2006年NPR美国国家公共电台十一月-More Good News for Chocolate Lovers

If you can not resist chocolate, a new study offers a reason not to feel so guilty about eating small amounts, like say that bag of chocolate chip cookies that somebody brought into our studio this morning. Anyway, researchers have made a surprise finding: People who eat chocolaty foods may benefit from an aspirin¹-like effect. NPR's Alison Aubrey reports.

For people who are passionate² about chocolate, the news is a boost. Take Cheri Davis Gardner, who guiltlessly picks up a chocolate-covered macaroon at a Washington bakery.

It's a food of the God, so it's wonderful. So I eat it and I like it.

Resisting chocolate is nearly impossible for some people. Researchers at Johns Hopkins learned this last year after recruiting over a thousand men and women to participate in a study. The goal was to figure out why some people benefit more from aspirin's blood-thinning effect. At the beginning of the study, the researchers instructed everyone to completely avoid chocolate, strawberries, grapes and teas, which are all thought at high levels to affect blood platelet activity. But lead researcher Diane Baker³ says 140 people blew it and fessed up to eating chocolaty foods.

Chocolate chip cookies in cake and in icecream, and they consumed relatively⁴ small amounts, because they knew they weren't supposed to be eating it.

These people could no longer be a part of the aspirin study. Becker called them the chocolate offenders⁵. But she decided⁶ to study their blood too. In one test, she ran the offenders' blood through a mechanical blood vessel⁷ system, basically a hair-thin plastic tube, which is designed to measure how long it takes for the platelets to clump⁸ together, or form a mini blood clot⁹.

Then what normally happens is that there is a time that is known to be the normal amount of time that everybody would do. What happens with chocolate is it actually increases that amount of time. Meaning it takes more time for the platelets to clump and close off the blood vessel tube. This is advantageous¹⁰ because blood clots¹¹ can lead to heart attacks and strokes.

Becker says prior laboratory studies have shown that mega-doses of dark cocoa do seem to have this anti-clumping effect. But she never guessed the effect would hold up in her offenders group.

I was very surprised that small amount of casual consumption of chocolate would have this big an effect.

The results are exciting for Becker who carried out this study independently with no funding from the chocolate industry, but she says it's important to put the findings in perspective. Chocolate should never be mistaken as a medicine even if it can produce an anti-clumping effect similar to aspirin, chocolate is nowhere near as potent¹².

" With aspirin, it's much more dramatic".

Becker presented her findings to the American Heart Association's annual meeting this week. They've yet to be published, but researcher Alice Lichtenstein of Tufts University says the study is intriguing¹³. The assumption has been that it's only pure forms of dark chocolate, rich in chemicals called flavanols that have any beneficial effect at all. But Lichtenstein says since Becker's chocolate offenders weren't eating pure chocolate and may have been eating cookies and cakes with very low levels of flavanols, it raises all kinds of new questions.

So then we have to step back and say, well, is it chocolate, is it flavanols, is it something else associated with people eating chocolate?

So for now Lichtenstein's advice is to enjoy a little chocolate if you love it, but don't assume it's helping¹⁴ your heart.

As for chocoholic Cheri Davis Gardner: I never feel guilty about chocolate. It's the sugar that's bad.

And the calories from fat, too. But she says the food of the God is still heavenly in moderation.
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macaroon
蛋白杏仁饼干
blood platelet
[医]血小板
fess
To admit to something; confess:
承认某事；供认：
"won't fess up to being even vaguely¹⁵ liberal"(Jonathan Alter)
"不会老实地承认即使是暧昧的公平"(乔纳森•奥尔特)
in perspective
adv.
正确地, 显示在脑海中, 符合透视法地
flavanol
黄烷醇
in moderation
适中地

1 aspirin   

n.阿司匹林

参考例句：

• The aspirin seems to quiet the headache.阿司匹林似乎使头痛减轻了。
• She went into a chemist's and bought some aspirin.她进了一家药店，买了些阿司匹林。

2 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

3 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

4 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

5 offenders   

n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物）

参考例句：

• Long prison sentences can be a very effective deterrent for offenders. 判处长期徒刑可对违法者起到强有力的威慑作用。
• Purposeful work is an important part of the regime for young offenders. 使从事有意义的劳动是管理少年犯的重要方法。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

8 clump   

n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走

参考例句：

• A stream meandered gently through a clump of trees.一条小溪从树丛中蜿蜒穿过。
• It was as if he had hacked with his thick boots at a clump of bluebells.仿佛他用自己的厚靴子无情地践踏了一丛野风信子。

9 clot   

n.凝块；v.使凝成块

参考例句：

• Platelets are one of the components required to make blood clot.血小板是血液凝固的必须成分之一。
• The patient's blood refused to clot.病人的血液无法凝结。

10 advantageous   

adj.有利的；有帮助的

参考例句：

• Injections of vitamin C are obviously advantageous.注射维生素C显然是有利的。
• You're in a very advantageous position.你处于非常有利的地位。

11 clots   

n.凝块( clot的名词复数 )；血块；蠢人；傻瓜v.凝固( clot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• When you cut yourself, blood clots and forms a scab. 你割破了，血会凝固、结痂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Milk clots when it turns sour. 奶变酸就凝块。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

12 potent   

adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的

参考例句：

• The medicine had a potent effect on your disease.这药物对你的病疗效很大。
• We must account of his potent influence.我们必须考虑他的强有力的影响。

13 intriguing   

adj.有趣的；迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词)；激起…的好奇心

参考例句：

• These discoveries raise intriguing questions. 这些发现带来了非常有趣的问题。
• It all sounds very intriguing. 这些听起来都很有趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

15 vaguely   

adv.含糊地，暖昧地

参考例句：

• He had talked vaguely of going to work abroad.他含糊其词地说了到国外工作的事。
• He looked vaguely before him with unseeing eyes.他迷迷糊糊的望着前面，对一切都视而不见。