For years, doctors advised their patients that the only thing taking multivitamins does is give them extensive urine. After all, true vitamin deficiencies are practically unheard of in industrialized countries. Now it seems those doctors may have been wrong. The results of a growing number of studies suggest that even a modest vitamin shortfall can be harmful to your health. Although proof of the benefits of multivitamins is still far from certain, the few dollars you spend on them is probably a good investment.

　　多年來(lái)，醫(yī)生提醒病人說(shuō)，服用多種維生素唯一能給他們帶來(lái)的是昂貴的尿。畢竟，在工業(yè) 國(guó)家，真正意義上的維生素缺乏實(shí)際上從未聽(tīng)說(shuō)過(guò)，不過(guò)現(xiàn)在那些醫(yī)生可能是錯(cuò)的。大量研究結(jié)果顯示，即使很微量的維生素短缺也會(huì)對(duì)你健康帶來(lái)?yè)p害。盡管多種 維生素能帶來(lái)益處的證據(jù)還遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)不夠確定，但花上幾美金購(gòu)買它們可能是一個(gè)不錯(cuò)的投資。

　　Or at least thats the argument put forward in the New England Journal of Medicine. Ideally, say Dr. Walter Willett and Dr. Meir Stampfer of Harvard, all vitamin supplements would be evaluated in scientifically rigorous clinical trials.

　　But those studies can take a long time and often raise more questions than they answer. At some point, while researchers work on figuring out where the truth lies, it just makes sense to say the potential benefit outweighs the cost.

　　或者這僅僅只是《新英格蘭醫(yī)藥雜志》提出的建議。哈佛大 學(xué)的Walter Willett和Meir Stampfer指出，理想狀況下，所有的維生素補(bǔ)充劑都要經(jīng)過(guò)嚴(yán)格科學(xué)的臨床實(shí)驗(yàn)評(píng)估。但這些研究的耗時(shí)很長(zhǎng)，而且它們帶來(lái)的問(wèn)題比它們解決的要多。有 時(shí)候，當(dāng)研究者在努力找出真相時(shí)，其意義僅在于潛在的利益要超過(guò)其成本。

　　The best evidence to date concerns folate, one of the B vitamins. Its been proved to limit the number of defects in embryos, and a recent trial found that folate in combination with vitamin B12 and a form of B12 also decreases the re-blockage of arteries after surgical repair.

　　一個(gè)很好的例子是葉酸，它是維生素B的一種。它被證明能限制胎盤(pán)缺陷的數(shù)量，而且最近的試驗(yàn)發(fā)現(xiàn)葉酸和維生素B12及一種形式的B6聯(lián)合使用時(shí)能降低外科手術(shù)后動(dòng)脈的再次阻塞。

　　The news on vitamin E has been more mixed. Healthy folks who take 400 international units daily for at least two years appear somewhat less likely to develop heart disease. But when doctors give vitamin E to patients who already have he art disease, the vitamin doesnt seem to help. It may turn out that vitamin Eplays a role in prevention but cannot undo serious damage.

　　關(guān)于維生素E的資訊則復(fù)雜的多。每天服用400國(guó)際單位維生素E至少兩年的健康人群，看上去得心臟病的可能性要比常人小。但是醫(yī)生給已經(jīng)患心臟病的病人服用維生素E時(shí)，卻似乎沒(méi)有任何幫助。這表明維生素E在預(yù)防中能起到作用，但無(wú)法治療嚴(yán)重的損傷。

　　Despite vitamin Cs great popularity, consuming large amounts of it still has not been positively linked to any great benefit. The body quickly becomes saturated with C and simply excretes any excess.

　　盡管服用維生素C相當(dāng)普遍，但始終不能肯定大量服用維生素C是否一定會(huì)有巨大的益處。因?yàn)轶w內(nèi)的維生素C迅速飽和后就會(huì)簡(jiǎn)單地排出多余的維生素C。

　　The multivitamins question boils down to this: Do you need to wait until all the evidence is in before you take them, or are you willing to accept that theres enough evidence that they dont hurt and could help?

　　現(xiàn)在多種維生素的問(wèn)題可以歸結(jié)為：你需要等到所有的證據(jù)出現(xiàn)時(shí)才開(kāi)始服用它們，還是你愿意接受現(xiàn)有足以證明它們沒(méi)有傷害而且可能有好處的證據(jù)?

　　If the latter, theres no need to go to extremes and buy the biggest horse pills or the most expensive bottles. Large doses can cause trouble, including excessive bleeding and nervous system problems.

　　如果是后者，那沒(méi)有必要走極端，買最大劑型的藥片或者最貴的藥。大量劑會(huì)帶來(lái)麻煩，包括出血和神經(jīng)系統(tǒng)疾病。

　　Multivitamins are no substitute for exercise and a balanced diet, of course. As long as you understand that any potential benefit is modest and subject to further refinement, taking a daily multivitamin makes a lot of sense.

