这里是美国之音慢速英语健康和生活方式报道。
Peanuts are among the most popular snack foods in the United States.
花生是美国最受欢迎的零食之一。
Millions of American children are raised on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. PB&Js, as we like to call them, are found in children's lunchboxes around the country. Or at least they used to be.
数百万美国儿童吃着花生酱和果冻三明治长大。这两种被我们习惯称之为PB&Js的食物出现在了全国各地儿童的午餐盒中，或者至少曾经是这样。
Now, many school officials ban peanuts or any products containing peanuts from school property.
现在，很多学校禁止花生或任何含有花生的产品进入学校范围。
About 2 percent of U.S. schoolchildren will have an allergic reaction to peanuts. And that number is growing.
大约2%的美国儿童对花生有过敏反应，而且这一数字尚在增长。
People allergic to peanuts can develop skin conditions or watery eyes. Children with a peanut allergy can develop a skin condition called eczema.
花生过敏者会患上皮肤病或是流眼泪。花生过敏的儿童还会患上湿疹。
Some reactions are so severe they can result in death.
一些过敏反应非常严重甚至会导致死亡。
So far, doctors have advised parents against serving peanut-containing foods to children under the age of 3. But a 2015 British study found that waiting too long most likely is partly to blame for the peanut allergy problem.
截至目前，医生建议父母不要给三岁以下儿童喂食含有花生的食物。但是2015年英国一项研究发现，食用花生太晚很有可能是花生过敏的部分原因。
Anthony Fauci is head of America's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Dr. Fauci spoke to VOA on Skype. He notes that in Israel, people have a tradition of feeding peanuts to babies.
安东尼·福西（Anthony Fauci）是美国国家过敏和传染病研究所的负责人。福西博士通过Skype同美国之音进行了交流。他指出，在以色列，人们有给孩子喂食花生的传统。
He says the percentage of Israeli children with a peanut allergy is much lower than the rate among Jewish children living in England.
他说，以色列儿童花生过敏的比例要比居住在英格兰的犹太儿童要低得多。
"It was observed that in Israel -- where they have a custom of feeding peanut-based foods to babies, infants, within the first few months of life -- that when you, in fact, compare the incidence of peanut allergy among the Israeli children compared to comparable Jewish children living in England, the incidence of peanut allergy was more than 80 percent decreased among the Israeli kids as opposed to the kids who are living in England."
他说：“据观察在以色列，人们习惯给出生几个月的婴儿喂食以花生为基础的食品。事实上，当我们比较以色列儿童和居住在英国的类似犹太儿童的花生过敏发病率，以色列儿童同生活在英格兰的儿童相比，他们的花生过敏发病率降低了80%以上。”
Dr. Fauci says this finding is very important. It means that babies have a natural mechanism that can be trained not to react negatively to peanuts. That mechanism may turn off as the baby reaches the age of 1.
福西博士表示，这一发现非常重要。它意味着婴儿具备一种可以经过训练不对花生过敏的自然机制。这种机制在婴儿年满一岁时可能就会关闭。
He says a team of experts have agreed on new guidance for U.S. pediatricians who specialize in children's allergies.
他说，一个专家团队已经同意为从事儿童过敏的美国儿科医生提供新的指导。
Fauci calls giving children peanuts a way of "challenging" their bodies. He thinks it could be done safely with some boys and girls, but not with others.
福西称给孩子食用花生是对孩子身体的一种“挑战”。他认为这样做对一些孩子可能是安全的，但对其他孩子可能就不安全。
"If the child has a history of severe eczema or egg allergy, that in the first 4 to 6 months of life, that you should bring the child to an allergy specialist who can do a skin test or a blood test to determine if the child does have an underlying allergy to peanuts. Because if they do, you are going to want to refrain from challenging that child. Whereas if they don't, then it would be safe to challenge the child and feed them peanuts at 4 to 6 months."
“如果孩子在生命最初的4到6个月里，曾经有过严重的湿疹或鸡蛋过敏的历史，就应该带给过敏专家做皮肤测试或血液测试，以确定孩子是否对花生有潜在的过敏反应。如果他们有反应，就不要挑战那个孩子的身体。而如果他们没有花生过敏，那么在4到6个月里挑战孩子身体喂食花生就是安全的。”
If the child has moderate eczema and has a mild reaction to eggs, the doctor is likely to suggest that that child be fed peanut-containing foods at the age of 6 months. That child may need no allergy tests either.
如果孩子有中度湿疹，并且对鸡蛋有温和反应，医生可能会建议在孩子6个月时喂食含有花生的食物。这种孩子也不需要过敏测试。
Children who have no allergies or family history of allergies can be given peanuts at any age.
没有过敏或家族过敏史的儿童可以在任何年龄喂食花生。
And that's the Health & Lifestyle report.
以上就是本期美国之音慢速英语健康和生活方式报道的全部内容。
I'm Anna Matteo.
我是安娜·马特奥。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利，未经授权请勿转载，违者必究！)