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Chocolate. As if we needed any more excuses to indulge in the sweet stuff,
巧克力。如果还需要什么借口沉溺于这片甜之中的话—
there are constantly claims floating around that, hey, chocolate might actually be good for you.
有人说巧克力可能对身体有好处。
There is some science to back that up but, you guessed it, the devil's in the details.
这是有一些科学依据的，但是，没错，细节决定成败。
Most of these claims involve flavonoids, a class of compounds found in lots of plants including cacao,
大部分的说法都涉及类黄酮，很多植物中都有这类化合物，包括可可豆
the plant whose seeds are used to make cocoa and chocolate. And some studies have linked flavonoids to a decreased risk of heart disease.
可可豆的种子可以被制成可可粉和巧克力。一些研究将类黄酮和心脏疾病风险的降低联系在一起。
Some experimental studies, which are considered the best type of study for establishing cause and effect,
一些实验研究，这些研究被认为是建立因果关系的最好的研究类型，
have shown decreases in blood pressure when healthy adults were given specially developed, high-flavonoid cocoa drinks or chocolate.
表明当健康的成人食用特别开发的高类黄酮素可可饮料或巧克力时，他们的血压下降了。
For example, one 2015 study found that 100 adults who drank a high cocoa chocolate drink twice a day for one month
例如，一项2015年的研究发现100名连续一个月每天饮用两次高可可巧克力饮料的成人
had a drop in blood pressure of around 4 millimeters of mercury, which is a measure of pressure.
他们的血压下降了约4毫米汞柱（压力测量）。
And a drop in blood pressure of just two millimeters
并且血压下降仅2毫米
has been associated with a decreased risk of stroke or heart problems, at least on average within a population.
就可以至少降低人群中的平均中风或心脏问题风险。
There are also a few experiments that hint that flavonoids could improve blood flow to the brain,
还有一些实验暗示类黄酮可以提高大脑血流
which in turn might mean better brain function.
这或许意味着更好的脑功能。
For example, a 2014 study in Nature Neuroscience found that older adults did better on a memory task,
例如《自然神经科学》的一项2104年的研究发现如果让老年人喝三个月的高类黄酮可可饮料
and had increased blood flow to particular memory centres in the brain,
那么他们会在记忆型任务中做得更好
if they'd had a high-flavonoid cocoa drink for three months.
且流向大脑某个记忆中心的血流也增加了。
But there are a bunch of other studies that only show changes in brain blood flow and not improvements in cognition.
但是有很多其他研究仅表明有大脑血流的变化，而认知能力并没有改善。
And, there are a few key points in these experiments that mean that a candy bar now and then isn't going to give you any benefit.
并且这些实验中的几个关键点意味着时不时吃块糖并没有任何好吃。
For one, in most of these trials, it took weeks or months to see any health benefits.
首先，在大部分的这些实验中，都需要几周或几个月才能看到任何健康益处。
And most of the cocoa drinks in the experiments were specially made to have high levels of flavonoids -
并且实验中的大部分可可饮料都是特制的且类黄酮含量高—
between 400 and 1000 milligrams - using cocoa that's processed differently than regular supermarket chocolate.
在400到1000毫克之间—所使用的可可豆的加工方式和普通的超市巧克力非常不同。
Even 400 mg is more flavonoids than chocolate normally has,
这些比普通巧克力多400毫克的类黄酮，
and you'd need to eat at least two large bars of regular dark chocolate every day to get that much.
你需要每天吃至少两大条普通黑巧克力才能获得这么多的类黄酮。
Even if you did, the way cocoa is processed to make it less bitter as well as adding milk or sugar
即使你做到了，为了减少可可豆苦感而进行的加工方式以及牛奶或糖的添加
has been shown to reduce the levels of flavonoids or the body's ability to absorb them.
已经减少了其中类黄酮的含量或是身体吸收它们的能力。
Plus, the flavonoid-enriched chocolate used in these types of experiments isn't particularly tasty.
再加上，实验中类黄酮含量丰富的巧克力一点都不好吃。
Some participants were even put off from eating it. Yeah, these studies managed to make chocolate taste bad.
一些参试者甚至对这种巧克力感到反感。没错，这些研究设法把巧克力做的超级难吃。
So you won't be finding these flavonoid-rich drinks and bars at the supermarket.
所以超市里是找不到这这种类黄酮含量丰富的饮料和巧克力棒的。
So, overall, there is evidence that flavonoids in chocolate and other foods have a small, beneficial effect on heart and maybe brain health.
所以总的来说，有证据表明巧克力和其他食物中的类黄酮对心脏和脑健康有微小的益处。
But how that works isn't fully understood yet, and more importantly, these compounds occur
但是类黄酮如何起到这样的作用仍未完全了解，更重要的是，
in small enough quantities in your average bon-bon or candy bar that to get an effective dose,
要在夹心软糖或糖果棒中获得有效剂量的类黄酮
you'd have to eat quite a bit more chocolate than you should.
你需要吃过量的巧克力才行。
I mean, all the sugar and fat that comes with that chocolate is going to outweigh any benefits.
我是说，巧克力中所有的糖分和脂肪利大于弊。
So, enjoy chocolate as a treat, but don't expect to be living longer because of it.
所以好好享受巧克力的滋味，但是就不要指望靠它延年益寿了。
Thanks for watching this episode of SciShow, which we couldn't have made without the help of our community of supporters.
感谢收看本期《科学秀》，没有社区伙伴的支持，我们就做不了这些节目。
Check out patreon.com/scishow to learn more.
点击patreon.com/scishow了解更多。
