Yael: What are all those pills you're taking, Don?

Don，你在吃的都是什么药？

Don: Vitamins, Yael. I'm really into my health these days. I take a pill for nearly every vitamin my body needs. I'm insuring myself against vitamin deficiency.

Yael, 是维他命。这些天我很关注自己的身体健康，所以我每种维他命都吃一片来补充各种身体所需的，确保不会出现维他命缺乏的情况。

Y: I hope you know what you're doing. Just as vitamin deficiency can make you sick so can vitamin toxicity. Vitamins can be very dangerous if you take them in high quantities.

我希望你知道你现在在做什么。维他命是有毒性的，就像维他命缺乏一样会致你生病。如果你摄入过多维他命也是很危险的。

D: Oh, you mean vitamins A and D. I've heard about that. I don't understand, though, why it's okay to take lots of one vitamin, but not another.

哦，你说的是维生素A和维生素D。我听说过。但是我仍然不明白为什么能大量吃一种维生素，但却不能吃另一种。

Y: First off, vitamins A and D are the most likely to make you sick if you take too much of them, but they aren't the only vitamins that can be dangerous. All vitamins have the potential to be toxic if you ingest too much of them.

首先，如果一次摄入过量的话，维生素A和D是最有可能威胁你的健康的，但并不是只有他们才是危险物质。如果你摄入量过多的话，任何维他命都是有毒性的。

Part of the reason why A and D put you at higher risk than Vitamin C and others has to do with the way vitamins are dissolved.

维生素A和D比维生素C和其他的维生素具有更高毒性的部分原因是维生素有不同的溶解方式。

Vitamin C dissolves in water. Thus, if you take in excess Vitamin C, your body flushes it out through urine. Vitamins A and D dissolve in oils and melted fat.

维生素C是水溶性的。因此，如果你服用过多的维他命C的话，你的身体可以通过尿液将其排出。而维他命A和D是油溶性和脂溶性的。

When you take too much of one of these vitamins, rather than flushing the excess out, the body stores the surplus in fat or in fatty tissues such as the liver and the brain.

当你服用了过多的这种维他命的话，身体不能通过尿液将其排出，剩余部分只能储存至脂肪或者脂肪组织，例如肝和大脑。

Accumulation of water in the brain, severe headaches, and birth defects are just three of the problems toxic levels of Vitamin A can cause.

脑积水，剧烈头痛，先天缺失正是维他命A的毒副作用能导致的三种疾病。

If you keep a relatively well-balanced diet, you'll most likely get the vitamins your body needs without the use of supplements.

如果你能保持一个相对均衡的饮食，你就能够保证身体所需的维生素，而不需要额外的补充了。