过量饮食对健康无益，但对于部分对食物过敏的人来说，含有过敏原的食物可能会给身体造成真正的损害。研究表明，似乎越来越多的人对不同类型的食物产生了过敏反应。这是由于人们对于过敏症的关注、医疗诊断技术的进步，还是周围环境的影响？本集节目聊一聊越来越多人开始对食物过敏的原因。

Vocabulary: allergies 词汇: 过敏

Do you love food? Whether you’re a foodie or someone who just likes eating, there is so much to choose from. We know that too much of the wrong kind of food can be bad for our health, but for some people having a food allergy means eating certain things can actually be harmful - and now, it seems, this is affecting more and more of us.

An allergy is caused by the immune system fighting substances in the environment, known as allergens, that it should see as harmless. Food allergies can cause life-threatening reactions, which means people have to spend their lives following strict dietary restrictions and worrying about the ingredients of everything they consume. Allergy specialist Dr Adam Fox says “if you look back over, say, 30 or 40 years… there are much more allergic problems around now than there were.”

We often hear about people having allergies to dairy products and to peanuts. Last year a 15-year-old girl died after suffering a fatal allergic reaction from eating a baguette containing sesame seeds. This led to a call for better food-labelling laws.

Research has found that this problem is particularly affecting children. More and more of them are having allergic reactions to certain foodstuffs. Writing for the BBC website, Dr Alexandra Santos from King's College London says “food allergy now affects about 7% of children in the UK and 9% of those in Australia, for example. Across Europe, 2% of adults have food allergies.”

So what might be the cause? Dr Santos says the increase in allergies is not simply the effect of society becoming more aware of them and better at diagnosing them; it seems to be more environmental. She says possible factors are “pollution, dietary changes and less exposure to microbes, which change how our immune systems respond.”  She points out that it’s very common for migrants who move to another country to develop asthma and food allergies in their new location.

A lot of work is being done to try and find a cure, but that’s not easy. So for now allergy sufferers must watch what they eat and they must rely on clear and accurate labelling.

词汇表

foodie “食客”，爱好美食的人
allergy 过敏反应
harmful 有害的
immune system 免疫系统
allergen 过敏原
life-threatening 致命的
reaction 反应
dietary restriction 饮食限制
ingredient （食品）成分
consume 吃、喝
dairy 奶制品的
peanut 花生
allergic reaction 过敏反应
diagnose 诊断出，查出
environmental 和环境有关的
dietary change 饮食变化
microbe 微生物，细菌
asthma 哮喘
a cure 治疗方法

测验与练习

1. 阅读课文并回答问题。

1. What do food allergy sufferers usually have to look at before eating something?

2. True or false? A girl died from eating a baguette because she had a dairy allergy.

3. According to research, which group of people are most affected by food allergies?

4. Why might moving to another country cause a migrant to develop asthma?

5. What is the cure for a food allergy?

2. 请在不参考课文的情况下完成下列练习。选择一个意思合适的单词填入句子的空格处。

1. It’s so hot today and I would love to eat an ice cream bit I’m afraid I can’t eat any ______ products.

harm                             dairy                                  allergen                      foodie

2. Medical science has developed so much but there is still no ______ for the common cold!

cured                             curing                                cure                             kure

3. Every time I visit my sister and her dog, I get an ______ and start sneezing!

immune system             allergic reaction                  allergens                   dietary restriction

4. My doctor has told me to eat a diet high in fruits and vegetables if I want to boost my ______.

immunity system           immuned system                immunisation             immune system

5. A rise in the number of people suffering from ______ is being blamed on the high levels of pollution in the city.

microbes                       allergen                                asthma                      environmental

答案

1. 阅读课文并回答问题。

1. What do food allergy sufferers usually have to look at before eating something?
They have to look at the ingredients of the food they are eating.

2. True or false? A girl died from eating a baguette because she had a dairy allergy.
False. The girl mentioned in the article, died from eating a baguette containing sesame seeds but her exact allergy was not mentioned.

3. According to research, which group of people is most affected by food allergies?
Research has found that this problem is particularly affecting children.

4. Why might moving to another country cause a migrant to develop asthma?
Moving to a new location means they are exposed to different environmental conditions such as pollution and dietary changes.

5. What is the cure for a food allergy?
Currently there is no cure but it is being worked on.

2. 请在不参考课文的情况下完成下列练习。选择一个意思合适的单词填入句子的空格处。

1. It’s so hot today and I would love to eat an ice cream bit I’m afraid I can’t eat any dairy products.

2. Medical science has developed so much but there is still no cure for the common cold!

3. Every time I visit my sister and her dog, I get an allergic reaction and start sneezing!

4. My doctor has told me to eat a diet high in fruits and vegetables if I want to boost my immune system.

5. A rise in the number of people suffering from asthma is being blamed on the high levels of pollution in the city.