As if we needed any more excuses to indulge in the sweet stuff, there are constantly claims floating around that, "hey, chocolate might actually be good for you."

就好像我們還需要更多藉口沉迷於甜食，不斷有針對巧克力研究指出「巧克力可能實際上對健康有益。」

There is some science to back that up but, you guessed it, the devil's in the details.

是有些科學的證實，但你猜對了，魔鬼藏在細節中。

Most of these claims involve flavonoids, a class of compounds found in lots of plants including cacao, the plant whose seeds are used to make cocoa and chocolate.

這些宣稱大多涉及黃酮類化合物，許多植物都含有此種化合物，包括可可豆，用來製作可可和巧克力的種子。

And some studies have linked flavonoids to a decreased risk of heart disease.

而有些研究將黃酮類化合物與降低心臟病風險掛鉤。

Some experimental studies, which are considered the best type of study for establishing cause and effect,

一些被認為是確認因果關係的最佳實驗研究指出，

have shown decreases in blood pressure when healthy adults were given specially developed, high-flavonoid cocoa drinks or chocolate.

健康成年人攝取特別開發的高黃酮可可飲料或巧克力時，血壓會下降。

For example, one 2015 study found that 100 adults who drank a high cocoa chocolate drink twice a day for one month had a drop in blood pressure of around four millimeters of mercury, which is a measure of pressure.

例如，2015 年一項研究，讓 100 名成年人每天喝兩次高可可巧克力飲料，持續一個月。結果實驗者們血壓下降了約四毫米汞 (壓力單位)。

And a drop of blood pressure of just two millimeters has been associated with a decreased risk of stroke or heart problems, at least on average within a population.

以平均來看，只要血壓下降兩毫米，產生中風或心臟問題的風險就會降低。

There are also a few experiments that hint that flavonoids could improve blood flow to the brain, which in turn might mean better brain function.

有些實驗也指涉，黃酮類化合物能改善大腦血流，提升大腦功能。

For example, a 2014 study in Nature Neuroscience found that older adults did better on a memory task, and had increased blood flow to particular memory centers in the brain if they'd had a high-flavonoid cocoa drink for three months.

例如，2014 年《自然神經科學》雜誌上一項研究發現，讓老年人喝三個月的高黃酮可可飲料，有助改善記憶力，大腦中特定記憶區域血流量也會增加。

But there are a bunch of other studies that only show changes in brain blood flow and not improvements in cognition.

但也有一堆其他的研究顯示，只有腦部血流有變化，但實驗者認知並沒有改善。

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.

而在這些實驗中，有幾個關鍵點顯示，偶爾吃幾塊巧克力，並不會給你帶來任何好處。

For one, in most of these trials, it took weeks or months to see any health benefits.

首先，大多數這些實驗都需要數週或數月才能看到成效。

And most of the cocoa drinks in the experiments were specially made to have high levels of flavonoids, between 400 and 1000 milligrams,

而多數實驗中的可可飲大多是特製的，黃酮類化合物含量很高，在 400 到 1000 毫克之間，

using cocoa that's processed differently than regular supermarket chocolate.

也就是他們用的可可與普通超市加工巧克力不同。

Even 400 milligrams is more flavonoids than chocolate normally has, and you'd need to eat at least two large bars of regular dark chocolate every day to get that much.

即使只是 400 毫克，也比巧克力一般的黃酮類物質要多，且每天至少要吃兩大塊普通黑巧克力才有可能攝取到這麼多的量。

Even if you did, the way cocoa is processed to make it less bitter as well as adding milk or sugar has been shown to reduce the levels of flavonoids or the body's ability to absorb them.

即使你這樣做了，可可加工過程中會添加牛奶或糖，使其不那麼苦，而這已被證明會降低黃酮類化合物的水準及身體吸收它的能力。

Plus, the flavonoid-enriched chocolate used in these types of experiments isn't particularly tasty.

另外，這類實驗中所使用富含黃酮的巧克力並不是特別好吃。

Some participants were even put off from eating it.

有的實驗者甚至會拖延吃巧克力。

Yeah, these studies managed to make chocolate taste bad.

沒錯，這些研究竟然能讓巧克力變難吃。

So you won't be finding these flavonoid-rich drinks and bars at the supermarket.

所以你在超市裡是找不到這些富含黃酮類的飲料和巧克力條的。

So, overall, there is evidence that flavonoids in chocolate and other foods have a small, beneficial effect on heart and maybe brain health.

總體來說，有證據表明，巧克力和其他食物中的黃酮類化合物對心臟或大腦健康有少許有益影響。

But how that works isn't fully understood yet.

但還沒人能完全瞭解其運作方式。

And more importantly, these compounds occur in small enough quantities in your average bon-bon or candy bar that to get an effective dose, you'd have to eat quite a bit more chocolate than you should.

更重要的是，在普通糖果或巧克力棒中，這些化合物的含量很少，為獲得足夠劑量，必須吃相當多的巧克力，遠超過你該攝取的量。

I mean, all the sugar and fat that comes with that chocolate is going to outweigh any benefits.

我的意思是，吃巧克力時一起攝取的糖和脂肪所帶來的傷害，遠超過其益處。

So, enjoy chocolate as a treat, but don't expect to be living longer because of it.

所以，把巧克力當做一種美食來享受，但不要指望能靠它長壽。

Thanks for watching this episode of SciShow, which we couldn't have made without the help of our community of supporters.

感謝觀看本期科普節目，如果沒有支持者的幫助，我們是不可能完成本集的。

Check out patreon.com/scishow to learn more.

查看 patreon.com/scishow 瞭解更多。