Recently, fish oils found in species like salmon, trout and tuna have been associated with a lower risk of heart disease and even Alzheimer" s. Fish oil has since
skyrocketed
to be the most popular supplement in the United States. But a new study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, however, shows that these fish fats may not be improving everyone"s health—in the trial, those with high concentrations of marine-derived omega-3s in their blood showed a 43% higher risk of developing prostate cancer than those with the lowest levels.
The study measured omega-3 blood levels in the participating men, and did not include information on the volunteers" eating habits, so researchers could not differentiate between the effects of fatty acids from fish from those of supplements. However, the overwhelming majority of the participants did not take fish oil supplements. Based on the results, Brasky says that men with a family history of prostate cancer should discuss with their doctor whether fish oil supplements are safe for them, since these pills tend to contain concentrated doses of omega-3—supplements contain between 30% to 60% of a serving of fish oil, and if a fish supplement is taken everyday, that adds up to a lot of daily fish oil. Brasky also suggested that men cut down on their fatty fish intake, though not eliminate it entirely.
Andrew Vickers, a statistician specializing in prostate cancer at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, agrees, saying that fish oil supplements may pose a relatively higher risk for prostate cancer than fish in the diet. "The problem comes when you take components of a diet and put it in a pill," Vickers says. While the omega-3 fatty acids may increase oxidative damage to prostate cells, for example, antioxidants, which might be part of an overall healthy diet that includes fish as well as fruits and vegetables, might counteract these effects.
Brasky"s work isn"t the first to suggest that omega-3 fatty acids may have both positive and negative effects on the body. In a September 2012 article in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers found that omega-3 supplements were not associated with lower risks of stroke or cardiac death. Those results were confirmed by another study in the New England Journal of Medicine that showed omega-3 supplements did not reduce risk of dying from a heart event among a group of people at high risk of heart disease. Researchers involved in those studies, however, acknowledged that they were not able to account for the effect of other medications to treat heart problems, such as cholesterol-lowering drugs and blood pressure medications, in keeping death rates down. In the same way, more research will have to tease apart how other nutrients in a balanced diet—including antioxidants—work together to influence the effect of individual nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids.
单选题
The underlined word "skyrocket"(Line 2, Paragraph 1)is closest in meaning to______.
单选题
According to the passage, fish oil supplements may pose a relatively higher risk for______than fish in the diet.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】解析：本题考查考生对全文关于鱼油补充剂对人体可能造成的风险方面的理解。需要注意的是，题目问的是与“fish in the diet”(即日常饮食当中的鱼)相比，鱼油补充剂对哪种疾病存在更高的风险。关于这一比较的讨论出现在文中第三段，第三段一开始就说“斯隆一凯特林癌症中心前列腺癌专家、统计学家安得烈·卫科，同样认为，鱼油补充剂对前列腺癌的风险比食谱中的鱼相对较高。”接着给出了原因。因此[B]是正确选项。[A][C][D]都是文中提到的与鱼油相关的疾病，但是都是属于传统意义上认为鱼油对之有积极意义(促进低风险)的疾病，而文章中讲述的研究也只是证明鱼油与这些疾病的低风险并没有直接关系，更不是与日常饮食中的鱼相比得出的结论，因此均不正确。
单选题
The reason that fish oil supplements may pose a relatively higher health risk than fish in the diet is that______.