营养均衡的饮食有利于健康，这个道理大家都懂，但还是有些人只吃自己喜欢的食物，严重挑食。最近英国一名少年由于常年只吃薯条、薯片和其他垃圾食品，最终导致双目失明。这给挑食的人们提了个醒。

Experts are warning about the risks of extreme fussy eating after a teenager developed permanent sight loss after living on a diet of chips and crisps.

英国一名少年常年只吃薯条和薯片，最终导致永久性失明。专家近日以此警告人们极度挑食的风险。

Eye doctors in Bristol cared for the 17-year-old after his vision had deteriorated to the point of blindness.

这名17岁的男孩几近失明，布里斯托尔的眼科医生对他进行了治疗。

Since leaving primary school, the teen had been eating only French fries, Pringles and white bread, as well as an occasional slice of ham or a sausage.

从小学毕业以来，这名男孩只吃薯条、品客薯片和白面包，偶尔还吃一片火腿或香肠。

Tests revealed he had severe vitamin deficiencies and malnutrition damage.

检查显示他有严重的维生素缺乏和营养不良。

malnutrition [mælnjʊ'trɪʃ(ə)n]：n.营养失调，营养不良

极其挑食

The adolescent, who cannot be named, had seen his GP at the age of 14 because he had been feeling tired and unwell. At that time he was diagnosed with vitamin B12 deficiency and put on supplements, but he did not stick with the treatment or improve his poor diet.

这名不愿透露姓名的青少年14岁时就去看了全科医生，因为他一直感到疲倦和不适。当时，他被诊断出缺乏维生素B12，医生给他开了维生素B12补充剂，但他没有坚持服用，也没有改善不良饮食习惯。

Three years later, he was taken to the Bristol Eye Hospital because of progressive sight loss, Annals of Internal Medicine journal reports.

据《内科医学年鉴》期刊报道，三年后，他因逐渐失明被送往布里斯托尔眼科医院。

Dr Denize Atan, who treated him at the hospital, said: "His diet was essentially a portion of chips from the local fish and chip shop every day. He also used to snack on crisps - Pringles - and sometimes slices of white bread and occasional slices of ham, and not really any fruit and vegetables.

他的主治医师丹妮泽•阿坦说：“他每天从当地炸鱼薯条店买一些薯条，就吃这些。他还经常吃薯片（品客薯片），有时吃几片白面包，偶尔吃几片火腿，不吃任何水果和蔬菜。”

"He explained this as an aversion to certain textures of food that he really could not tolerate, and so chips and crisps were really the only types of food that he wanted and felt that he could eat."

“他解释说，这是因为有些食材他无法忍受，讨厌吃那些，所以薯条和薯片是他唯一想吃的食物，他觉得自己可以吃。”

aversion [ə'vɜːʃ(ə)n]：n.厌恶

Dr Atan and her colleagues rechecked the young man's vitamin levels and found he was low in B12 as well as some other important vitamins and minerals - copper, selenium and vitamin D.

阿坦医生和同事重新检查了这名年轻人体内的维生素水平，发现他体内的维生素B12以及其他一些重要的维生素和矿物质——铜、硒和维生素D含量都很低。

惊人的发现

He was not over or underweight, but was severely malnourished from his eating disorder - avoidant-restrictive food intake disorder.

他并没有超重或体重过轻，但是由于避免—限制型饮食失调而严重营养不良。

"He had lost minerals from his bone, which was really quite shocking for a boy of his age."

“他骨质中的矿物质流失了，这对他这个年龄的男孩来说真的很让人震惊。”

He was put on vitamin supplements and referred to a dietitian and a specialist mental health team.

医生给他开了维生素补充剂，并将他转给营养师和专业的心理健康团队继续治疗。

In terms of his sight loss, he met the criteria for being registered blind.

他的视力损失已符合盲人登记标准。

"He had blind spots right in the middle of his vision," said Dr Atan. "That means he can't drive and would find it really difficult to read, watch TV or discern faces.

阿坦医生说：“他的视力正中间有盲点，这意味着他不能开车，而且阅读、看电视或辨认人脸会很难。”

"He can walk around on his own though because he has got peripheral vision."

“但他可以自己走路，因为他的周边视觉没有丧失。

peripheral [pə'rɪf(ə)r(ə)l]：adj.外围的；次要的；（神经）末梢区域的

Nutritional optic neuropathy - the condition the young man has - is treatable if diagnosed early. Left too long, however, the nerve fibres in the optic nerve die and the damage becomes permanent.

这名年轻人的病症是营养视神经病变，如果早期确诊是可以治疗的。然而，如果发病太久，视神经中的神经纤维就会死亡，就会造成永久性损伤。

Dr Atan said cases like this are thankfully uncommon, but that parents should be aware of the potential harm that can be caused by picky eating, and seek expert help.

阿坦医生说，幸运的是，这种情况并不常见，但家长们应该意识到挑食可能带来的潜在危害，并寻求专家帮助。

For those who are concerned, she advised: "It's best not to be anxious about picky eating, and instead calmly introduce one or two new foods with every meal."

对于那些担心这一问题的人，她建议:“最好不要对挑食感到焦虑，而是冷静地给每餐加入一两种新食物。”

She said multivitamin tablets can supplement a diet, but are not a substitute for eating healthily.

她说，复合维生素片可以作为饮食的补充，但不能代替健康饮食。 

"It's much better to take on vitamins through a varied and balanced diet," she said, adding that too much of certain vitamins, including vitamin A, can be toxic, "so you don't want to overdo it".

“通过多样化和均衡的饮食摄入维生素要好得多，”她还补充说，某些维生素过量摄入是有毒的，包括维生素A，“所以不能过量摄入”。

Dr Atan said vegans are also at increased risk of B12 deficiency-related sight problems if they do not replace what they can lack when excluding meat from their diet.

阿坦医生说，如果素食者不补充饮食中所缺乏的东西，那么他们患维生素B12缺乏引起的视力问题的风险也会增加。

"Nutritional yeast is a way of adding B12 to your diet," she said.

她说：“营养酵母是在饮食中添加维生素B12的一种方式。”

Sources of vitamin B12 for vegans include:

对纯素食者来说，维生素B12的来源包括：

breakfast cereals fortified with B12

富含维生素B12的谷物早餐

unsweetened soya drinks fortified with vitamin B12

富含维生素B12的无糖大豆饮料

yeast extract, such as Marmite, which is fortified with vitamin B12

富含维生素B12的酵母提取物，如马麦酱 

Rebecca McManamon, consultant dietitian and spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association, said restricted diets might happen for a range of reasons, including eating disorders, allergies and autism, and need specialist assessment.

英国饮食协会发言人、营养顾问丽贝卡•麦克马纳蒙表示，限制饮食可能有一系列原因，包括饮食失调、过敏和自闭症，需要专家评估。

"It's also worth noting that since 2016 the UK government has recommended daily Vitamin D supplementation (10 microgrammes/400 International Units) for everyone between October and March as we are not likely to get enough from fortified foods.

“值得注意的是，自2016年以来，英国政府建议所有人在十月到次年三月之间每天补充维生素D，剂量为每日10微克（400国际单位），因为我们不太可能从强化食品中获得足够的维生素D。”

"Multivitamin supplementation is recommended for all children up to their fifth birthday."

“建议所有5岁以下的儿童补充多种维生素。”