研究顯示:適量巧克力可促進大腦認知功能

Good news for chocolate lovers: eating the sweet treat has been found to have a positive association with cognitive performance, according to a new study.
接下來這個消息對巧克力愛好者來說絕對是極好的：根據最新一項研究顯示，吃甜食與認知能力之間存在顯著的正相關關係。

Published in the journal Appetite, researchers used data collected from a Maine-Syracuse Longitudinal study (MSLS), in which 968 people aged between 23 and 98.
該項研究是在《食慾》雜誌上發佈的。研究人員分析了968名來自緬因州錫拉丘茲縱向研究的、年齡在23歲-98歲之間的參與者的數據。

The researchers found that regularly eating chocolate was significantly associated with cognitive function "irrespective of other dietary habits".
研究人員發現，經常吃巧克力與認知功能顯著相關，而與其他飲食習慣無關。

Research shows that eating chocolate is significantly associated with "visual-spatial and working memory, scanning and tracking, abstract reasoning and the mini-mental state examination."
該研究顯示，食用巧克力與視覺空間記憶、工作記憶、掃描追蹤、抽象推理及應對簡易智力狀況檢查的能力有很大關係。

Chocolate bars contain a nutrient, Cocoa flavanols, which seems to have positive effects on people's brains, experts explained.
專家對此解釋稱，巧克力含有恆星黃烷醇，這種營養物質似乎有益於人類的大腦。

High levels of flavanols are found in dark chocolate but less so in milk or white chocolate. High levels of flavanols are also found in tea, red wine and certain fruits such as grapes and apples.
高含量的黃烷醇被發現存在於黑巧克力當中，但在牛奶巧克力和白巧克力中則相對要少很多。此外，茶水、紅葡萄酒以及葡萄和蘋果這一類的水果當中也富含黃烷醇。

While the new study shows that choc treats can improve brain function, the researchers note that 'appropriate caloric intake' still applies, suggesting that gorging on too much chocolate is still not great for health.
雖然新的研究表明巧克力類的甜食有助於改善大腦功能，但是專家還是指出，“適當的熱量攝入”仍然是正確的。專家們認爲，吃太多的巧克力還是不健康的。