If you're a fan of the sweet stuff, you probably jumped for joy at the good news this week. Research published Monday suggested that regular chocolate eaters may more frequently have lower BMIs. Treating yourself to a small amount of chocolate regularly is definitely a health message we can get behind. Take a look at some of the surprising health benefits below.
假如喜爱甜食的你了解到本周的好消息，你绝对会兴奋得跳起来。周一公布的研究显示，常吃巧克力的人体重指数较低。定期进食少量的巧克力，对于我们身体而言是一个积极健康的信号。看看下面所说的巧克力的好处吧。

Chocolate Decreases Stroke Risk
巧克力能降低中风风险

A 2011 Swedish study found that women who ate more than 45 grams of chocolate a week had a 20 percent lower risk of stroke than women who treated themselves to fewer than 9 grams of the sweet stuff.
瑞典2011年的一份研究发现，与每周食用低于9克的女性相比，进食多于45克巧克力的女性能减少20%的中风几率。

Chocolate Boosts Heart Health
巧克力促进心脏健康

Regular chocolate eaters welcome a host of benefits for their hearts, including lower blood pressure, lower "bad" LDL cholesterol and a lower risk of heart disease.
心脏会因常吃巧克力而受益良多，如血压会降低、劣质低密度脂蛋白胆固醇处于低水平状态和低心脏病患病几率。

One of the reasons dark chocolate is especially heart-healthy is its inflammation-fighting properties, which reduce cardiovascular risk.
黑巧克力对心脏特别好，因为黑巧克力拥有抗炎症属性，能降低心血管疾病的患病风险。

Chocolate Fills You Up
巧克力带来饱腹感

Because it's rich in fiber, dark chocolate can actually help keep you full, so you'll eat less. Regular chocolate eaters might do themselves a favor by treating themselves to a bite instead of snacking on 11 other things first.
黑巧克力富含纤维，能让你感到饱足，因此你会吃得较少。常吃巧克力的人只小咬一口巧克力就能有饱腹感，而不会狂吃10多种零食。

Dark chocolate does the trick much better than milk, according to a small study from the University of Copenhagen, and may even reduce cravings for sweet, salty and fatty foods.
哥本哈根大学的一个小研究显示，黑巧克力比牛奶更会哄骗我们的肠胃，还会降低我们对甜食、咸食和高脂肪食品的渴求。

Chocolate May Fight Diabetes
巧克力能抵御糖尿病

A small Italian study from 2005 found that regularly eating chocolate increases insulin sensitivity, thereby reducing risk for diabetes.
2005年一份意大利的小研究发现，人们常吃巧克力能激活胰岛素，从而降低患糖尿病的风险。

Chocolate Protects Your Skin
巧克力保护皮肤

Forget what you've heard about chocolate causing breakouts: Dark chocolate is actually good for your skin. The type of antioxidants called flavonoids found in dark chocolate offer some protection from UV damage from the sun. And no, that does not mean you can skip the sunscreen!
巧克力让皮肤变得粗糙破裂？不用管这些说法，黑巧克力是你皮肤的救星。人们发现，黑巧克力的黄酮类抗氧化剂能保护皮肤，免受太阳的紫外线伤害。不过这可不是说你就能不涂防晒霜哦。

Chocolate Can Quiet Coughs
巧克力能止咳

Can't stop coughing? An ingredient in chocolate called theobromine seems to reduce activity of the vagus nerve, the part of the brain that triggers hard-to-shake coughs.
咳嗽不断？巧克力中的可可因成份能降低大脑中引发不停咳嗽的交感神经的活性。

In late 2010, the BBC reported that scientists were investigating creating a drug containing theobromine to preplace cough syrups containing codeine, which can have risky side effects.
BBC在2010年年底报道称，科学家调查研究出一种包含卡卡因的药物，用以取代有强烈副作用的含可卡因止咳糖浆。

Chocolate Boosts Your Mood
巧克力能让心情愉快

There's no denying that indulging your sweet tooth every once in a while feels great. Enjoying food is part of enjoying life. Chocolate eaters also report feeling less stressed.
无可否认，每次放纵吃甜食，人们的心情就会特别好。享受食物就是享受生活。据报道，常吃巧克力的人感受到的压力会相对较低。

Chocolate Improves Blood Flow
巧克力能促进血液流动

Cocoa has anti-clotting, blood-thinning properties that work in a similar way to aspirin, which can improve blood flow and circulation.
与阿司匹林相似，巧克力所含的可可粉有着抗血凝、稀释血液的功效，能促进血液流动和血液循环。

Chocolate Improves Vision
巧克力能改善视力

Because of chocolate's ability to improve blood flow, in particular to the brain, researchers at the University of Reading hypothesized in a small 2011 study that chocolate may also increase blood flow to the retina, thereby giving vision a boost.
雷丁大学的研究人员在2011年的一项小研究中推测，由于巧克力能促进（特别是脑部）血液循环，从而增加视网膜的血液流动，改善视力。

Chocolate May Make You Smarter
巧克力让人更聪明

That boost of blood flow to the brain created by cocoa's flavanols seems to make people feel more awake and alert, and, in a small British study, perform better on counting tasks.
一份英国的小项目报告显示，可可粉的黄烷醇刺激并增加大脑的血流量，让人们更清醒，警觉性更高，在计算能力方面也会表现得更好。