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 objective measure 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─ideally in a French press, says Jason Sherwood, co-founder of Choffy LLC, Vancouver, Wash. It is $15 for a 12-ounce bag and 20 calories for an eight-ounce cup.
纽约州长岛市(Long Island City)Tripple Red Corp.公司的老板里德·塔尔哈默(Red R. Thalhammer)表示，该公司销售的“红色包装”的Antidote巧克力未掺杂任何配料，完全由来自厄瓜多尔的优质可可豆制成，这样一块巧克力含有440大卡热量。想将黄烷醇“喝”进肚子里？华盛顿州温哥华市(Vancouver)Choffy LLC公司的共同创始人詹森·舍伍德(Jason Sherwood)表示，该公司出产的Choffy像烘焙咖啡一样，将100%的纯可可研磨成粉，烘焙出好味道──还是美妙的法式烘焙法。其12盎司一包的成品售价15美元，8盎司一杯的冲泡量中只含20大卡的热量。
Or take your chocolate straight and chomp on raw cocoa beans. Navitas Naturals, sold by Navitas LLC, Novato, Calif., offers crunchy whole beans or nibs─beans with the shell removed─at $10 for an eight-ounce bag. To maintain maximum nutrients, the nibs aren't roasted, Navitas says. Unsweetened nibs are 130 calories an ounce; sweetened, 150 calories.
或者，直接将生可可豆放进嘴里享受？加利福尼亚州诺瓦托(Novato)Navitas LLC公司销售的Navitas Naturals系列产品就有脆脆的可可豆或去了壳的可可粒，8盎司一包，售价10美元。Navitas称，为了尽可能地保留营养成分，这些可可粒都没有经过烘焙。未加糖的可可粒每盎司含130大卡热量，加糖的含150大卡热量。
Navitas Naturals, Choffy and Antidote haven't done clinical trials on their products.
Navitas Naturals、Choffy和Antidote的产品均未做临床试验。
As for taste, the products overall were mostly intense and delicious, though it sometimes took a few bites to adjust to chocolate without sugar. Choffy was so delicious, I drank it without milk and sugar. Navitas's unsweetened nibs were a bit intense and the sweetened ones were a bit too sweet; a half-and-half mixture of the two was just right.
至于口味，这些产品总体上味道浓厚、可口，当然，无糖巧克力的苦味有时候还是需要适应一下的。Choffy产品味道极好，我在饮用时甚至没有加奶和糖。Navitas的无糖可可粒味道有点浓，加糖可可粒又有点太甜了，折中一下倒是不错。
Then there's cocoa as a dietary supplement. CocoaWell dietary supplement pills from Reserveage Organics LLC, Gainesville, Fla., are filled with cocoa powder and other plant antioxidants. According to the bottle's label, every two pills contain at least 450 milligrams of pure plant flavanols. CocoaWell costs $30 for a month's supply. There are no clinical trials on CocoaWell yet.
此外，可可还被用作一种膳食补充成分。加利福尼亚州盖恩斯维尔(Gainesville)Reserveage Organics LLC公司出品的CocoaWell膳食补充丸便含有可可粉和其他植物抗氧化物。根据瓶上的标签，每两粒CocoaWell膳食补充丸至少含有450毫克的纯植物黄烷醇。CocoaWell按一个月的补充量计算价格30美元。CocoaWell亦尚无临床试验的支持。
Mars Inc. packs 350 milligrams of cocoa flavanols into its 30-calorie a day CocoVia daily supplements. To keep the flavanol content high, Mars 'gently' processes its cocoa' and adds an extract of cocoa flavanols made with a proprietary process, says Catherine Kwik-Uribe, director of research and development at the Mars Botanical unit. Mars also sells Cirku, a 15-calorie packet containing cocoa extract with a fruit flavor that you mix with water. Mars found heart-health benefits with a research blend of gently processed cocoa that is similar to CocoaVia but without the extract added. It doesn't yet have results on CocoaVia and Cirku.
