別浪費錢了!科學研究補充維生素根本沒用
Americans spend more than $20 billion a year on supplements in hopes of staving off cancer, heart disease, and dementia. Trouble is, the latest research shows they provide no benefit — and they may even be hazardous to our health. But given our nutrient-deprived diets, should we really stop taking these pills altogether?
美國人每年買補品花費超過200億美元，希望能避免癌症、心臟病和癡呆症。麻煩的是，最新研究表明它們沒任何好處——甚至可能對我們的健康有害。但鑑於我們飲食營養不均衡，我們真的要完全停止服用這些營養片嗎?These are the startling findings of three articles just published in the highly influential Annals of Internal Medicine.
下面是剛發表在影響力頗高的《內科醫學年鑑》上的三篇文章的驚人發現。The researchers involved in the studies didn't mince words; they're concerned that people are spending too much money on pills that confer no benefit, and in some cases may even be harmful. What's more, they even hinted that companies selling supplements are fueling health anxieties to offer unnecessary cures.
參與研究的人員不拐彎抹角說話，他們擔心人們花了很多錢在沒有好處、而且某些情況下甚至會有害的藥片上。更重要的是，他們還暗示公司銷售補品正在助長大家對健康的焦慮，從而可以提供不必要的治療。
Enough is Enough
適量就好To reach these conclusions, an international team of researchers conducted three different studies.
爲了獲得這些結論，一個國際研究小組的研究人員開展了三項不同的研究。The first was a study that looked at the consumption of a daily multivitamin to prevent cardiovascular disease and cancer in more than 450,000 participants. These pills had no discernible effect on mortality.
第一項研究觀察了逾45萬爲預防心血管疾病和癌症的人每天服用維他命的數量。這些藥丸對死亡率沒有明顯影響。
The second study looked into the effects of a daily multivitamin after a heart attack in about 1,700 men and women over an average of five years. No advantage could be found. Although, it needs to be pointed out that more than half of the participants stopped taking their medications, making it difficult for the researchers to draw definitive conclusions.
第二項研究調查約1700人在心臟病發作後平均五年裏每日服用維他命的效果。這次也沒有明顯優勢。雖然要指出的是，超過半數的參與者有停止服用藥物，這讓研究人員難以得出明確的結論。The third study looked into the use of a multivitamin to prevent dementia in nearly 6,000 men aged 65 or older. Again, nada. Nothing.
第三項研究觀察了6000名65歲以上的人，他們用複合式維生素來預防老年癡呆。仍舊沒有明顯效果。"These vitamins should not be used for chronic disease prevention. Enough is enough." concluded the experts.
“這些維生素不應該用於慢性疾病預防。適量服用就夠了。”專家們總結道。Hazardous to Your Health
對你的健康有害If that wasn't bad enough, the researchers also found that vitamin E, when taken in large doses, can be harmful. And shockingly, smokers who took beta carotene were at an increased risk of developing cancer. The researchers also said the antioxidants folic acid and B vitamins are harmful or ineffective for preventing chronic diseases.
如果這不夠糟糕，研究人員還發現大量服用維生素E時會對健康有害。令人震驚的是，吸菸者服用β-胡蘿蔔素會增加患癌的風險。研究人員還說，抗氧化劑葉酸和維生素B對預防慢性疾病是有害或無效的。Instead of popping vitamins and minerals, the experts recommended that people should eat more fruits and vegetables, reduce trans fat, saturated fat, and salt, reduce calories, and increase physical activity.
專家建議人們應該多吃水果和蔬菜，減少反式脂肪、飽和脂肪和鹽類，降低卡路里，增強鍛鍊，而不是服用維生素和礦物質。
