A vitamin pill a day could help keep old age at bay, according to a nutritional expert.

Many illnesses of ageing, from cancer to heart disease, are linked to deficiencies in common vitamins and minerals.

Even ageing itself might be accelerated by an unhealthy diet.

But an over-reliance on fast food means not everyone is getting all the nutrients they need.

To address the problem, biochemist Bruce Ames yesterday called for men and women to take a multi-vitamin and mineral pill every day.

Dr Ames told the American Association for Advancement of Science's conference in Boston that studies showed shortages of vitamins and minerals are linked to a host of late-life diseases.

Low magnesium intake has been linked to bowel cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes and osteoporosis, while lack of vitamin D is associated with breast, bowel and prostate cancers.

Calcium deficiency has been associated with diabetes-lack of potassium to heart disease, and low vitamin B12 intake is linked to multiple sclerosis.

Lack of nutrients may also accelerate ageing itself, with Dr Ames's own work showing that over-the-counter dietary supplements can boost both energy and memory in elderly rats.

Dr Ames, of the Children's Hospital Oakland in California, said it was likely our bodies make the best use of vitamins and minerals when they are scarce.

When in short supply due to poor diet, nutrients are ploughed into keeping the body going in the short-term - at the expense of a healthy old age.

But he claimed decades of initiatives to improve people's diets had failed and it might be "easier to convince them" to take cheap vitamin pills instead.

Writing in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, he acknowledged that taking too many vitamins can cause illnesses.

But he said that the benefits to public health far outweighed the risks.

营养专家说，每天一片维生素可以延缓衰老。

从癌症到心脏病，很多老年病都与普通的维生素和矿物质缺乏有关。

不健康的饮食也会加速衰老。

过度依赖快餐，也不意味着每个人都能获得他们日常所需的所有营养。

针对这个问题，昨天，生物化学家布鲁斯.阿姆斯呼吁人们每天服用一片多维素片和矿物质片。

阿姆斯博士向位于波士顿的美国科学促进协会（AAAS）报告说，研究表明，许多老年疾病都与维生素与矿物质的缺乏有关。

肠癌、高血压、糖尿病和骨质疏松症都与镁元素摄入量不足有关，而乳腺癌、肠癌和前列腺癌都与维生素D的缺乏有关。

缺钙会引起糖尿病，缺钾会引起心脏病，维B12摄入量不足会引起多种硬化症。

阿姆斯博士自己的研究显示，营养缺乏也会加速衰老，非处方类的饮食补充能够提高高龄老鼠的体能与记忆力。

加州奥克兰儿童医院的阿姆斯博士说，好像是当维生素与矿物质缺乏时，我们的身体能够最好的利用它们。

当由于劣质饮食造成的维生素与矿物质乏时，身体就会在短时期内投入大量的营养，以维持身体的正常功能，－这是以牺牲老年的健康为代价的。

但是他提出，改善人们饮食的10年方案失败，有可能“更容易说服他们”用廉价的维生素片代替。

他在《美国国家科学院院刊》(PNAS)上写文章承认说，过量服用维生素也会引发疾病。

但是他说，从公众健康的利益来说，还是利大于弊。