玛氏公司(Mars Inc.)含30大卡热量的CocoVia每日营养补充产品含有350毫克的可可黄烷醇。玛氏公司旗下业务部门Mars Botanical 的研发总监凯瑟琳·奎克·乌里韦(Catherine Kwik-Uribe)表示，为了保证CocoVia中黄烷醇的含量，玛氏公司“温和”加工可可豆，并额外添加通过专利技术萃取的可可黄烷醇。玛氏公司还销售一种含15大卡热量的可可萃取物产品Cirku，水果香型，可冲泡饮用。在一项研究中，玛氏公司发现温和加工后的一种可可混合物对心脏健康有益，这种可可混合物类似CocoaVia，但没有额外添加萃取物。CocoaVia和Cirku的功效也尚无临床研究佐证。
Some cardiologists say even the spate of recent research doesn't provide enough evidence for taking chocolate as a dietary supplement. 'I don't think it's overwhelming evidence,' says Carl Lavie, medical director of Cardiac Rehabilitation and Prevention at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans. Other nutrients─including Vitamin E─have looked just as promising and later proved disappointments, he adds. It isn't unreasonable to eat chocolate for health reasons if you enjoy the taste, he adds, but make sure to cut a snack of equivalent calories from your diet.
一些心脏病专家表示，虽然近期涌现出大批研究项目，但均不足以证明巧克力可以作为一种膳食补充。新奥尔良欧奇斯能医疗中心(Ochsner Medical Center)的心脏病预防医学主任卡尔·拉维(Carl Lavie)表示，“我认为这算不上压倒性的证据。”他补充道，其他一些营养成分，包括维他命E，起初看起来都像是充满了希望，但随后的结果却是令人失望。当然，如果你喜欢那种口味，以健康之名去吃巧克力也并无不妥，只是别忘了从其他零食中匀出相等大卡的热量来。
There is some evidence that suggests as little as a few ounces of chocolate─including types found in many grocery stores─may be beneficial. A 45-person study published in 2010 co-authored by Dr. Katz found blood flow in vessels improved two hours after ingesting a 2.6-ounce serving of Hershey's HSY +0.30% Extra Dark (327 calories). The study was funded by Hershey's and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
有证据显示，吃几盎司的巧克力（哪怕是杂货店里很常见的一些品种）也许确实有益健康。2010年发表的一项针对45人的研究发现，摄入2.6盎司的好时公司(Hershey's)特浓黑巧克力(327大卡)两个小时后，人体血管内的血流情况有所改善。此项研究由好时公司和耶鲁大学预防研究中心共同发起，卡茨博士是该研究成果的署名作者之一。
Four tablespoons a day of Hershey's unsweetened cocoa (about 40 calories) in a variety of research test beverages also has been shown to be heart-healthy, according to the study and at least one other published trial. Hershey's Extra Dark contains 420 milligrams of flavanols in a 1.4-ounce serving and Hershey's cocoa contains 210 milligrams of flavanols per tablespoon, says Debra Miller, director of nutrition at Hershey Co.'s Center for Health and Nutrition.
根据上述研究以及另外至少一项公开发表的临床试验结果，在不同饮料样本中加入一天四汤匙的好时无糖可可粉（约40大卡）均显示出对心脏有益的功效。好时公司健康与营养中心的营养部主任黛布拉·米勒(Debra Miller)表示，好时特浓巧克力每1.4盎司含有420毫克的黄烷醇，而好时可可粉每汤匙含有210毫克黄烷醇。
According to research by Hershey Co., dutch processing, a chemical alkalizing process that makes chocolate less bitter, also destroys many nutrients. Consumers can choose regular cocoa instead of the dutch-processed variety. Also, Hershey's research has shown that baking a chocolate cake with baking soda, which is an alkaline, destroyed flavanols but nutrients were retained when using baking powder.
好时公司的研究显示，荷兰式加工法（一种硷化加工法）可以降低巧克力的苦味，但同时也破坏了很多营养成分。相比之下，消费者可以选择常规加工的可可。此外，好时公司的研究还显示，用小苏打（属硷性）烘焙巧克力蛋糕会破坏黄烷醇，但用泡打粉烘焙的话则可以保留其中的营养成分。