When you think of foods that are good for you, chocolate may not be high up on your list. But, there has been a lot of research into dark chocolate, which shows that it does, in fact, have health benefits.

当您想到对自己有益的食物时，巧克力可能不会排在您的首位。但是，对黑巧克力进行了大量研究，这表明它确实对健康有益。

Chocolate is made by roasting cacao seeds, which come from the cacao tree. After being processed into cocoa solids, cocoa butter and combined with sugar and sometimes dairy, chocolate is the result. To know how dark the chocolate is, and to determine the potential health benefits, we need to look at the level of cocoa solids it contains.

巧克力是通过烘烤来自可可树的可可种子制成的。在加工成可可固体、可可脂并与糖和乳制品混合后，巧克力就是结果。要知道巧克力有多黑，并确定其潜在的健康益处，我们需要查看它所含的可可固形物的含量。

If dark chocolate has a high cocoa content, labelled as a percentage, it may be dense in minerals such as magnesium and iron. According to a 2011 study comparing cacao seeds to ‘super fruits’ such as cranberries and pomegranates, dark chocolate may have high levels of antioxidants. Other research includes a 2018 study which found that dark chocolate could significantly reduce inflammation in people with type 2 diabetes.

如果黑巧克力的可可含量高（以百分比表示），则它可能富含镁和铁等矿物质。根据 2011 年的一项研究，将可可种子与蔓越莓和石榴等“超级水果”进行比较，黑巧克力可能含有高水平的抗氧化剂。其他研究包括 2018 年的一项研究，该研究发现黑巧克力可以显着减少 2 型糖尿病患者的炎症。

But companies trying to market dark chocolate as a healthy snack may have a difficult time – the higher the cocoa content, the more bitter the taste. Plus, commercial dark chocolate tends to be high in calories, saturated fat and can contain significant amounts of sugar. On top of that, during the actual manufacturing process of cleaning, fermenting and roasting the cacao beans, the natural benefits may be lost.

但试图将黑巧克力作为一种健康零食进行营销的公司可能会遇到困难——可可含量越高，味道就越苦。此外，商业黑巧克力的卡路里、饱和脂肪含量往往很高，并且可能含有大量的糖分。最重要的是，在清洗、发酵和烘烤可可豆的实际制造过程中，天然的好处可能会丧失。

All in all, it seems that consuming a moderate amount of dark chocolate can’t do you harm – just look for a high cocoa solid percentage!

总而言之，食用适量的黑巧克力似乎不会对您造成伤害——只要寻找高可可固体百分比即可！

词汇表

dark chocolate 黑巧克力
roast 烤，烘
cacao seeds 可可种子
cocoa solids 可可块
cocoa butter 可可油，可可脂
cocoa content 可可含量
dense 密度大的
magnesium 镁
iron 铁
cranberry 蔓越莓
pomegranate 石榴
antioxidants 抗氧化剂
inflammation 炎症
type 2 diabetes 二型糖尿病
market 推销
bitter 有苦味的
commercial 市面上的
calorie 卡路里
saturated fat 饱和脂肪
manufacturing process 生产过程
ferment 发酵
moderate 适量的