含鋅巧克力讓你活得更久！國外研究又震驚我了

Eating chocolate and drinking coffee and tea may help you live longer, according to a new study.

新研究表明，吃巧克力、喝咖啡和茶能讓人長壽。

To reap the benefits of the treats, however, they must be consumed with zinc supplements - which together activate a compound that slows down ageing.

但是要想長壽還需要一點，巧克力、咖啡和茶裏需要加鋅，這樣就能激發某種混合物，減緩衰老過程。

According to the researchers from the University of Erlangen in Nuremberg and Auburn University in Alabama, the combination can lengthen life by protecting against naturally-occurring “oxidative stress” - a gas that leads to ageing and other illnesses such as cancer, inflammation or degenerative diseases.

德國埃爾朗根·紐倫堡大學和美國奧本大學的研究人員發現，混合這三樣零食能防止“氧化應激”這種自然過程，從而延長壽命。氧化應激是一種氣體，會導致衰老、引發癌症、炎症和一些變性疾病。

To analyse the effects of zinc, known for its benefits in helping the body fight off bacteria and viruses, and antioxidant polyphenols, which are found in chocolate, tea or coffee, the scientists combined the two in lab experiments.

鋅能幫助身體抵抗細菌病毒，研究人員爲了研究鋅和咖啡、茶中的抗氧化多酚的效果，在實驗室把鋅和抗氧化多酚混合起來。

On their own, polyphenols cannot break down oxidative stress, but when combined with zinc, they create a “mega complex” enzyme capable of protecting the body from the damaging waste gas that occurs as a by-product of cells, researchers found.

研究人員發現，未混合時，多酚無法分解氧化應激，但是和鋅混合後，兩者產生了“超級複雜”的酶，這種酶能保護人體，避免有害廢氣在體內變成細胞的副產品。

The resulting compound is similar to the naturally-occurring superoxide dismutase enzyme (SOD), which also destroys the gas and protects the body, according to the research published in the journal Nature Chemistry.

據期刊《自然化學》發佈研究，多酚和鋅的混合物和自然界中的超氧化岐化酶（SOD）很像，超氧化岐化酶也能破壞氧化應激，保護人體。

（翻譯：阿忙）