綜合報導
57
熱
門話題
趙 寒
（內科主任醫生）
Zhaug Han
THE NEED TO AVOID RISKS
EVEN FOR HEALTH FOOD
CONSUMPTION
Health foods abound -
vitamins, trace elements & tradi-
tional Chinese medicinal herbs,
etc. Once a retired vice-principal
took excessive ginseng for en-
ergy till he had nose bleeding
from excessive ginseng. A
mother gave overdose cod liver
oil capsules to her kid for the best
vision but he got early cirrhosis
(hardening) of the liver. Others
took excessive royal jelly and ex-
cessive toxins appear in the urine
or high blood calcium levels due
to too much milk and calcium
supplements. Lately, an Ameri-
can study found vitamin E 400
IU or more daily was ironically
associated with higher heart fail-
ure rates. Vitamin A and beta-
carotene are well known to head
the list of potentially harmful vi-
tamins as excess are stored in
the liver. In the 1980's anti-oxi-
dants were found to be useful to
abate damages due to free
radicals. However, the US Na-
tional Cancer Institute found
beta-carotene failing to prevent
lung cancers in smokers - higher
incidence and death rates. Take
vitamins according to the RDA
(recommended daily allowance).
Note interactions, e.g., garlic and
gingko reacting with aspirin. It is
best to take a balanced diet with
adequate fruits & vegetables.
服用保健品也需要規避風險
注意養生保健，已經成為當今人們時尚生活的重要內
容，一些保健品（包括維生素、微量元素、中草藥及保健食
品）已經成為中產階層人們的常用品。據統計，目前有半數
以上的中老年人和兒童在吃補品，出現混用及食用過量者屢
見不鮮。
服用不當而致病的報告
最近，某高校一位退休的副校長喜食人參，總是用人參泡
酒、人參燉雞，自覺精神不錯。可是有一天忽然鼻孔出血了，醫
生說，與過量進補人參有關。注意養生保健已經成為當今時代人
們生活的重要內容，一些保健品（包括維生素、微量元素、中草藥
及保健食品）已經成為中產階層人們的常用品。目前國內有半數以
上的中老年人和兒童在吃補品，出現混用及食用過量者屢見不
鮮。有位母親怕孩子視力不好，以為“吃魚肝油補眼睛”，每天讓
孩子吃十多粒魚肝油丸，導致孩子發育受影響，甚至出現了早期
肝硬化的兆頭。“吃魚肝油補眼睛”的說法是錯誤的，其實，在日
常飲食中並不缺乏維生素A及β-胡蘿蔔素，不需要額外補充。另
外，吃蜂膠導致尿中毒素升高；喝牛奶加鈣片造成鈣中毒等等，
都已是常見的案例。專家指出：從藥理學角度來說，維生素其實
也屬於藥物，“是藥三分毒”，應該慎用，免得補充過量有損健
康。
補充不當可能導致相反效果
丹麥醫生發現，對於已經罹患心腦血管病、癌症或是其他慢
性病的人，每天補充β-胡蘿蔔素、維生素A、E，不僅無法治療心
