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，醫生提醒病人說，服用多種維生素唯一能給他們帶來的是昂貴的尿。畢竟，在工業 國家，真正意義上的維生素缺乏實際上從未聽說過，不過現在那些醫生可能是錯的。大量研究結果顯示，即使很微量的維生素短缺也會對你健康帶來損害。盡管多種 維生素能帶來益處的證據還遠遠不夠確定，但花上幾美金購買它們可能是一個不錯的投資。

　　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《新英格蘭醫藥雜志》提出的建議。哈佛大 學的Walter Willett和Meir Stampfer指出，理想狀況下，所有的維生素補充劑都要經過嚴格科學的臨床實驗評估。但這些研究的耗時很長，而且它們帶來的問題比它們解決的要多。有 時候，當研究者在努力找出真相時，其意義僅在于潛在的利益要超過其成本。

　　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缺陷的數量，而且最近的試驗發現葉酸和維生素B12及一種形式的B6聯合使用時能降低外科手術后動脈的再次阻塞。

　　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.

　　關于維生素E的資訊則復雜的多。每天服用400國際單位維生素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。但是醫生給已經患心臟病的病人服用維生素E時，卻似乎沒有任何幫助。這表明維生素E在預防中能起到作用，但無法治療嚴重的損傷。

　　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相當普遍，但始終不能肯定大量服用維生素C是否一定會有巨大的益處。因為體內的維生素C迅速飽和后就會簡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?

　　現在多種維生素的問題可以歸結為：你需要等到所有的證據出現時才開始服用它們，還是你愿意接受現有足以證明它們沒有傷害而且可能有好處的證據?

　　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，那沒有必要走極端，買最大劑型的藥片或者最貴的藥。大量劑會帶來麻煩，包括出血和神經系統疾病。

　　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.

　　當然多種維生素不是運動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一步的改進，那每天服用多種維生素就會帶來很多好處。

　　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，醫生提醒病人說，服用多種維生素唯一能給他們帶來的是昂貴的尿。畢竟，在工業 國家，真正意義上的維生素缺乏實際上從未聽說過，不過現在那些醫生可能是錯的。大量研究結果顯示，即使很微量的維生素短缺也會對你健康帶來損害。盡管多種 維生素能帶來益處的證據還遠遠不夠確定，但花上幾美金購買它們可能是一個不錯的投資。

　　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《新英格蘭醫藥雜志》提出的建議。哈佛大 學的Walter Willett和Meir Stampfer指出，理想狀況下，所有的維生素補充劑都要經過嚴格科學的臨床實驗評估。但這些研究的耗時很長，而且它們帶來的問題比它們解決的要多。有 時候，當研究者在努力找出真相時，其意義僅在于潛在的利益要超過其成本。

　　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缺陷的數量，而且最近的試驗發現葉酸和維生素B12及一種形式的B6聯合使用時能降低外科手術后動脈的再次阻塞。

　　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.

　　關于維生素E的資訊則復雜的多。每天服用400國際單位維生素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。但是醫生給已經患心臟病的病人服用維生素E時，卻似乎沒有任何幫助。這表明維生素E在預防中能起到作用，但無法治療嚴重的損傷。

　　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相當普遍，但始終不能肯定大量服用維生素C是否一定會有巨大的益處。因為體內的維生素C迅速飽和后就會簡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?

　　現在多種維生素的問題可以歸結為：你需要等到所有的證據出現時才開始服用它們，還是你愿意接受現有足以證明它們沒有傷害而且可能有好處的證據?

　　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，那沒有必要走極端，買最大劑型的藥片或者最貴的藥。大量劑會帶來麻煩，包括出血和神經系統疾病。

　　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.

　　當然多種維生素不是運動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一步的改進，那每天服用多種維生素就會帶來很多好處。