Dark chocolate——but not white chocolate- may help reduce blood pressure and boost the body＇s ability to metabolize sugar from food， according to the results of a small study.
Investigators from the University of L＇Aquila in Italy found that after eating only 100 grams， or 3.5 ounces， of dark chocolate every day for 15 days， 15 healthy people had lower blood pressures and were more sensitive to insulin， an important factor in metabolizing sugar.
In contrast， eating roughly the same amount of white chocolate for the same period of time did not affect either blood pressure or insulin sensitivity.
This is not the first study to demonstrate potential health benefits of dark chocolate， which contains high levels of a kind of antioxidant called flavonoids. Research shows that flavonoids that can help maintain a healthy heart and good circulation and reduce blood clotting，which can lead to heart attacks and stroke.
However， despite dark chocolate＇s apparent benefits， professor Ferri urges caution when interpreting the results. Dark chocolate contains antioxidants， but also a lot of fat and calories， Ferri said， and people who want to add some chocolate to their diet need to subtract an equivalent amount of calories by cutting back on other foods， to avoid weight gain.
He added that each 100 grams of dark chocolate contains roughly 500 calories.
Another study showed that elderly people with high blood pressure experienced a drop in pressure after eating dark chocolate bars， but not white chocolate， which contains no flavonoids.
健康美食：多吃黑巧克力好處多多
一項(xiàng)小規(guī)模研究的結(jié)果表明，黑巧克力可能有助于降低血壓、促進(jìn)人體對(duì)食物中的糖分的代謝能力，而白巧克力則沒有這些功能。
意大利拉奎拉大學(xué)的調(diào)查者們發(fā)現(xiàn)，在連續(xù)15天每日食用100克或3.5盎司黑巧克力之后，15名健康受試者的血壓有所降低，而且對(duì)胰島素更為敏感——胰島素是促進(jìn)體內(nèi)糖分代謝的重要成分。
相比之下，同樣在15天中食用大致相同數(shù)量的白巧克力對(duì)血壓和胰島素的敏感性并沒有影響。
這已經(jīng)不是有關(guān)黑巧克力可能有益健康的第一項(xiàng)研究。黑巧克力富含一種叫作類黃酮的抗氧化劑，研究表明類黃酮有助于保持心臟的健康和血液循環(huán)的暢通，并減少可能導(dǎo)致心臟病和中風(fēng)的血栓。
然而，盡管黑巧克力具有以上種種顯而易見的好處，費(fèi)里教授在解釋研究結(jié)果時(shí)還是勸告人們提高警惕。他說，黑巧克力含有抗氧化劑，但也含有大量脂肪和卡路里，因此希望在飲食中添加巧克力的人們需要從其他食物中“扣除”等量的卡路里，以免增加體重。
他補(bǔ)充說，每100克黑巧克力含有大約500卡路里。
另一項(xiàng)研究結(jié)果表明，患有高血壓的老人在吃了黑巧克力棒后血壓下降，但是不含類黃酮的白巧克力則沒有這個(gè)功效。
Investigators from the University of L＇Aquila in Italy found that after eating only 100 grams， or 3.5 ounces， of dark chocolate every day for 15 days， 15 healthy people had lower blood pressures and were more sensitive to insulin， an important factor in metabolizing sugar.
In contrast， eating roughly the same amount of white chocolate for the same period of time did not affect either blood pressure or insulin sensitivity.
This is not the first study to demonstrate potential health benefits of dark chocolate， which contains high levels of a kind of antioxidant called flavonoids. Research shows that flavonoids that can help maintain a healthy heart and good circulation and reduce blood clotting，which can lead to heart attacks and stroke.
However， despite dark chocolate＇s apparent benefits， professor Ferri urges caution when interpreting the results. Dark chocolate contains antioxidants， but also a lot of fat and calories， Ferri said， and people who want to add some chocolate to their diet need to subtract an equivalent amount of calories by cutting back on other foods， to avoid weight gain.
He added that each 100 grams of dark chocolate contains roughly 500 calories.
Another study showed that elderly people with high blood pressure experienced a drop in pressure after eating dark chocolate bars， but not white chocolate， which contains no flavonoids.
健康美食：多吃黑巧克力好處多多
一項(xiàng)小規(guī)模研究的結(jié)果表明，黑巧克力可能有助于降低血壓、促進(jìn)人體對(duì)食物中的糖分的代謝能力，而白巧克力則沒有這些功能。
意大利拉奎拉大學(xué)的調(diào)查者們發(fā)現(xiàn)，在連續(xù)15天每日食用100克或3.5盎司黑巧克力之后，15名健康受試者的血壓有所降低，而且對(duì)胰島素更為敏感——胰島素是促進(jìn)體內(nèi)糖分代謝的重要成分。
相比之下，同樣在15天中食用大致相同數(shù)量的白巧克力對(duì)血壓和胰島素的敏感性并沒有影響。
這已經(jīng)不是有關(guān)黑巧克力可能有益健康的第一項(xiàng)研究。黑巧克力富含一種叫作類黃酮的抗氧化劑，研究表明類黃酮有助于保持心臟的健康和血液循環(huán)的暢通，并減少可能導(dǎo)致心臟病和中風(fēng)的血栓。
然而，盡管黑巧克力具有以上種種顯而易見的好處，費(fèi)里教授在解釋研究結(jié)果時(shí)還是勸告人們提高警惕。他說，黑巧克力含有抗氧化劑，但也含有大量脂肪和卡路里，因此希望在飲食中添加巧克力的人們需要從其他食物中“扣除”等量的卡路里，以免增加體重。
他補(bǔ)充說，每100克黑巧克力含有大約500卡路里。
另一項(xiàng)研究結(jié)果表明，患有高血壓的老人在吃了黑巧克力棒后血壓下降，但是不含類黃酮的白巧克力則沒有這個(gè)功效。