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?
美国人每年买补品花费超过200亿美元，希望能避免癌症、心脏病和痴呆症。麻烦的是，最新研究表明它们没任何好处——甚至可能对我们的健康有害。但鉴于我们饮食营养不均衡，我们真的要完全停止服用这些营养片吗？
These are the startling findings of three articles just published in the highly influential Annals of Internal Medicine.
下面是刚发表在影响力颇高的《内科医学年鉴》上的三篇文章的惊人发现。
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.
参与研究的人员不拐弯抹角说话，他们担心人们花了很多钱在没有好处、而且某些情况下甚至会有害的药片上。更重要的是，他们还暗示公司销售补品正在助长大家对健康的焦虑，从而可以提供不必要的治疗。
Enough is Enough
适量就好
To reach these conclusions, an international team of researchers conducted three different studies.
为了获得这些结论，一个国际研究小组的研究人员开展了三项不同的研究。
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.
第一项研究观察了逾45万为预防心血管疾病和癌症的人每天服用维他命的数量。这些药丸对死亡率没有明显影响。
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.
第二项研究调查约1700人在心脏病发作后平均五年里每日服用维他命的效果。这次也没有明显优势。虽然要指出的是，超过半数的参与者有停止服用药物，这让研究人员难以得出明确的结论。
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.
第三项研究观察了6000名65岁以上的人，他们用复合式维生素来预防老年痴呆。仍旧没有明显效果。
“These vitamins should not be used for chronic disease prevention. Enough is enough.” concluded the experts.“
这些维生素不应该用于慢性疾病预防。适量服用就够了。”专家们总结道。
Hazardous to Your Health
对你的健康有害
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.
如果这不够糟糕，研究人员还发现大量服用维生素E时会对健康有害。令人震惊的是，吸烟者服用β-胡萝卜素会增加患癌的风险。研究人员还说，抗氧化剂叶酸和维生素B对预防慢性疾病是有害或无效的。
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.
专家建议人们应该多吃水果和蔬菜，减少反式脂肪、饱和脂肪和盐类，降低卡路里，增强锻炼，而不是服用维生素和矿物质。
