你需要了解的关于维生素的问题

New studies and claims about vitamins are published daily, and many seem to contradict each other. What does an average consumer really need to know about vitamins?

跟维生素有关的新研究和声明每天都公布出来，而且很多都自相矛盾。一般人真正要维生素的什么呢？

“The fairly simple answer is, not much,” says Paul Thomas, EdD, RD, scientific consultant with the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements. Almost everyone can benefit from taking a supplement with calcium because most people don’t get as much as they need through their diets — 1,000 mg a day for adults, increasing to 1,200 mg after age 50. Thomas notes that some vitamins become especially important at certain times in a person’s life. Pregnant women or women who may become pregnant should be certain to get enough folate, or folic acid, a B-complex vitamin — 600 units a day, rather than 400. And as you age, you should probably take a daily supplement to get additional B12, he suggests.

“非常简单的答案是，不需太多。”美国国立卫生研究院饮食补充办公室科学顾问教育学博士兼注册营养师Paul Thomas说。几乎每个人都可以从服用钙补充品中受益，因为大部分人没有从饮食中获得足够的营养——成人每天1000毫克，50岁之后增加到1200毫克。Thomas指出，一些维生素在人生中某些时候会变得非常重要。怀孕女性和即将怀孕的女性应吸收足够的叶酸，或维生素B——每天600个单位，而不是400个单位。他还建议，随着年龄的增长，还应该服用日常补充剂获得B12.

“You don’t have to become an expert or learn all the intricacies of all the vitamins — because you can't,” adds Dr. Thomas. There’s simply too much information to try to remember.

“你不需要成为一名专家或者学习所有维生素的复杂知识——因为你不能。”Thomas博士还说。只是有很多要记住的信息。

What you need to do is eat a healthy diet, selecting recommended foods based on the USDA guidelines. Because few of us consistently eat a well-balanced diet, Thomas says taking an over-the-counter multivitamin, even a store brand, is a good idea. “It’s sort of like an insurance policy that covers all your bases,” he explains.

你所要做的是健康饮食，挑选美国农业部指南建议的食品。因为极少数人坚持均衡饮食，Thomas 说，服用非处方维生素，即使是商店品牌也是一个好主意。“这有点像一份覆盖你全身基本部位的保险单。”他解释。

Vitamins and Healthy Living: Not as Easy as A, B, C, and D

维生素和健康生活：不像ABCD一样简单

Maintaining a balance of the vitamins we need is important yet tricky. While vitamins work together in the body to ensure our health — the most obvious being the way vitamin D aids in absorbing calcium — the interaction between vitamin supplements and prescribed medications can cause health problems. For example, calcium can interact with some pharmaceuticals, limiting the body’s ability to absorb the prescribed medication. So whenever your doctor gives you a new prescription or changes one, it’s important to discuss all of the vitamin and mineral supplements you’re taking to avoid any potential problems.

保持我们所需维生素的平衡是很重要却又很棘手。虽然维生素在体内一起发挥作用保证我们的健康——最明显的是维生素D帮助吸收钙质——维生素营养补充品跟处方药的相互作用会引发健康问题。例如，钙会跟一些药物发生相互作用，限制身体吸收处方药的能力。所以，当医生给你开新的药方或改变药方时，谈谈你正在服用的维生素和矿物质补充品，避免潜在的问题是很重要的。

Vitamins and Healthy Living: Is Taking More Better?

维生素和健康生活：服用越多越好吗？

For people who have a healthy diet, taking a multivitamin according to package directions won’t trigger a vitamin overdose. But Thomas warns, “You run into trouble if you take vitamins and supplements where the dose is very large.”

对于那些拥有健康饮食的人，根据包装说明服用复合维生素不会引起过量服用。但是Thomas警告：“如果你服用大量维生素和补充品，你就会陷入困境。”

Some people take large amounts of supplements — hundreds or thousands of times more than the recommended amount — to treat or prevent illnesses or diseases, in effect treating vitamin supplements like drugs. “That’s different from taking them to get the recommended amount,” Thomas cautions.

一些人通过服用大量补充品（超过建议数量的许多倍）来治疗和预防疾病，实际上把维生素营养补充品当成药物服用。“这跟通过服用维生素来获得建议的量不同。”Thomas告诫。

Using supplements as therapy should be done only with a doctor’s guidance, as side effects and complications can and do occur. As an example, Thomas points to niacin, or B3, which in very high doses can harm the liver. However, in many cases niacin is a good drug for reducing statin levels, he adds.

把补充剂用于治疗只能在医生的指导下进行，因为副作用和并发症可能并真的会发生。例如，Thomas指出的，大量服用尼克酸（B3）会危害到肝脏。然而，他还说，很多情况下尼克酸是降低抑制素水平一种很好的药物。

Even some very familiar advice isn’t yet proven medical theory, Thomas notes: “When you look at the use of large doses of vitamin C (to combat colds), the evidence to date is kind of murky.”

虽然一些很常见的建议还没有证明的医学理论，但是Thomas指出：“当你观察大量服用维生素C，迄今为止的证据是很不明确的。”

To evaluate any supplement as a medical treatment, consider the body of evidence supporting any health claims and seek information from a pharmacist, dietitian, or your family doctor. “The folks who sell supplements probably aren’t the best sources of information,” Thomas says.

为了评价任何补充品用于治疗的方法，考虑证据的主旨是支持任何健康声明并从药剂师，营养学家或家庭医生那里寻求信息。“销售补充品的人群很可能不是信息的最好来源。”Thomas说。