女性如何正確地補充維生素

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Vitamins for Women: What to Take and When

女性如何正確地補充維生素

A woman who"s still menstruating needs different vitamins than a woman who is post-menopausal. And as you get older, taking a multivitamin is probably a good idea.

女性在經期中更需要補充多種維生素，並且，伴隨年齡的增長，選擇綜合維生素試劑不失為一個好主意。

A recent study that garnered lots of media attention concluded that multivitamins don"t do much to help prevent cancer or heart disease in older women. But that doesn』t mean post-menopausal women should toss their multivitamins in the garbage.

最近的一項研究結果吸引了各界的關注，其中提到，對老年女性而言，綜合維生素的食用並不能十分有效的預防癌症或心臟病的發生。但是，這並不意味著停經後的女性們就應該就此把那些綜合維生素試劑都扔到垃圾箱去。

What』s important to know is that poor nutrition increases a woman"s risk for heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and osteoporosis. While there may be some controversy over just how important multivitamins are for older women, experts agree that healthy eating and meeting minimum daily vitamin requirements are essential to good health over time.

我們關鍵要知道的是，身體缺乏營養會增加女性患心臟病、癌症、糖尿病和骨質疏鬆症的幾率。關於綜合維生素的補充對老年女性健康很重要的說法，或許會有一些反對意見，但是，專家們還是一致認為，正確食用並補足每日身體所需的最低維生素量對保持健康體態還是十分必要的。

"When it comes to preventing certain diseases, vitamins may not be a panacea,」 says Heidi Skolnik, MS, a nutrition consultant and nationally recognized writer, editor, and lecturer. 「That said, women typically diet, and so there are often gaping holes in their nutrition. Most experts like myself prefer to recommend food as the prominent source of vitamins because the body may use food-sourced vitamins more efficiently than supplements."

「如果想要專門預防某種疾病的話，維生素可不是個"萬靈丹"。」Heidi Skolnik說，她擁有碩士學位，是位營養諮詢師，國內知名作家、編輯、學者。「就是說，女性長期形成的飲食習慣，使得身體缺乏營養。許多專家，比如我，都建議女性將每日三餐作為補充維生素的主要來源，因為身體對食物中維生素的吸收效率要遠遠高於平時的體外補充。」

Vitamins for Women: What You Need

維生素：女人需要補什麼

Our bodies are like fine cars. You can』t put regular gas in a Porsche and expect it to run well. For that reason, you should consider adding the following nutrients to your diet:

我們的身體好比一輛好車。倘若你給一輛保時捷加普通汽油，就不要期望它能跑得好。同理，你應該給自己的日常飲食中添加如下營養：

Calcium. A woman typically needs 1,000 to 1,500 milligrams of calcium daily, depending on her age. You can reach this daily requirement by eating or drinking dairy and soy products (preferably fat-free) or pure orange juice that』s been fortified with calcium, or by taking calcium supplements. As women age, their bone mass decreases. At this point, women need to be at the upper end of the daily calcium requirement to lower their risk of osteoporosis.

鈣。女性普通需鈣量為每日1000至1500毫克，根據年齡段的不同有所調整。你可以通過食用乳製品，豆類食物（最好是無脂的），加鈣的橘子汁，或鈣片等來補充這日常所需的鈣。女性隨著年齡的增長，骨骼質量隨之下降。從這點來講，她們需要補充身體每日所需的足夠鈣量來降低骨質疏鬆症的發生率。

Vitamin D. Sunlight triggers the development of vitamin D in your body; but as women get older they lose some of their ability to convert sunlight into vitamin D, and without vitamin D your body can"t use calcium. Also, protecting yourself from skin cancer with sunscreen means shutting out the vitamin D you"d get from the sun. To compensate for this loss, older women might consider taking a multivitamin containing both vitamin D and calcium. To help you understand how much vitamin D you need each day, consider this: A glass of milk provides about 100 international units (IU) of vitamin D. If you』re over 50, you should be getting 400 IU. Over 70, you need 600 IU daily.

維他命D。曬太陽促進自身體內維生素D的生成，但隨著女性年齡增長，身體漸漸失去將太陽光轉化為維生素D的能力；沒有維生素D，機體便無法正常吸收體內的鈣。並且，預防皮膚癌應遠離陽光的暴晒，但這也意味著身體沒機會把太陽光轉化為維生素D了。因此，為了彌補這一損失，老年女性應服用含維生素D和鈣的綜合性維生素試劑。便於你了解每日到底該補充多少維生素D，看看這個：一杯牛奶含有大約100國際單位（IU）的維生素D，如果你50多歲，你每天需要補充400IU；如果你70多了，每天就需要600IU。

Iron. If you』re still menstruating, you need to be sure you"re getting an adequate amount of iron in order to prevent anemia. 「Food sources are a good starting point, but you may need supplements,」 says Skolnik. You』ll find iron in meat, poultry, beans, eggs, and tofu. 「It』s important to pair your iron-rich meals with foods that contain vitamin C, like orange juice or citrus fruits, because vitamin C helps increase iron absorption," Skolnik says. If you are a woman past menopause you need less iron, so unless your doctor recommends an iron supplement, you should look for a multivitamin without iron.

鐵。如果你還未絕經，就必須保證每日補充足夠的鐵防止得貧血症。"食物是很好的鐵源，但仍需服用試劑來補鐵。"Skolnik 說。肉類、禽類、豆類、雞蛋、豆腐，這些都含鐵。「含鐵豐富的食物最好搭配含維生素C的食物一起食用，比如橘子汁或橘子類水果，因為維生素C能促進身體對鐵的吸收。」Skolnik說，女性在經期後需鐵量減少，除非醫生建議，否則的話，女性經期後補充不含鐵的綜合維生素就可以了。

Folic acid. Women who are pregnant or trying to become pregnant need to get more folic acid; it has been shown that low levels of this B vitamin can lead to birth defects in the baby affecting the brain and spinal cord. In addition to supplements, folic acid can be found in orange juice, beans, and green vegetables, and in foods such as breads and flour that have been fortified with it.