　　當(dāng)然多種維生素不是運(yùn)動(dòng)和平衡飲食的替代品。只要你明白任何可能的益處是輕微的而且需要更進(jìn)一步的改進(jìn)，那每天服用多種維生素就會(huì)帶來(lái)很多好處。

　　For years, doctors advised their patients that the only thing taking multivitamins does is give them extensive urine. After all, true vitamin deficiencies are practically unheard of in industrialized countries. Now it seems those doctors may have been wrong. The results of a growing number of studies suggest that even a modest vitamin shortfall can be harmful to your health. Although proof of the benefits of multivitamins is still far from certain, the few dollars you spend on them is probably a good investment.

　　多年來(lái)，醫(yī)生提醒病人說(shuō)，服用多種維生素唯一能給他們帶來(lái)的是昂貴的尿。畢竟，在工業(yè) 國(guó)家，真正意義上的維生素缺乏實(shí)際上從未聽(tīng)說(shuō)過(guò)，不過(guò)現(xiàn)在那些醫(yī)生可能是錯(cuò)的。大量研究結(jié)果顯示，即使很微量的維生素短缺也會(huì)對(duì)你健康帶來(lái)?yè)p害。盡管多種 維生素能帶來(lái)益處的證據(jù)還遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)不夠確定，但花上幾美金購(gòu)買它們可能是一個(gè)不錯(cuò)的投資。

　　Or at least thats the argument put forward in the New England Journal of Medicine. Ideally, say Dr. Walter Willett and Dr. Meir Stampfer of Harvard, all vitamin supplements would be evaluated in scientifically rigorous clinical trials.

　　But those studies can take a long time and often raise more questions than they answer. At some point, while researchers work on figuring out where the truth lies, it just makes sense to say the potential benefit outweighs the cost.

　　或者這僅僅只是《新英格蘭醫(yī)藥雜志》提出的建議。哈佛大 學(xué)的Walter Willett和Meir Stampfer指出，理想狀況下，所有的維生素補(bǔ)充劑都要經(jīng)過(guò)嚴(yán)格科學(xué)的臨床實(shí)驗(yàn)評(píng)估。但這些研究的耗時(shí)很長(zhǎng)，而且它們帶來(lái)的問(wèn)題比它們解決的要多。有 時(shí)候，當(dāng)研究者在努力找出真相時(shí)，其意義僅在于潛在的利益要超過(guò)其成本。

　　The best evidence to date concerns folate, one of the B vitamins. Its been proved to limit the number of defects in embryos, and a recent trial found that folate in combination with vitamin B12 and a form of B12 also decreases the re-blockage of arteries after surgical repair.

　　一個(gè)很好的例子是葉酸，它是維生素B的一種。它被證明能限制胎盤(pán)缺陷的數(shù)量，而且最近的試驗(yàn)發(fā)現(xiàn)葉酸和維生素B12及一種形式的B6聯(lián)合使用時(shí)能降低外科手術(shù)后動(dòng)脈的再次阻塞。

　　The news on vitamin E has been more mixed. Healthy folks who take 400 international units daily for at least two years appear somewhat less likely to develop heart disease. But when doctors give vitamin E to patients who already have he art disease, the vitamin doesnt seem to help. It may turn out that vitamin Eplays a role in prevention but cannot undo serious damage.

　　關(guān)于維生素E的資訊則復(fù)雜的多。每天服用400國(guó)際單位維生素E至少兩年的健康人群，看上去得心臟病的可能性要比常人小。但是醫(yī)生給已經(jīng)患心臟病的病人服用維生素E時(shí)，卻似乎沒(méi)有任何幫助。這表明維生素E在預(yù)防中能起到作用，但無(wú)法治療嚴(yán)重的損傷。

　　Despite vitamin Cs great popularity, consuming large amounts of it still has not been positively linked to any great benefit. The body quickly becomes saturated with C and simply excretes any excess.

　　盡管服用維生素C相當(dāng)普遍，但始終不能肯定大量服用維生素C是否一定會(huì)有巨大的益處。因?yàn)轶w內(nèi)的維生素C迅速飽和后就會(huì)簡(jiǎn)單地排出多余的維生素C。

　　The multivitamins question boils down to this: Do you need to wait until all the evidence is in before you take them, or are you willing to accept that theres enough evidence that they dont hurt and could help?

　　現(xiàn)在多種維生素的問(wèn)題可以歸結(jié)為：你需要等到所有的證據(jù)出現(xiàn)時(shí)才開(kāi)始服用它們，還是你愿意接受現(xiàn)有足以證明它們沒(méi)有傷害而且可能有好處的證據(jù)?

　　If the latter, theres no need to go to extremes and buy the biggest horse pills or the most expensive bottles. Large doses can cause trouble, including excessive bleeding and nervous system problems.

　　如果是后者，那沒(méi)有必要走極端，買最大劑型的藥片或者最貴的藥。大量劑會(huì)帶來(lái)麻煩，包括出血和神經(jīng)系統(tǒng)疾病。

　　Multivitamins are no substitute for exercise and a balanced diet, of course. As long as you understand that any potential benefit is modest and subject to further refinement, taking a daily multivitamin makes a lot of sense.

　　當(dāng)然多種維生素不是運(yùn)動(dòng)和平衡飲食的替代品。只要你明白任何可能的益處是輕微的而且需要更進(jìn)一步的改進(jìn)，那每天服用多種維生素就會(huì)帶來(lái)很多好處。