维生素和保健品的不可不知

It seems like simple, obvious advice: eat your vegetables, get some exercise, and - of course - take your vitamins. Or not.

看起来简单，建议明确：多吃蔬菜，多做运动，当然也要吃维他命。或者不吃。

Decades of research has failed to find any substantial evidence that vitamins and supplements do any significant good.

数十年来，没有研究发现有确凿的证据表明维他命和其他补充药物有明显的效果。

In fact, recent studies skew in the opposite direction, having found that certain vitamins may be bad for you.

事实上研究的结果与预期背道而驰，定量服用维他命可能对你来说还有弊端。

Several have been linked with an increase in certain cancers, while others have been tied to a rise in the risk of kidney stones.

几类维他命的定量服用会导致特定的癌症，还有其他的会导致罹患肾结石风险的上升。

And a large new study out Wednesday suggests that despite this growing knowledge, Americans' pill-popping habits have stayed basically the same over the last decade.

周三的大量的最新研究表明，人类对于此类事实的认知逐步提高，但是美国人对于定期服用维他命的习惯和过去的十年比较基本没有变化。

So here are the vitamins and supplements you should take - and the ones you should avoid:

所以在这里我们列出了你应该要补充的维他命和保健品，还有你其实不需要的：

Multivitamins: Skip them - you can get everything you need with a balanced diet.

复合维他命，不需要服用，在营养均衡的一餐中都涵盖了。

For decades, it was assumed that multivitamins were critical to overall health. Vitamin C to "boost your immune system", Vitamin A to protect your vision, Vitamin B to keep you energized.Not only do you already get these ingredients from the food you eat, but studies suggest that consuming them in excess can actually cause harm.

过去的几十年，人们一直认为复合维他命对整体的健康非常重要。维他命C来“提高你的免疫系统”，维他命A保护你的视力，维他命B保持你的活力。你在自己的食物中已经可以获得这些营养素，研究表明过量服用还可能会引起额外的损害。

A large 2011 study of close to 39,000 older women over 25 years found that women who took them in the long term actually had a higher overall risk of death than those who did not.

在2011年的一项大型研究，3.9万妇女在25年间的结果表明，那些服用复合维他命的妇女比那些没有的死亡的比例更高。

Vitamin D: Take it - it helps keep your bones strong and it's hard to get from food.

维他命D：服用，能够帮助你骨骼强壮，而且从食物中比较难获取。

Getting sunlight helps our bodies produce it as well, but it can be tough to get enough in the winter. Several recent study reviews have found that people who took Vitamin D supplements daily lived longer, on average, than those who didn't.

多晒太阳帮助我们的身体合成维他命，但是在冬天的时候就容易缺乏。几项近期的研究表明，那些定期服用维他命D保健品的人平均比那些没有服用的人活得久。

Antioxidants: Skip them - an excess of these has been linked to an increased risk of certain cancers, and you can eat berries instead.

抗氧化：不要服用，过量服用此类药物会得某些癌症，可以同过吃莓类食物代替。

Vitamins A, C, and E are antioxidants found in plentiful form in many fruits - especially berries - and veggies, and they've been touted for their alleged ability to protect against cancer.

维他命A，C，E这些抗氧化药物大量的存在于我们的食物之中，特别是莓类和蔬菜类，他们因食用能够不得癌症而备受吹捧。

But studies suggest that when taken in excess, antioxidants can actually be harmful. A large, long-term study of male smokers found that those who regularly took Vitamin A were more likely to get lung cancer than those who didn't.

但是研究发现，如果过量摄入，抗氧化药物也会有危害。对于男性吸烟人员长时间，大样本的研究发现，定量摄入维他命A的人比那些没有的更容易患肝癌。

Vitamin C: Skip it - it probably won't help you get over your cold, and you can eat citrus fruits instead.

维他命C: 不要服用，它也许对于治疗感冒没有效果，你可以吃柑橘类的水果代替。

Study after study has shown that Vitamin C does little to nothing to prevent the common cold. Plus, megadoses of 2,000 milligrams or more can raise your risk of painful kidney stones.So get your Vitamin C from your food instead. Strawberries are packed with the nutrient.

研究发现维他命C对于预防普通感冒几乎没有效果，而且剂量大于2000毫克会让你换上肾结石的比例升高，肾结石可是很痛的。所以你可以通过食物摄入维他命C，莓类就含有很多。

Vitamin B3: Skip it and eat salmon, tuna, or beets instead.

维他命B3：不要服用，通过吃三文鱼，金枪鱼和甜菜根来代替。

For years, Vitamin B3 was promoted to treat everything from Alzheimer's to heart disease. But recent studies have called for an end to the over-prescription of the nutrient.

多年来，维他命B3被宣传可以治疗老年痴呆到心脏病，几乎无所不能。不过最近的研究叫停了它的各种不切实际的营养宣传。

A large 2014 study of more than 25,000 people with heart disease found that putting people on long-acting doses of Vitamin B3 to raise their levels of 'good' didn't reduce the incidence of heart attacks, strokes, or deaths.

2014年的一项研究中有2.5万患有心脏病的人被要求长期服用维他命B3看他们的病症能不能转“好”，但是心脏病，中风和死亡的案例并没有减少。

Plus, people in the study who took the B3 supplements were more likely than those taking a placebo to develop infections, liver problems, and internal bleeding.

而且，研究发现B3不仅仅只是安慰剂，而且它还导致了感染，肝部问题和内出血。

Probiotics: Skip them - the science isn't advanced enough yet for them to have a significant benefit, and you can eat yogurt instead.

益生菌：不要服用，科学没有证明它们有显著的效果，你可以喝酸奶来代替。

Probiotics - pricey bacterial supplements that can cost upward of $1 per pill but are found naturally in smaller amounts in yogurt and other fermented foods - have become a big business with a market of roughly US$23.1 billion in 2012.

益生菌价格不菲的益生菌保健品最贵的要1美金一片，在酸奶和其他的发酵食物中少量存在——在2012年成为市场上的大生意市值231亿美金。

Zinc: Take it - it's one of the only ingredients linked to shortening a cold.

锌：可以服用—唯一一个确定可以缩短感冒的食物。

Unlike Vitamin C, which studies have found likely does nothing to prevent or treat the common cold, zinc may actually be worth it. The mineral seems to interfere with the replication of rhinoviruses, the bugs that cause the common cold.

不像维他命C对于普通的感冒没有任何预防作用，锌的作用还是很明显的。因为病毒的复制会引起感冒，但是锌这种矿物质可以干扰病毒的复制。

Folic acid: Take it if you're pregnant, or if you might want to get pregnant.

叶酸：你怀孕或者备孕服用。

Folic acid is a B vitamin which our bodies use to make new cells.

叶酸是一种B类维他命，能够帮助身体形成新细胞。

The National Institutes of Health recommends that women who are currently pregnant or who want to get pregnant take 400 micrograms of folic acid daily because their bodies demand more of this key nutrient when they are carrying a growing fetus.

美国国立卫生研究院推荐，怀孕或者备孕的妇女每天摄入400毫克的叶酸，因为他们的身体需要很多这样的主要营养素来孕育一个不断生长的胚胎。

（翻译：林浔鸥）