美国国家公共电台 NPR A Chocolate Pill? Scientists To Test Whether Cocoa Extract Boosts Health

A Chocolate Pill? Scientists To Test Whether Cocoa Extract Boosts Health 

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There is nothing sweeter than the idea that our vices² could be good for us. Take chocolate - in recent years, studies have suggested that people who eat dark chocolate regularly may have a lower risk of heart disease. Now, as NPR's Allison Aubrey reports, researchers are putting those claims to the test.

ALLISON AUBREY, BYLINE³: If you're like me, you think of chocolate as a sweet treat. But what happens if you strip away all of the sugar and all of the milk fat that make it so indulgent? To find out, I bought a bag of cocoa nibs⁴. These are little bits of raw, unsweetened cocoa. And I asked some folks who were hanging out at Union Station in D.C. to taste them.

Would you guys be willing to give them a try and tell me what you think?

One guy named Christopher Walker took a handful and popped them in his mouth.

You have a really bad look on your face.

(LAUGHTER)

CHRISTOPHER WALKER: It was not good at all. It's real, real, real bitter.

AUBREY: Are you surprised that this is why cocoa tastes like?

WALKER: Yeah, I really am.

AUBREY: The bitterness comes from the cocoa bean. And it turns out that cocoa contains a bunch of biologically active compounds known as flavanols that scientists are studying. David Katz, who directs the Yale University Prevention Research Center, says some of these compounds seem to be good for our blood vessels⁵.

DAVID KATZ: What we've seen in studies is that intake⁶ of dark chocolate is associated with a greater ability of blood vessels to dilate⁷ when they should increase blood flow, and that would be a defense⁸ against cardiovascular disease.

AUBREY: At least in theory. But the hype over the potential health benefits of chocolate has gotten ahead of the science. That's one reason researchers are planning a big four-year study. Joanne Manson of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston is one of the researchers heading up the effort.

JOANNE MANSON: We'll be rigorously testing whether the cocoa flavanols do reduce risk of heart attack, stroke cognitive⁹ decline and many other health conditions over time.

AUBREY: They're currently recruiting people aged¹⁰ 60 and older to participate. Half of them will be given capsules filled with cocoa extract to take each day. They'll contain about as much as you'd get in 1000 calories of dark chocolate. The other half of the volunteers will be given a placebo¹¹.

So you're testing these cocoa compounds almost as if you would be testing a medicine, is that right?

MANSON: It's - it's almost like a medicine, but it's a naturally occurring bioactive that retains the components¹² of the cocoa bean.

 

AUBREY: If the results are positive, chocolate lovers may rejoice. And chocolate makers¹³, like Mars, who's helping¹⁴ to finance the study, may expand from the candy aisle¹⁵ to the supplement aisle. Allison Aubrey, NPR News.

1 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

2 vices   

缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳

参考例句：

• In spite of his vices, he was loved by all. 尽管他有缺点，还是受到大家的爱戴。
• He vituperated from the pulpit the vices of the court. 他在教堂的讲坛上责骂宫廷的罪恶。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 nibs   

上司，大人物； 钢笔尖，鹅毛管笔笔尖( nib的名词复数 )； 可可豆的碎粒； 小瑕疵

参考例句：

• They were careful not to offend his nibs. 他们小心翼翼，不敢冒犯这位大人。
• Please tell his nibs that we'd like his help with the washing-up! 请转告那位大人，我们想请他帮助刷锅洗碗！

5 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 intake   

n.吸入，纳入；进气口，入口

参考例句：

• Reduce your salt intake.减少盐的摄入量。
• There was a horrified intake of breath from every child.所有的孩子都害怕地倒抽了一口凉气。

7 dilate   

vt.使膨胀，使扩大

参考例句：

• At night,the pupils dilate to allow in more light.到了晚上，瞳孔就会扩大以接收更多光线。
• Exercise dilates blood vessels on the surface of the brain.运动会使大脑表层的血管扩张。

8 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

9 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。

10 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

11 placebo   

n.安慰剂；宽慰话

参考例句：

• The placebo has been found to work with a lot of different cases.人们已发现安慰剂能在很多不同的病例中发挥作用。
• The placebo effect refers to all the observable behaviors caused by placebo.安慰剂效应是指由安慰剂所引起的可观察的行为。

12 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

13 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 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 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。