Stable isotopes have been used as tracers in human nutritional studies for many years. A number of isotopes have been used frequently to assess body composition, energy expenditure, protein turnover and metabolic studies in general, such as deuterium (2Hydrogen), 18Oxygen, 13Carbon and 15Nitrogen. Nevertheless, there is still occasional confusion and concern over their safety, which can hinder the appropriate use of these isotopes in human studies. This mini review aims, therefore, to consider the safety of the four stable isotopes mentioned above, and to reiterate and reaffirm their safety once again. It is hoped that these data will be of use to new researchers in the field, as well as those considering the ethical or other implications of using these stable isotopes in nutritional research. Undoubtedly some of the confusion arises as deuterium, especially, is associated with the nuclear industry. However, as their name implies, of course, none of these stable isotopes are radioactive, and no adverse biological or physiological effects have been reported at the very low levels of enrichment that are used in human studies. There are ample data to reaffirm the safety of stable isotopes at the levels used in nutritional research, and unnecessary concerns and/or confusion should not be a block to continued use of these important tracers.

中文翻译：

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稳定同位素：它们在人类营养研究中的用途和安全性。

稳定同位素多年来一直被用作人类营养研究中的示踪剂。许多同位素经常用于评估身体成分、能量消耗、蛋白质周转和一般代谢研究，例如氘（2 氢）、 18 氧、 13 碳和 15 氮。尽管如此，人们仍然偶尔对其安全性感到困惑和担忧，这可能会阻碍这些同位素在人类研究中的适当使用。因此，本次小型审查旨在考虑上述四种稳定同位素的安全性，并再次重申和重申其安全性。希望这些数据对该领域的新研究人员以及那些考虑在营养研究中使用这些稳定同位素的伦理或其他影响的人有用。毫无疑问，当氘与核工业相关时，会出现一些混乱。然而，顾名思义，这些稳定同位素当然都不具有放射性，而且在人类研究中使用的极低浓缩水平下，也没有报告过任何不利的生物或生理效应。有足够的数据重申稳定同位素在营养研究中使用的水平的安全性，不必要的担忧和/或混乱不应成为继续使用这些重要示踪剂的障碍。