葉酸。處於孕期或準備受孕的女性應多補充葉酸。研究證實，母體B族維生素的不足可導致胎兒腦和脊髓發育的先天性缺陷。作為補充，橘子汁、豆類、綠色蔬菜中都含葉酸，食物中如麵包和麵粉等也可。

Beta-carotene. Skolnik says that antioxidants — cancer-fighting substances like beta-carotene and vitamin C — help defend your body against cell damage. "Food sources are best for beta-carotene, and they include carrots, apricots, papaya, cantaloupe, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, and mangoes.」 In other words, look for the color orange when you"re in the produce aisle.

β-胡蘿蔔素。Skolnik說，抗氧化劑，如β-胡蘿蔔素和維他命C，都能抗癌並保護機體細胞免受傷害的物質。"食物來源的β-胡蘿蔔素最好，比如，胡蘿蔔、杏、番木瓜、甜瓜、南瓜、番薯、芒果。"簡單地說，就是找那些橘黃色表皮的食物。

B6 and B12. Like vitamin D, vitamin B12 is not processed as well by older women and may be one vitamin to consider taking in supplement form, perhaps through a multivitamin. Both B vitamins are very important as you grow older. "Vitamin B6 helps with red-blood cell formation and vitamin B12 helps with nerve-cell and red-blood cell development," Skolnick says. These vitamins can be found in a wide variety of healthful foods; following basic food pyramid recommendations is a good way to make sure you get enough of each. As an example, Skolnick says "you can get a day"s supply of vitamin B12 by eating one chicken breast, one hard-boiled egg, a cup of plain low-fat yogurt or one cup of milk, plus one cup of raisin bran."

B6和B12。和維生素D一樣，老年女性自身含維生素B12較少，因此，B12，必須通過綜合維生素的服用進行體外補充。隨著年齡增長，B族維生素對身體健康越來越重要。"維生素B6幫助血紅細胞的形成，維生素B12促進神經細胞和血紅細胞的發育。"Skolnick說，許多食物都含有這兩種維生素，按正常的"食物金字塔"飲食就完全能夠滿足這兩種維生素的日常所需量。"每天需要的維生素B12量有多少？吃一塊雞胸肉、或一個煮雞蛋、或喝一杯低脂酸奶、或一杯牛奶加葡萄乾麥片。"

Omega-3 fatty acids. These acids have been shown to act like natural anti-inflammatory substances in the body. They may also be important in helping to keep your heart healthy. As a woman gets older, her levels of estrogen decline, and that puts her at greater risk for heart disease, Skolnik says. Fatty fish, like salmon and tuna, is a great source of omega-3 fats, and pure orange juice is often fortified with omega-3s. Or, she adds, 「Taking fish oil capsules is an excellent way to make sure you target these important fats."

Ω-3脂肪酸。這類脂肪酸是機體的抗發炎物質，並有效維持心臟健康。伴隨女性年齡增長，身體雌激素水平下降，患心臟病風險增大。Skolnik說，多脂魚，如大馬哈魚和金槍魚，含有豐富的Ω-3脂肪酸，還有純橘子汁中也往往含Ω-3脂肪酸。或者，她說，「吃魚油膠囊也是個不錯的選擇。」

Although most nutritional needs can be met through a healthy, well-balanced diet, many women, especially older women, can benefit from a good multivitamin.

雖然，通過一個健康平衡的飲食可以補充身體所需的多數營養物質，但是，對於女性，尤其是老年女性來說，服用好的綜合維生素試劑會受益良多。

When looking for multivitamins check to see that the bottle has a USP (United States Pharmacopeia) or DSVP (Dietary Supplement Verification Program) stamp. These organizations assure that the content claims on the label are true. Skolnik also recommends checking out Consumerlab.com, a Web site that reviews vitamins, before you make any purchases.

當買綜合維生素試劑時，檢查瓶底是否有USP（美國藥典標準）或DSVP（膳食補充認證項目）的蓋章批准。上述機構能保證商品標籤的內容屬實。Skolnik還推薦顧客在購買商品前，登錄Consumerlab.com網站查詢各種所需的維生素商品情況。

If you are an older woman, ask your doctor or pharmacist to make sure you"re getting enough calcium and vitamins B12 and D from your multivitamin, and not too much iron.

如果你是位老年女性，諮詢下醫生或藥劑師，確保你服用的綜合維生素中含有充足的鈣、維生素B12、維生素D，而不含有過量的鐵。

Generally speaking, most experts believe that taking multivitamins is a good idea. "Clearly when it comes to calcium and vitamin D we all need additional supplementation. We can only eat so much dairy or fortified foods in a day. For the rest, a multivitamin may help to fill in the gaps that your diet does not provide," says Skolnik.

概況的說，許多專家都認為服用綜合維生素是個不錯的方法。Skolnik說，「很明顯，一提到鈣和維生素D，我們都知道要補充這些。可我們每天只能多喝牛奶或吃含這些維生素的食物。對於其他的維生素，服用綜合維生素就能很好的幫我們解決問題，提供身體所需營養元素。」

Learn more in the Everyday Health Women"s Health Center.

想知道更多，登錄「女性日常保健」網站。

http://www.everydayhealth.com/womens-health/vitamins-for-women.aspx

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