Chocoholics are rejoicing amid a proliferation of new scientific evidence showing cocoa may be good for the heart. But most chocolate is packed with calories and unhealthy sugar. A wave of new products with high levels of pure cocoa is being marketed as a way to enjoy chocolate's benefits without empty calories.
巧克力控们要高兴了，因为一组最新的科学证据表明可可可能对心脏有好处。不过，以往市面上大部分的巧克力卡路里和含糖量都偏高。如今，一批批含高纯度可可的巧克力新品陆续上市，让人们在享受到巧克力所带来的美味和健康的同时，完全不用担心空热量的问题。
The cocoa bean, actually a seed, grows in pods on trees. It contains compounds called flavanols, which have been shown to lower blood pressure, improve blood flow and reduce overall risk of heart disease. Three scientific analyses published in the past six months pooled results of smaller studies to conclude that cocoa is good for the heart. Scientists believe flavanols work, at least in part, by stimulating production of nitric oxide, which relaxes vessels and improves blood flow.
可可豆（实际上就是可可子）生长在可可树的豆荚中。可可豆含有黄烷醇，该物质有助于降血压、促进血液流动并降低罹患心脏病的风险。过去六个月内发表的三项科学研究通过对多项小型研究结果进行综合分析，推断出可可有益心脏的结论。科研人员认为，黄烷醇可以刺激一氧化氮的产生，而一氧化氮可以放松血管、促进血液流动，因此至少从这一点来看，黄烷醇是有功效的。
The catch, says David L. Katz, director of Yale University's Prevention Research Center, is that exactly how much chocolate is needed for a health benefit isn't known. 'Chocolate is a concentrated source of calories, so it's important to keep the dose within therapeutic range,' he says.
耶鲁大学预防研究中心(Yale University's Prevention Research Center)主任大卫•卡茨(David L. Katz)表示，问题在于具体该摄入多少巧克力才对人体健康有益还不清楚。他称，"巧克力含热量高，所以将摄入量控制在对健康有益的范围内是很重要的。"
Most chocolate isn't labeled with milligrams of flavanols and there's no industry or scientific standard yet for measuring flavanols in chocolate. One objectivemeasure is the cocoa percentage on the label. Milk chocolate can be as little as 10% cocoa paste by weight, with the rest in sugar, milk and other ingredients. Dark-chocolate bars typically contain 50% to 60% cocoa by weight, scientists say.
大多数巧克力产品并不标注出黄烷醇的具体含量，到目前为止也还没有可据以测量巧克力中黄烷醇含量的行业或科学标准。比较客观的一个指标是标签上的可可含量。科研人员表示，按重量计算，牛奶巧克力中的可可含量可能只有10%，其余均是糖、牛奶和其他配料。而黑巧克力中的可可含量一般在50%-60%。
'The higher the percentage of cocoa, the higher the flavanol content, the higher the antioxidant content and thus we believe the greater positive health benefit,' says Washington, D.C., nutritionist Joy Dubost, a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, a trade group.
美国贸易组织营养和饮食学会(Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics)的女发言人、华盛顿特区的营养学家乔伊•杜波斯特(Joy Dubost)表示，"可可含量越高，黄烷醇含量就越高，抗氧化物的含量也就越高，因此我们认为，这对人体健康也更有益处。"
A growing number of specialty products are offering higher-test cocoa, as much as 100%, which makers say are minimally processed to retain as many nutrients as possible. Most of the brands don't have lab tests on the amount of flavanols, so there's no way to make a comparison.
越来越多的特殊产品开始提供更高纯度的可可，有时纯度甚至达到100%。生产商表示，这类产品只经过最低程度的加工，以尽可能保留原有的营养成分。但大部分的巧克力品牌均不对黄烷醇含量进行检测，因此无法进行比较。
Antidote 'red label' chocolate contains nothing but high-quality cocoa beans from Ecuador, says Red R. Thalhammer, owner of Tripple Red Corp., the Long Island City, N.Y., company that sells it. A bar is 440 calories. To drink your flavanols, Choffy is specially milled 100% cocoa and roasted to taste good when brewed like coffee
京公网安备 11011202003401号
