种情况可能会增加，尤其是在饮食受限的患者中。
Serrano-Gonzalez called for increasing publicity about the problem in order to prevent it from getting worse.
塞拉诺-冈萨雷斯呼吁加大对该问题的宣传力度，以防其进一步恶化。
She said, “This needs to be on people’s radar.”
她说：“这需要引起人们的关注。”
I’m John Russell.
我是约翰·拉塞尔。
Mike Stobbe reported on this story for the Associated Press.
迈克·斯托布为美联社报道了这一事件。
John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English.
约翰·拉塞尔为VOA英语学习频道改编了它。
