黑巧克力有益健康「英語聽力材料」

很多人都喜歡吃巧克力，尤其是女孩子。儘管巧克力高糖高脂，但是常吃黑巧克力確實有益身體健康。為什麼?下面這篇英語聽力會告訴你。

　　Dark Chocolate Is Good For You

It’s well known that if you’re going to eat chocolate, dark chocolate is the way to go. There’s lots of evidence that dark chocolate is good for you, but until pretty recently, scientists didn’t know exactly why.

　Candy Hearts

Now there may be an answer. According to researchers at the Louisiana State College of Agriculture, dark chocolate is healthful because it feeds specific bacteria in the gut that turn it into anti‑inflammatory compounds, which help

　keep the heart healthy.

The scientists used a simulated digestive tract to test three cocoa powders. Cocoa powder is an ingredient in chocolate, and contains antioxidant compounds and some fiber that are hard to digest in the stomach. But when they reach the colon, the bacteria feast and turn them into anti‑inflammatory substances.

　　Chocolate Covered

More research is needed to confirm the findings, but the scientists think that eating dark chocolate, especially in combination with prebiotic carbohydrates found in foods such as raw garlic and cooked whole wheat, can drastically improve human health.

And combining dark chocolate with pomegranates, açai berries, and other foods high in antioxidants could prove even more healthful.

Dark chocolate still has plenty of fat, sugar and calories, so its healthful properties do not mean you should overindulge.

But if you love chocolate and also love being healthy, dark chocolate is the way to go. And now scientists know why.

　黑巧克力有益健康

眾所周知，如果要吃巧克力，黑巧克力是上佳之選。許多證據表明黑巧克力對健康有益，但直到最近科學家們才揭開此中玄機。

有益心臟健康

現在我們也許找到了答案。根據路易斯安那州立大學農學院研究人員的研究，黑巧克力之所以有益健康是因為它為腸道提供一種特別的.細菌，使得黑巧克力轉變成有助於心臟健康的消炎化合物。

科學家使用模擬消化道來檢驗三種可可粉。可可粉是巧克力的配料之一，含有抗氧化劑化合物和纖維，很難在胃裏消化。但是當它們到達結腸，細菌將其分解轉變成消炎物質。

　巧克力之益

該發現還需更多的研究來支持，但是科學家們認為，食用黑巧克力，特別是同生蒜和熟全麥中的益生元碳水化合物結合起來，可以大大改善人體健康。

同時，有證據表明如果能將黑巧克力和富含抗氧化劑的石榴，漿果等食物結合起來，效果更佳。

黑巧克力中含有大量脂肪，糖分和能量，因此它雖有益健康卻不宜食用過量。

但是如果你既愛巧克力又注意保持健康，那麼黑巧克力是不二之選。而且現在又得到了科學家的證明。