VOA标准英语2013--Health Care Teams Worldwide Work To Reduce Salt Intake

 

Health Care Teams Worldwide Work To Reduce Salt Intake¹

Eating too much salt can lead to high blood pressure, stroke and heart attack, even where it’s least expected. Researchers in Kenya from the Weill Cornell Medical College say hypertension is on a startling rise in sub-Saharan Africa. The problem is so severe in the Americas that PAHO - the Pan American Health Organization - launched a program called SaltSmart.  Branka Legetic is the program coordinator².  

“Hypertension is a leading problem throughout the whole world. It actually contributes to most of the risks as well as most of the diseases that are so called non-communicable diseases. It is number one," said Legetic.

Legetic says most people don’t know the dangers of eating too much sodium³, the chemical found in salt. The World Health Organization recommends no more than five grams of sodium per day, the amount in a teaspoon⁴ of salt. The goal of SaltSmart is to get people to cut their salt intake in half by the year 2020.

“We know that the people now consume 10 grams, 11 grams of salt, 17 grams of salt.  In some Caribbean countries, so it’s three times or two times more than recommended," she said.

In the U.S., Million Hearts, a government-sponsored program, aims to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes by 2017. Dr. Janet Wright is the executive director.

“We’re asking for this effort to begin with the individual, within each of us. I think so many of us have been touched by heart disease because it is still the number one killer⁵ in the country, one out of three deaths," said Wright.

Wright explains that simple practices can go a long way to achieving this goal.

“It could be adding a fruit or a vegetable.  It could be building your way up to 150 minutes of exercise each week.  And it can also mean working with your health care team to stay on medicines if they’ve been prescribed," she said.

Wright says missing even a day’s medication damages the heart, the kidneys, eyes and blood vessels⁶. Branka Legetic also says healthy eating habits could go a long way because there is a lot of salt in processed foods.

“I think that the people have to be conscious about how much to eat and then what do they eat, and really strive toward more and more fresh and unchanged products," she said.

Th Pan American Health Organization is working with food manufacturers to reduce the amount of sodium that goes into processed food. Until that happens, the simplest way is to cut down on consumption of processed and restaurant foods.

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 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

3 sodium   

n.（化）钠

参考例句：

• Out over the town the sodium lights were lit.在外面，全城的钠光灯都亮了。
• Common salt is a compound of sodium and chlorine.食盐是钠和氯的复合物。

4 teaspoon   

n.茶匙

参考例句：

• Add one teaspoon of sugar.加一小茶匙糖。
• I need a teaspoon to stir my tea.我需要一把茶匙搅一搅茶。

5 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

6 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》