吃黑巧克力有助於降低抑鬱風險大綱

It is food news guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

這則食品新聞肯定會讓你喜笑顏開。

Scientists have found that eating dark chocolate appears to lower the risk of depression by four fold.

科學家發現，吃黑巧克力或能將患抑鬱症的風險降低四分之三。

While 7.6 percent of the 13,000 people surveyed reported depressive symptoms, just 1.5 percent of the chocolate eaters did.

在接受調查的1.3萬人中，曾出現抑鬱症狀的人比例爲7.6%，而僅有1.5%的吃巧克力的人曾出現抑鬱症狀。

The study by University College London (UCL), the University of Calgary and Alberta Health Services Canada, also found that the people who consumed the most of any chocolate were also 57 percent less likely to report depressive symptoms.

英國倫敦大學學院、加拿大卡爾加里大學和阿爾伯塔省衛生服務局開展的這項調查還發現，食用任何種類巧克力最多的人出現抑鬱症狀的可能性比其他人要低57%。

Lead author Dr Sarah Jackson, of UCL's Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care, said: "This study provides some evidence that consumption of chocolate, particularly dark chocolate, may be associated with reduced odds of clinically relevant depressive symptoms.

該研究首席作者、倫敦大學學院流行病學與醫療保健研究所的莎拉·傑克遜博士說：“這項研究提供了一些證據以證明吃巧克力——尤其是黑巧克力——可能與降低臨牀相關抑鬱症狀的機率有關。”

"Should a causal relationship demonstrating a protective effect of chocolate consumption on depressive symptoms be established, the biological mechanism needs to be understood to determine the type and amount of chocolate consumption for optimal depression prevention and management."

他說：“一旦建立起證明吃巧克力對抑鬱症狀具有防護作用的因果關係，我們就必須明白其生物機制，以確定巧克力的種類和數量，從而得出預防和治療抑鬱症的最佳方案。”

The study is the first to examine the association with depression according to the type of chocolate consumed.

這是首個根據所吃巧克力的種類來研究與抑鬱症關係的研究。

The team assessed data from 13,626 adults from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

研究小組評估了來自美國全國健康和營養調查中13626名成年人的數據。

A range of other factors including height, weight, marital status, ethnicity, education, household income, physical activity, smoking and chronic health problems were also taken into account to ensure the study only measured chocolate's effect on depressive symptoms.

研究人員還考慮了身高、體重、婚姻狀況、種族、教育程度、家庭收入、體育活動、吸菸和慢性健康問題等其他多種因素，以確保這項研究只衡量巧克力對抑鬱症狀的影響。

After adjusting for these factors, it was found that individuals who reported eating any dark chocolate in two 24-hour periods had 70 percent lower odds of reporting clinically relevant depressive symptoms in the previous two weeks than those who reported not eating chocolate at all.

根據上述因素調整之後，研究發現，與不吃巧克力的人相比，任意兩天內吃過黑巧克力的人在此前兩週出現臨牀相關抑鬱症狀的機率要低70%。

Most recent figures show that around 19.7 percent of people in Britain aged 16 and over showed symptoms of anxiety or depression.

最新數據顯示，英國16歲及以上人羣中，大約19.7%的人曾出現焦慮或抑鬱症狀。

Chocolate contains a number of psychoactive ingredients which produce a feeling of euphoria similar to that of cannabinoid, found in cannabis.

巧克力含有很多精神活性成分，這些成分可產生類似於大麻中的大麻素帶來的興奮感。

It also contains phenylethylamine, a neuromodulator which is believed to be important for regulating people's moods.

它還含有苯基乙胺，這種神經調節物質被認爲對調節情緒很重要。

Dark chocolate also has a higher concentration of flavonoids, antioxidant chemicals which lower inflammation and can prevent the onset of depression.

黑巧克力還含有較高濃度的類黃酮，這種抗氧化劑可以減輕炎症，還能防止出現抑鬱。

However British scientists urged caution about the findings, suggesting that the decision to eat dark chocolate could be linked to other health factors. For example people who choose dark chocolate may be more health conscious in general, which is known to protect against depression.

不過，英國科學家敦促人們謹慎對待這一發現，並稱吃黑巧克力的決定可能與其他健康因素有關。例如，一般來說，選擇黑巧克力的人可能更有健康意識，這也可以預防抑鬱。

Depressed people are also more likely to crave more sugary fatty foods and so could be less likely to pick a dark alternative when choosing chocolate.

抑鬱的人也更有可能想吃更多的高糖高脂食物，因此在選擇巧克力時，他們不太可能選擇黑巧克力。

The research was published in the journal Depression and Anxiety.

這項研究發表在《抑鬱和焦慮》期刊上。